YTB President Abdulhadi Turus, Anadolu Agency (AA) Sports News Director Kaan Elbir, the family of Mevlüde Genç, who lost her two daughters, two grandchildren and a nephew as a result of the firebombing of her house by Neo-Nazis in the city of Solingen, and many guests attended the program discussing the Turkey-Germany bilateral labor agreement.
The program started with the performance of the musical group from Nuremberg, Germany, and the screening of a short documentary about the Turkish diaspora.
In his speech here, Turus stated that there are stories telling about 65 years and that big stories contain many words.
Underlining that the most important word of the story is longing, Turus said, "The most important word of this story begins with longing." he said.
Turus underlined that families commemorate their longing with their children through letters, so the second word is exile.
Explaining that the families faced the language barrier when they first went to Germany and struggled to express themselves, Turus explained that they went to work during the day and struggled with the sadness of being abroad in the evenings.
Turus reminded that mosques, foundations and Turkish Houses were established and listed the efforts made to ensure that Turkish culture is not forgotten.
Underlining that another word is "perseverance", Turus said that 65 years have not been easy, it has been a struggle of determination.
Turus said, "This determination provided added value to the country it went to. The example of this determination was embodied today with their grandchildren." He said that the word that should be emphasized the most is sacrifice.
Underlining that expat families invest and strive to contribute to the country they go to, Turus explained that the story is not a sweet one, which is why there is sadness in the words.
In his speech, in which he touched upon the attacks suffered by Turks living in Germany, Turus stated that Mevlüde Genç took a stance and said, "Our civilization also brings beauty to the places it goes, despite many pains and troubles." he said.
Noting that another word is pride, Turus emphasized that they are a generation that came as workers but sacrificed themselves by educating their grandchildren to the point of bringing them to the decision-making mechanisms in the countries they live in.
Turus said that the departing families are the pride of both Germany and Türkiye and said, "We do not harm the places we go, we provide added value to the places we go to. That is why we have a stance to be proud of." he said.
President Turus explained that the last word is bond.
"You are the real ambassadors"
Esin Çakıl, General Director of Immigration Policies and Visa Procedures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conveyed the greetings of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan and said, "We make great efforts to always be with our 7.5 million citizens." he said.
Çakıl stated that all possible efforts were made not only by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also by different organizations such as YTB and Yunus Emre Institute.
Stating that Germany is important, Çakıl said, "We maintain our ties with our citizens living in Germany through our 14 consulates general." he said.
Çakıl said, "You are the real ambassadors." He said that this was a great pride.
