Alienated Voices

Today, our guest is Kayra Naz, a Turkmen and Zaza Kurd teenager living in Turkey.  We had a very productive and civil conversation. We discussed some of the existential challenges surrounding the Turkmen communities and how these obstacles can not impede their progress. I realized how intertwined our cultures are with that of Turkmen. We shared very interesting anecdotes about each other's culture...

Today, my guest is Adiva, a Sephardic Jew from Turkey. My guest today cherishes her dual heritage both from Turkey and the USA. She spoke Ladino at home, a language that intertwined Spanish, Hebrew, and Turkish in the bustling streets of her city. But life was not always easy for Adiva. The remnants of past prejudices lingered, and she often faced discrimination. We exchanged ideas on the complica...

Our guest is Alaa, an Egyptian woman living in Turkey. As a final-year medical student studying in Turkey, she described the various challenges she faced as a hijabi woman in Turkey. She said that although Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country, she has encountered some people who called her “Syrian” and harassed her physically and verbally just because of her appearance. We discussed Turks' ten...

Our guest is Jirayir, an Armenian-Turk living in Turkey. He was born in Turkey and his family has been living in Turkey for three generations. His grandfather was a victim of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. They escaped death by taking refuge in the western side of Anatolia. He said that when he was a child, he was afraid of speaking Armenian, and his father also did not let him speak Armenian in p...

Our guest today was Kayra, a half-Zaza Kurd and half-Turkmen teenager living in Turkey. We discussed some of the prevalent issues facing the Zaza Kurds in Turkey. She mentioned that Zaza Kurds face both political and cultural restrictions for their identities and would like greater freedom in Turkish society. We had an insightful conversation about the role of Zaza Kurds in Turkish culture and soc...

Today, my guest was Esma Efendi. She is a Turkish-born Syrian Anchorwoman working at TRT Arabic. Her mother is Turkish and from Izmir, while her father is Syrian. Her background spans two completely disparate cultures and identities. She was at the clash of the East and West all from the beginning. She is extremely knowledgeable about The Syrian civil war and its political, social, and economic ra...

Today, our guest was Muhammed, an Egyptian living in Turkey. This wasn't a typical Alienated Voices episode, as we mainly discussed the recent sociopolitical events dominating the fabric of our country. We saw racist and xenophobic protests arising towards the Syrians and immigrants in many parts of the country. We discussed why the anti-immigration sentiment emerged in many countries like Turkey...

In this powerful episode of Alienated Voices, Talha shares his family’s harrowing journey as Bosnian refugees who fled the war and genocide of the 1990s. While they have found success in Turkey, running a thriving textile business, their displacement was not a choice—it was a means of survival. Talha reflects on how xenophobia and Islamophobia ignited the conflict and how his family carries the tr...

Our guest was Deni, an Armenian teenager living in Turkey. He gave specific examples of discrimination and exclusion he experienced in Turkish society. He emphasized the need to uphold minorities and offer them the opportunity to voice themselves. He cherishes his multicultural and ethnic identity and celebrates the diverse hub of Istanbul. Deni believes Istanbul is the epitome of the intersection...

My guest was Melody, an Iranian teenager living in Turkey. We mainly talked about how her bicultural background affects her appreciation of both cultures, languages, and societies. She said that she regrets not learning more about the history and culture of Iran and urges young Iranian teenagers not to lose touch with their native society. She also mentioned how speaking multiple languages is extr...

After you read this, I strongly urge you to listen to the whole episode as it provides crucial observations and real-life experiences about the government’s immigration policies. Our guest was Anthony, a Venezuelan Spanish teacher currently residing in Turkey. His experiences are unmatchable. The amount of struggles and hardships he experienced as a foreigner is beyond words. We talked about the i...

Our guest was Elvan, a senior from Istanbul. As a Kurdish girl in Turkey, she described her experiences in the social and educational environment. She says she can not comprehend the jokes about the Kurdish identity and admits to being ridiculed and humiliated by reckless students’ mockery. She explained how her relatives and family had difficulty receiving assistance from the government and NGOs...

