Migration Stories

Turkey is a Balkan country not only geographically but also historically and sociocultural. Its body is Anatolia, one arm is the Balkans, and one arm is the Caucasus. This country, which stretches from Asia to Europe like a mare's head, is ours. As the heir of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey has deep historical and socio-cultural ties with the peoples living in this geography. As the Ottoman Empire weakened and withdrew from the Balkans, migrations from the Balkans to Anatolia began. These migrations created a population of Balkan origin estimated at about 7 million in modern-day Turkey. In addition, about 9.5 million Muslims live in the Balkan countries today, including about 1.5 million Turks. The relations between Turkey and the Balkan countries living in neighbouring communities, weakened by the intervention of distances and borders, language, cultural and historical ties, to the point of oblivion arrived, people were unaware of each other, and began to perceive each other as foreign. Living under one roof in peace and security during the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans subjects yearn for the past and express this on every platform at every opportunity.

The Balkans are also important for Turkey's relations with Europe. The Balkans are Turkey's path to Europe. The link between Turkey and European countries passes through this region. Therefore, the existence of tight ties, peace and stability in the Balkans is important in terms of not disrupting economic and political relations with both Turkey and European security. The 90s are a period when the Cold War period ends and socialist regimes fall.
During this period, Balkan countries and societies entered a process of radical change. All this process of radical change has brought new socio-cultural and political problems to the agenda. The most destructive and painful of these problems are undoubtedly the wars that have taken place. Bad memories of these wars still persist, making it difficult to solve inter-country problems.

In addition, socio-economic problems such as unemployment and poverty are still not fully solved. In order for these problems to be solved and the current potential to be evaluated in the best possible way, it is necessary to develop cooperation between the Balkan countries and maintain the development process in a healthy way. Co-operation and development are essential conditions for sustainable peace, democracy and stability in the Balkans. As young people acting with this goal and mission and owning the future, we have important tasks. With our project, we want to revive our forgotten language, history, socio-cultural and spiritual ties and show that the Balkans and young people are a bridge in creating the strong foundations of a Europe where borders are lifted.