The Little Things- Bigger Than I Thought

I knew that Turkey has had an application in to the European Union for awhile now, but I had no idea just how long and contentious the application process has been. Turkey first applied to the European Community in 1963, when it was told that its accession would be done in three stages. The second stage was completed in 1994, with very little work being done since then. Fifty states applied at the same time as Turkey and all others except Turkey have received an invitation to join. To add insult to injury, states like Albania and Lithuania, admittedly less modernized and applying far later, have already joined. So what’s the deal? Why has Turkey been snubbed? Should it even continue its quest for inclusion in the EU?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. There seem to be problems with every solution people can imagine, to the point where a decade-long gridlock sounds like the most likely outcome at this point.



But should Turkey finally join the EU, what are the biggest problems it will face? Adopting the European Constitution? Changing currency? Nope. Apparently the biggest concern among Turkish people about joining the European Union is what to do about the changes they might have to make to their eating habits. It sounds funny at first, but when you consider the issue, it actually makes since. The constitution and other legal/political changes won’t really affect the day to day lives of the average Turk. What food they can consume will affect their day to day lives in a much more intimate way.

It sheds a little light on what it takes to make large-scale changes in a social group. Generally people will be less concerned with the high politics of it all and will instead ask “So what does this mean for my family meals? How will my habits be affected?” The small things I never considered before get politicized here in a way that is really fascinating.



Another example of this is the headscarf. We learned that it is not really a private issue when a young woman decides to wear a headscarf, but instead a very public/political declaration. It’s a performance meant to illicit a reaction. Ironically, there are some young women using the modesty of the headscarf to be provocative. I’ve never thought of the scarf in this way- I always learned it was a symbol of oppression. One of the best things this trip to Turkey has done is to totally wipe out what I thought I knew and confuse me to no end. I love it.