Have you experienced discrimination, racism, tribalism, hunger, and homelessness while living in a foreign country? German-born Birol Bahadir has experienced all of them as an immigrant from a Turkish family. Continue reading to learn more.
Author Birol Bahadir presented Between Two Worlds with passion and openness at the ReadersMagnet Book Confab in Tribeca. His moving story made the audience emotional and inspired. Torn between his Turkish blood and German residence, Bahadir’s story is worth sharing with the world. It’s a raw source of information and learning about culture, immigration, racism, personal struggle, religious discrimination, and more.
A Turkish-German in Dilemma
“I had really difficult times growing up,” shared Birol Bahadir in an Open Mic session at the Book Confab. He spoke about being born in Germany as a Turkish, studying there with German friends, and growing up in the same country. One of the problems encountered by Bahadir includes how he was treated both by his family and friends.
He opened up about his friends and family members not considering him German. Aside from having a different name, Bahadir also grew up with a different culture. For instance, he said, “I learn about the German culture in school, like Christmas, Easter, and all the stuff that fascinated me, but we didn’t have those at home.”
An Immigrant Immigrating in the U.S.
Birol Bahadir’s family migrated to Germany from Turkey around the 1960s. He was born and schooled in a country far different from his root. After experiencing various kinds of discrimination, bullying, and other negative occurrences, Bahadir resettled in the United States.
“I was here in the United States on vacation. I fell in love for the first time,” Bahadir recalled. He further uttered, “I knew one day if I have the opportunity, I’m gonna move to the United States. Because here, people are from all over the world. It doesn’t matter what your name is, how you look whether you’re Black or White or Hispanic or whatever. If they know you’re a good person, you work, you do your best, you help others, it doesn’t matter who you are.”
Between Two Worlds Going Three
The United States of America is a melting pot of many cultures from different races, languages, and regions. Bahadir’s love-at-first-sight of the country, as he shared with the fairgoers of the Book Confab in Tribeca, is due to the fact that acceptance and freedom are valued throughout the states.
Birol Bahadir has tried to go back to Turkey to find his identity. To no avail, he left the country of his family’s origin and dreamed of staying in the U.S. instead. The new challenge for the Turkish-German author is finding his identity in a third and multicultural nation where the issue of immigration is under fiery debate.
Between Two Worlds by Birol Bahadir is a powerful voice for the minority groups living and seeking belongingness in a world far from where they came from. Between Two Worlds by Birol Bahadir is a powerful voice for the minority groups living and seeking belongingness in a world far from where they came from. Learn more about him at birolbahadir.com.
For more in-person events for indie authors, inquire from our senior consultants here at ReadersMagnet. Because of the successful Book Confab in New York, the company will surely create more book fairs for you. Contact us anytime at 1-800-805-0762 or info@readersmagnet.com. We are here to help you.
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