A Turkish teenager who appeared on a live TV broadcast on the occasion of Turkey’s National Sovereignty and Children’s Day said her future dream was to become a German citizen after she studies medicine in Germany.
The female student was responding to a question from the NTV presenter who asked the student what her dream for the future was in terms of academics.
“I want to study medicine at the University of Cologne in Germany, then perhaps I could become a German citizen,” said the student, sparking surprise on the part of the presenter.
Then the presenter said there were no limits to the dreams of children on Children’s Day and that the student was very specific about her dreams for the future.
The student’s response attracted widespread attention on social media, with many users saying that the student’s dream of becoming a German citizen shows how desperate the situation is in Turkey and that even children are aware that they won’t be able to realize their dreams in Turkey.
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Mustafa Yeneroğlu also commented on the student’s response on social media.
“If one of our children who looks at the world with hope wants to study in Germany and become a German citizen to realize her dreams, we politicians should come to our senses and think about this,” he tweeted.
Thousands of people have left Turkey since a failed coup attempt in July 2016 following which the Turkish government extensively curbed free speech, silenced the independent media and jailed its critics under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.
On Tuesday Turkey marked the 99th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish parliament, which was declared National Sovereignty and Children’s Day by the nation’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Since Atatürk dedicated the Turkish Republic to children, Turkish schoolchildren take seats in parliament and other government offices for the day and symbolically govern the country.
Source: Turkish Minute
