Fethullah Gulen Tolerance, Dialogue and Peace
Mutlu Tönbekici who is a Turkish journalist, wrote about his recent trip to Uganda. “I’ve been in Uganda for the last 4-5 days to see the schools of the Gulen Movement. As my colleagues missed the flight, I’m the only one here. But this turned out to be a good thing. As they welcomed me as the most precious guest and I could visit the houses of the Turkish people working here in the Turkish schools not like a journalist but a relative.” he says in his article published on Vatan Daily.
“There are 160 Turks living in Uganda and the vast majority of them are the ones working in these schools and their families. They have been here since 1995. To tell you the truth, they are not living under great conditions. It takes devotion to be here. Honestly, they suffer. Electric is unstable, so is the water, their houses are not in favorable conditions. Turkey’s so far away, there was no direct flights until last year. But still the ticket prices are too high. The roads in Uganda are disastrous, streets are full of mud, well the nature is beautiful but the cities are really worn out and far from being hygienic. Despite all this, they live here with great altruism, they have babies and get them educated here. They go to the hospitals here and still they try not to complain. They are calm, patient and they live their lives not knowing whether they will go back to their homeland at all (I believe they don’t even hope to).”