In this podcast, we had Anahita as our guest, a teenage woman of Iranian-Turkish descent living in the USA. We discussed the differences in women's rights between Turkey and Iran. Anahita shared her experiences from her visits to Iran as a teenager, where she had to wear the hijab constantly, impacting her physically and emotionally. We explored the contrast between religion and faith, agreeing th...

Our guest was Safir, a Kurdish teenage girl living in Turkey. She is originally from Adıyaman, a southeastern city in Turkey, but she then moved to Istanbul to pursue education in one of the best high schools in Turkey. She talked about this transition in her life. She gave examples of some extent of discrimination and bias she and her family experienced as a result of a significant change in thei...

Our guest is Serra, a Bulgarian Turk living in Turkey. Her mother, as a teenager, was deported from Bulgaria by the authorities just because she was Turkish and had to migrate to Turkey. However, what she experienced in Turkey was not so inclusive and encapsulating. She was not considered Turkish and was treated as a foreigner by her neighbors. Her mother also faced significant educational hardshi...

Our guest is Alek, an Armenian teenager living in Turkey. He thinks he does not belong to any particular country, neither Turkey nor Armenia. When he visited Armenia as an Armenian athlete living in Turkey, he was discriminated against and ostracized. He says Armenia does not consider Armenians living in Turkey as true Armenians, which makes him feel lost and “stuck between two walls.” Just becaus...

Our guest is Rojhat. He is from Van, a southeastern city of Turkey where most of the population is Kurdish. He talks about the structural bias and discrimination against the Kurdish people in Turkey. He gives several examples of incidents in which he was treated disrespectfully and disdainfully by many of his friends. His family has long had tensions and disagreements with the police. For instance...

Our guest is Ahmed, a Jordanian medical student studying in Turkey. Because he is of middle eastern descent and has a darker skin color, he was associated with being a Syrian refugee multiple times in his work environment. Patients verbally and physically harassed him for having an appearance that resembles that of a Syrian refugee, which he finds to be extremely offensive and disrespectful. We di...

Our guest is Berjin, a high school student from Turkey. She is Kurdish. She has faced discrimination and racism many times in her school, social community, and neighborhood. She says that her typical Kurdish name shapes other people’s perceptions and immediately constructs an impression of her. In her environment, people associate being Kurdish with disgrace and lowness. Berjin exemplifies several...

Today, my guest was Gül, a Syriac woman living in Turkey. She shared her experience growing up in Turkey as a Syriac. Having a double identity has undoubtedly shaped her upbringing. She mentioned that the Syriacs are generally welcomed positively within the Turkish community, mainly because they have not been as demanding and persistent in their minority rights as other significant groups like Arm...

Our guest is Serdar, who was born in Turkey and lived there until graduating from Bogaziçi University. He is an active member of the gay community in Istanbul. He says that he was a privileged gay person as his family and his high school environment could not have been more accepting and inclusive. He elaborated on what it means to be gay for him and when he actually came out as gay to his family,...

In this episode of Alienated Voices, we explore the inspiring success story of the Laz people, an ethnic group from Turkey's Black Sea region. Host Can Sinan interviews Mehmet, a proud Laz community member, who shares how the Laz have seamlessly integrated into Turkish society while preserving their rich cultural heritage. From their unique language, Lazuri, to contributions in construction, music...

Our guest is Nilsu, a high school student from Turkey. She identifies as a lesbian-questioning unlabelled queer person. She explained what it means and how it feels to be a queer person in a predominantly Muslim country. She mentioned several cases of discrimination and bullying she encountered in her environment. Although she believes that she is a privileged queer person because of having a rath...

Our guest is Medical practitioner Jamal from Ghana. He moved to Turkey to study in medical school and pursue undergraduate research. We had an enlightening conversation about fitting in Turkey, integrating into the culture, and the essentiality of language. He elaborated on several instances of discrimination, segregation, and racism that he encountered in Turkey. We discussed both the positive an...

Our guest is Doctor Mahmut, a Palestinian doctor who has moved to Turkey from Lebanon to study medical school. We had a wonderful and inspiring conversation about his experiences in Turkey, how he fit in, and what he encountered. Ranging from the Gaza conflict to the discrimination against Arabs in Turkey due to the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis, our topics of conversation necessitated mutual resp...