Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş stated, " The growing power of Türkiye is reflected in the concrete steps we have taken for Turks living abroad."
Minister Göktaş made a number of visits in Emirdağ district of her hometown Afyonkarahisar, where she travelled to participate in the 17th Expatriate Festival. Göktaş was first welcomed by the protocol at the Republic Square in the district.
Later, Göktaş visited the family cemetery and travelled to the village of Tez. Greeting her fellow citizens here, Göktaş attended the program prepared in the school yard of Tez Primary School. Göktaş cooked Katmer bread here with the residents of the village, distributed bowls of Ashura dessert.
Saying that the lobby of Tez village was very strong, Göktaş added, "Citizens outside the village are as vocal as those living here. Tez village has a WhatsApp group. I am a member of that group, as well. We stay in communication. "The ambiance is so much more different here."
Following the visit, Minister Göktaş visited institutions and shopkeepers in Emirdağ district and visited the AK Parti District Organization and the municipality.
During her visit to the municipality, Göktaş attended the protocol ceremony of the "Emirdağ Nursing Home Project" consisting of modern 1+1 detached houses with a capacity of 72 people and a use area of 65 square meters, which would be built on an area of 2.552 square meters in the district.
The protocol of the project, which was prepared with the aim of providing the older persons of the district with a warm, comfortable and peaceful home where older persons would spend quality time and not feel the deficiencies of their families, was signed by Göktaş, Mayor of Emirdağ Serkan Koyuncu and Sabri Gedikkaya, Provincial Director of Family and Social Services.
Minister Göktaş also visited Fazlı-Macide Hallaç Nursing Home and Emirdağ Nursing Home and met with the residents of the nursing homes. Minister Göktaş chatted with the residents of the nursing home for a while and took note of their demands one by one. Later, Göktaş visited shopkeepers in Cumhuriyet Square and chatted with citizens.
Göktaş also participated in the 16th Emirdağ Expatriate Festival organized in Emirdağ district of her hometown Afyonkarahisar and explained that she was the child of an expatriate family.
Stating that the expatriate was like a strange traveler who longed for home all their lives, Göktaş said, "However, the strong support of the government has started to facilitate the lives of our brothers and sisters living far from the country over the last 20 years."
Stating that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan understood the longing of expatriates for their homeland very well, Göktaş said:
"He has never differentiated us from our brothers and sisters in Türkiye, and expressed this at every opportunity. The spirit of unity that the President renewed in the entire Turkish nation improved the quality of our lives abroad and increased our self-confidence. I know you are proud to say 'I am Turkish' when you travel abroad. Friends living abroad are the most valuable representatives of the country. Each of them is loyal to their national and spiritual values and loyal to their country. We have seen such loyalty in the earthquakes of February 6 as we witnessed it in the resistance of July 15. You have been very closely involved in the needs of earthquake-affected cities, even if they are in distant countries. In addition to your moral support, you have also provided assistance. You sent trucks full of aid. Today we are living through the 6th month of the earthquake. 6 months have passed but we have never forgotten them and we will never forget them. The government continues to stand by those citizens with all its might. Day by day, we have delivered your aid to the citizens and earthquake survivors in warehouses as the Ministry of Family and Social Services."
Minister Göktaş stated, "We have felt your presence closely in the general elections of 2023. The opportunities offered to expatriates under the leadership of Mr. President were appreciated and this satisfaction reflected in the election results. Turks living abroad are also able to evaluate the development of Türkiye very well when looking back to their homeland from the countries lived in. "In this sense, they can clearly see the increasing reputation of the country in the international arena.
Stating that there were more than 6.5 million citizens living abroad at that moment, Göktaş said, "The happiness and peace of each of them is of close concern to us."
Stating that citizens sometimes faced some injustices in the countries that they lived in, Göktaş continued her words as follows:
"Unfortunately, issues such as discrimination, xenophobia and Islamophobia are still on the agenda of European countries in the 21st century. These issues continue to complicate the lives of Muslims living in Western countries. We believe that these issues can be overcome and the world will become a more livable place with the common sensitivity of the countries receiving migration. As a matter of fact, we believe that we, as Türkiye, set an example to the whole world with people-oriented policies on migration. We are trying to offer everyone living in the country a life worthy of human dignity. Similarly, we believe that host countries have a responsibility to improve the life of Turks abroad and to combat discrimination. The development of the country is undoubtedly a source of pride for citizens living in Europe. The growing power of Türkiye is reflected in the concrete steps we are taking for Turks living abroad."
Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş stated that European Turks could vote for elections in Türkiye in the countries where lived in since 2012, and said that with this step, the bond with the citizens in distant countries was preserved and the fateful partnership continued.
Stating that the Ministry had also increased the number of family attaché offices abroad, Göktaş added that the Ministry had attaché offices at the Embassy in Consulates General of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne and Stuttgart.
Stating that Türkiye aimed to establish family attaché offices in France and Belgium, Göktaş emphasized that citizens did not feel alone and offered all necessary guidance and counseling services so that their problems could be solved more easily.
"We have built a hardworking and respected Turkish identity all over the world with national and spiritual values"
Göktaş, who stated that the Ministry made the services accessible for citizens living all over the world and "brought the distant near", completed her words as follows:
"As we expatriates are familiar with, our home is our homeland and our families are our nation. I strongly believe that the secret to the success of citizens living abroad lies in family relationships. The principle of strong individuals, strong women, strong families and strong Türkiye is not limited to the country, but strengthens the power of Türkiye in every part of the world. "Today, we have built a hardworking and respected Turkish identity all over the world with national and spiritual values" The influence of the family ties is very great in achieving this success. Along with families, the love of our homeland has taken us a long way. In fact, those who were the first to leave remember very well that the elders of our families lived a life between work and home in order to preserve the values we cherished. Now, a generation of self-confident Turks, nourished by the power of those values, is growing up in many European cities."