Monday, March 13, 2017

Netherlands Over the Weekend

Turkey got into a fairly big weekend 'mess' with the Netherlands.

For those who aren't aware.....election time is coming up in Turkey, and they are allowing Turks residing in Europe to vote.  Getting Turks in Europe hyped up....helps the Erdogan government in some ways.

How many Turks reside in the Netherlands?  Presently around 400,000.  That makes up around 2.5-percent of the Dutch population.

Chief cities that Turks reside in within the Netherlands?  Almelo (8.3-percent of the city is Turkish), with Rotterdam in second place with 7.8-percent being Turkish.  5.3-percent of Amsterdam is Turkish.

If you asked most Turks in the Netherlands why they came....it comes down to economic advantages and the feeling of safety.  These are people who clearly don't have some great desire to return to Turkey or be under Erdogan's umbrella.  Yet they have been enticed to hold onto Turkish citizenship, and they are hyped up to some degree over Erdgoan's politics.  Yet none of this is making these people think about moving back to Turkey.  It's an odd story to tell.

Will any of this really change things for the Turks in the Netherlands?  No.  With all this hype....they aren't showing any will to pack up and leave.


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