How many turks live in germany

It is easy enough to see how it's possible for someone like Kiki, the restaurant owner, to have not learned German after almost two decades in a place like Duisburg.

Turkish is the language predominantly spoken at the tables and in the open kitchen at his business. And only a short walk away, the Marxloh district buzzes with more Turkish restaurants and the soft sound of the Muslim call to prayer. While it is by no means only Turkish people who frequent the district, it feels distinct from the rest of the city. Mehmet Uzan, 33, is a street cleaner born and raised in Germany.

But when faced with having to pick a passport, he opted for Turkish citizenship instead of obtaining a German one. That decision means he can't vote in Germany. Uzan says he does not feel fully welcome or like he truly belongs here and said much of his identity is still rooted in the customs and traditions of his forefathers. Uzan isn't alone. Experts say many second- and third-generation people of Turkish descent in Germany feel similarly conflicted.

A report published last month by the Center of Turkish Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen found that most people with Turkish roots living in Germany feel more connected to Ankara than to Berlin. She said that people whose grandparents had moved to Germany appeared to be struggling the most with such questions. This often leads them to feel Turkish, even though their knowledge of the country and its language is often limited.

Hansen said assimilation can often be difficult because Germans themselves "don't really know what it means to be German. The U. But Germany doesn't slot neatly into any of these traditions, Hansen said. Some Germans find Turkish pride difficult to process, particularly when it's boldly and blatantly on display. They were here to work: Germany needed extra hands.

The so-called guest workers from Turkey were welcomed to that end. It was an oversight that they didn't also learn the language. This denied them contact to society and everyday contact with people. German politicians always say they've learned from their mistakes. But when I look at the regulations over the last years or decades - I've been here for 36 years - they aren't very heartening for people in Germany.

They more resemble sanctions that don't convey a sense of belonging. Nevertheless, there have been German courses at language schools for several years.

I think we're moving in the right direction, albeit 50 years too late. The Turkish immigrants and the Turkish organizations have big shortcomings, too, of course. They are still heavily influenced by politics in Turkey, and are more focused on Turkey's domestic politics than German interests. It's once again the case that Turkish politicians are strongly interested in Turks in Germany, seeing how much the parties go after supporters in Europe.

This was the situation 20 years ago: What's happening in Turkey is more present for Turks here than what's happening in Germany. That's no good for life here in Germany. Turks have a dual life. On one hand, they want to feel they belong in Germany. On the other, they have a lot of hurdles to surmount: equal opportunity in the workplace and when finding a place to live, opportunity for promotion in companies and civil service.

Turks are not represented enough in civil service. This has to do with a lack of confidence, though the German state also hasn't fully accepted that third-generation Turks belong to this country and therefore can work in the interests of this country. Germany's debate on dual citizenship seems to be at odds with its inclusive approach to refugees - and its economic success story. Turks, in particular, feel ostracized when German officials question their loyalty.

The demonstrations in Cologne on Sunday in favor of Turkey's president showed there are many Turks in Germany who support Recep Tayyip Erdogan, even after the failed coup. There are many reasons why. A German study has found that female applicants who wear headscarves or have Turkish names have a harder time landing job interviews. Researchers found that women with both traits only had a callback rate of 4.

After Turkey's failed coup there has been violence and threats among Turks, including those in Germany. The question of where their loyalty lies is legitimate, but also shows Germany's failings, says Gero Schliess. In Germany they were often housed in on-site dormitories. Nonetheless, the Turks kept coming. In the government removed the two-year limit; later it allowed workers to bring their families too.

Many Turks decided to stay for good. But Germany -- unlike America, Canada and many other Western countries -- has, then as now, no proper immigration law that could have given these Turks hope of becoming citizens and integrating into society.

Turks today tend to earn lower wages than Germans do, and their children are less likely to attend university. But the religious fault lines within Turkey also exist among the German diaspora. Many Turks in Germany in the second or third generation have of course become German citizens.

But Germany alienates many of them too. It allowed dual citizenship for children born to Turkish parents in Germany only in , and even then in a half-hearted way. More than a third of the people in Germany who have a Turkish background, about 1. This explains why Ankara sees Germany as a key constituency. And Germany does not want to alienate its largest minority, as France, say, has antagonized many people of North-African heritage.

Moreover, Germany needs Turkey: for example, to keep up its end of a deal, negotiated by Angela Merkel, to keep refugees from crossing from Turkey to the European Union.