Turks in Belgium

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Turkish Belgium
poptime = Est. 230,000

langs = Turkish, Dutch, French
rels = Cultural Muslim

Turkish people in Belgium are either Turkish people who live in Belgium even though having been born outside Belgium, or are Belgian-born, but have Turkish roots (Turkish-Belgium). By Turkish roots, this could mean roots linking back to Turkey, the island of Cyprus or the communities of the Turkish diaspora. There are currently 230,000 Turks living in Belgium.

Immigration from Turkey to Belgium started in 1963. Among the over 200,000 Turks living in Belgium, it is especially the third generation that is playing a guiding role in the business world. In Belgium, which has a population of 10.3 million, Turks form one of the largest immigrant groups.

Demographics

The majority of Turks live in the Schaarbeek district. The Chaussee De Haecht street, with its pizzerias, pastry shops, cafes, and barbers, is reminiscent of a Turkish street. According to the Turkish Consulate in Antwerp, the number of Turks there is about 75,000, and there are 115 Turkish associations just in Antwerp. There are an addition 82 Turkish associations in Brussels. Immigrants from Afyon Emirdag form the majority of Turks living in Belgium.

Organisations and associations

*The Association of Turkish Businessman in Belgium (BETIAD), was founded in Brussels in 1997, is one of the leading Turkish trade associations in the country, aiming to bring together Turkish businessmen.
*The Association of Turkish Businessman (UNACO), was founded in 2004 in the port town of Antwerp and aims, besides bringing Turkish businessmen together, to contribute to the relations between Turkey and Belgium and between Turkey and the European Union.

First Parliament members

There is a Turkish representative in the Federal Parliament of Belgium. Cemal Cavdarlı is the first and the only Turk in the Federal Parliament. Belgium’s parliament is made up of two chambers, the Belgian Senate and the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives. There have been two other people of Turkish origin elected to the Senate before, but not to the House of Representatives.

Music

Turks have also contributed to music in Belgium, recently Hadise daughter of a family from Sivas was in the pop music world in Belgium. Hadise made a name for herself in 2003 in the “Idool” song contest sponsored by VTM, the largest Belgian broadcaster. Her songs “Stir Me Up” and her album “Milk Chocolate Girl” were on top of the charts for a long time.

Notable people

*Bülent Akın
*Hakan Bayraktar
*Hadise
*Onur Kaya
*Önder Turacı
*Muhammet Hanifi Yoldaş
*Gulus Gulcugil Turkmen a.k.a. Betty Ween

Further reading

* cite journal
quotes =
last = Wets
first = Johan
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 2006
month = March
title = The Turkish Community in Austria and Belgium: The Challenge of Integration
journal = Turkish Studies
volume = 7
issue = 1
pages = 85–100
issn =
pmid =
doi =
id =
url =

External links

* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BelcikadaYasayanTurkler/ Turks in Belgium]
* [http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=91873 Turkish Daily News]
* [http://www.bteu.de/print.php?sid=760&POSTNUKESID=440567585ecbaf7f231a1d81c349a449 Belgian-Turkish Business Association]
* [http://www.wearetheturks.org/ We are the Turks]
* [http://www.humo.be/cps/rde/xchg/humo/hs.xsl/DezeWeek_index_4426.html Interview with Belgian magazine, in Dutch, accessed on 2007/03/16]
* [http://www.belturk.be Belturk, Turkish news webpage based in Belgium]