Turkish genealogy database fascinates, frightens Turks. "The government has made Turkey's [population registers public for the first time, identifying ethnic Armenians and other minorities and excited Turks immediately crashed the system." Show more
"For a long time, the official policy was that #Turks formed a cohesive ethnic identity in #Turkey. But less than two weeks ago, on Feb. 8, population registers were officially opened to the public via an online #genealogy database. The system crashed quickly under the demand. Some people who had always boasted of their "pure" Turkish ancestry were shocked to learn they actually had other ethnic and religious roots."
#Armenians #Greeks #Jews $minorities #islam #converts
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/02/turkey-turks-become-obsessed-with-genealogy.html
Turkish genealogy database fascinates, frightens Turks. "The government has made Turkey's [population registers public for the first time, identifying ethnic Armenians and other minorities and excited Turks immediately crashed the system." Show more
This is one of the few things I would grant as a real achievement of Western culture: people, if they wish so, can overcome their "heritage". It is the effect of many changes in the society, not all of them beneficial per se. But there are places and groups, easy to find, which support, at least in declarations, "reinventing ourselves". There is a social space (granted, narrowing in recent years) for people who want to deal with the burden, put on them by their ancestors.
It is very imperfect, but it exists. Because collective Western memory still retains the horror of atrocities that were the result of ethnic and racial labelling, done by states.
For the sake of Turkish people, who I respect and like the more I learn them, I hope they will not need such trauma to change the course. But we can only hope.