Where are you from?

Living abroad is not easy, but if you know how to make the most of it, living among foreigners can be a wonderful experience. Every day is like a new lesson because you learn something new every day. Sometimes the lessons are very difficult, sometimes they are easy. Sometimes we do not accept what is said, and sometimes we ask ourselves or those around us questions for which we are looking for answers. 

There are many topics that catch my attention in Turkey, but the fact that Turks start every conversation with the question "Where are you from?" is one of the things that particularly caught my attention. Why can't they continue a conversation with someone without asking this question? I am not referring to this being asked to foreigners living here in Turkey (I will address this in a separate article). Turks often ask where they are from when they start talking among themselves. If this is not the first question, then it is definitely the second. I wondered about the reasons behind this question, researched it, thought about it thoroughly, and wrote it down. 

Given the country's vast territory and the fact that it has been a transit point, a starting point, or a destination for many peoples for centuries, Turkey has a mosaic structure in terms of culture, ethnicity, and religion. It is a country with different geographies and climates that also affect human nature. When one Turk asks another where they are from, it may mean that they cannot deduce it from the person's physical appearance and are curious about their accent. It is highly likely that you will hear this question more often in big cities like Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara.

At first glance, it seems like a necessary question to ask. However, I am of the opinion that asking it almost automatically is not just a simple curiosity. From an ethno-social perspective, it would not be wrong to say that it represents a sign of the individual's classification and positioning in society. The answer given by the person asked can be an indicator of how visible class and identity are in society. The question is based on four major issues: identity (ethnicity), religion (religious order or sect), geography, and class (economic level).

The origin of the Turks' identity problem dates back to the difficult formation of the Republic 100 years ago. In modern Turkey, the entire nation is considered TURKISH, regardless of ethnicity or the language spoken. Atatürk's maxim "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk" emphasizes that everyone living in the country is a Turk. It is debatable whether Jews, Armenians, and Greeks are inside or outside this rule because they are ethnic minorities. The fact that a significant portion of the Kurds, who are a large group quantitatively, do not see/accept themselves as Turks causes discomfort in the country. The construction of nationalism in Turkey 100 years ago was a necessity of the era and conditions. We can say that the effects of this process are still felt in society today.       

"Where are you from?" is a typical question of the republican era. In a country with Albanians, Greeks, Arabs, Circassians, Roma, Armenians, Jews, and Kurds, you want to know who you are talking to. In a country where the culture changes every 10 km, the meaning/right to exist of this question can be accepted. 

It is interesting that the rapid urbanization process that Turkey is going through causes people in a city to ask other people which part of the city, or even which neighborhood they live in, because this is a clue that provides very important cultural and social information. Most of the time, locals see themselves as superior to those who migrate. Rapid urbanization and migration from village to city are made visible by the associations established by people such as those from Sivas, Kayseri, and Trabzon.

Since hometown relationships and solidarity are very intense in Turkey, those who come from small cities to big cities look for people from their own hometowns. There is an admirable closeness based on respect, warmth, and solidarity among citizens from the same city or region. Even in big cities or metropolises, people want to feel safe and be understood, so socializing with their fellow countrymen allows them to cope with urban challenges more easily.

What catches my attention is that the phenomenon of being from the same hometown often provides various advantages. An example of this could be a job interview. If you are lucky enough to come across an employer from the same city or region as you, rest assured that your chances of finding a job will be higher. The same situation happens in some businesses. If business partners are from the same hometown, the business is often successful. 

If you answer the question "Where are you from?" by saying "I am from Istanbul," you will be asked where your father is from. If your father is also from Istanbul, then you will be asked where your grandfather is from. If your grandfather is, for example, from Sivas, then you are automatically considered "from Sivas" rather than originally from Istanbul.

Besides the positive aspects of local patriotism (hometown loyalty), there are also negative aspects. For example, the name of the city a person comes from is like a label for them. The reason for this is that in a society where diversity is multicultural, it is easier and faster to resort to clichés and prejudices to perceive a person's identity and to learn who you are talking to. However, sometimes we should ask ourselves how these clichés and prejudices, which Walter Lippmann called "pictures in our heads," affect our interpersonal communication. Do we start a conversation based on a stereotypical thought, or do we have the patience to learn who the person we are talking to really is? Are we going to put labels on from the beginning, or are we going to let the person express themselves first? Are we participating in supporting ideas of discrimination, hostility, malice, hatred, and extreme nationalism, or ideas of solidarity and humanity? Shall we be human by accepting our differences, or shall we let these differences divide us? These are just a few questions worth thinking about.