PDF Dosyası - Ankara Üniversitesi Kitaplar Veritabanı

Although Tampere vvas a Tatar centre in Finland, this does not implythat their number has ever been high. In 1910 59 Tatars lived in the city,in 1920 only 31; hovvever, in 1930 their number had increased to 110.The economic state of the Tampere Tatars vvas on the constant rise in the1920s and '30s; e.g. they ovvned seven or eight draper's shops in the city.In particular, a number of families originating from Aktuk enjoyed a reputationfor great vvealth. Beside the trade in textiles and clothes, that infurs vvas placed third-in this context it is vvorth noting that stili in 194098% of the Tatars in Finland vvere engaged in commerce.An independent Islamic congregation vvas established in Tampere in1943. Financially Mr. Ymar Sali, a vvealthy Tatar merchant, rendered thedecision possible. In 1948 he donated a building in the city centre to thecongregation. At present a small mosque and a community centre are locatedin the topmost floor of a block in the main street of Tampere(Hâmeenkatu 29 A). The congregation consists of a little less than onehundred members; in addition a score and a half of the members of theHelsinki congregation are living in Tampere or its neighbourhood; theseoften participate in the activities of the Tampere congregation.Since the outset of the Tatar settlement in Tampere, their youth vvereeducated in Finnish in the normal, compulsory school system of the city.Linguistic assimilation had taken place very rapidly-my intervievvees didnot remember having had any diffıculties at school in this respect. Also inother respects they had no special examples of discrimination to teli as regardsschool or other aspects of life; in a few cases of employment, prejudicesmay have been of some importance. Although this sounds even toogood to be completely true, it seems to be a fact that only seldom vverenegative attitudes directed against the Tatars in Finland.In the 1920s-30s Tampere had a population of 40-50.000 Thus it vvasself-evident that the young knevv each other, they vvent to the sameschools, had hobbies in common -several Tatars vvere vvell-knovvn icehockeyplayers- and, if not earlier, the boys of Tampere met during militaryservice. These everyday contacts eroded prejudices. One of the supportingfactors of adaptation vvas the outvvard appearance of the Tatarsvvhich only in a fevv cases deviates from that of the rest of the populationof Finland. As Mr. Neuman put it: "We carry features of this province ofHame. Another Finn may discera that vve come from the city of Tamperebut nobody that vve might be a kind of foreigners".Without radical diffıculties the members of the Tatar communityhave been able to adapt to Finnish society. Their professional status hasalso changed: instead of being businessmen as in the '40s, at present Tatarsmay be met as bank managers, physicians, lavvyers, tax officials, photographers,football players ete. In these cases solely their Turk namesmay arouse the attention of "the ordinary Finn".726