Turkish Diaspora Weighs In on Erdogan’s Bid to Bolster His Power
But Mr. Kucukkaya said it had made life more difficult for him in Germany, where he said the reputation of Turks "is already not
that positive." "After those events I was traveling on a train and talking to this nice couple — about life, politics, et cetera, et cetera — and as soon as I told them I am Turkish, they stopped talking to me," Mr. Kucukkaya said in a telephone interview.
"People got ashamed." He added: "Most of us are getting shy of explicitly saying
that we’re Turks — when I say that I’m Turkish, people laugh at me and say: ‘Your president is crazy.’ It’s not a thing that you can be happy with." However, other Turkish expatriates in Europe disagreed strongly.
If she were undecided, Ms. Bulut said by telephone, "it would direct my vote toward ‘yes,’
because if I am a citizen, if I love my country, if I want to protect my Turkish identity, I should take a stance against how Europe acted.
Appalled by Europe’s treatment of Mr. Erdogan, Osman, who divides his time between Germany
and Turkey, decided to vote "yes," even though he voted against the president in recent elections.
He feared that his passport would be confiscated if he voted against the referendum and
that the Turkish government would reveal his vote to its supporters living in the country where he has sought refuge.
As they don’t like the path Turkey takes, they behave worse." Few who responded to the online request for comment or agreed to a follow-up interview said
that European opposition to Mr. Erdogan’s campaign had changed their own minds about how to vote on Sunday.
