BASEL, Switzerland — The Swiss region of Basel is bracing itself for parliamentary elections due to be held at the end of this month.
A candidate for these elections is a Kurdish woman named Edibe Golgeli.
Golgeli who aims to secure a seat in the regional parliament was born and raised in Basel. Her parents migrated to Switzerland from central Anatolia.
Golgeli studied economics and she now works at a telephone company in Basel. She is also a member of the Swiss Social Democratic party and the local municipality.
Part of Gugeli’s agenda as candidate is to help new immigrants in her region.
“Our region has now become like the other parts of Switzerland and becoming a citizen is quite difficult,” she told Rudaw. “The main requirement now is that an immigrant should know the language here and that may be difficult for some.”
Golgeli said meanwhile, that more than half of the Kurds who live in the Basel region have already become Swiss citizens.
For weeks, Golgeli has been running her campaign in preparation for the September 28, elections.
If she enters the regional parliament, Golgeli says, her priority will be to help immigrants intergrade into Swiss society, help citizens in general and asylum seekers in particular.
“In parliament I will work to make this region a place where people can become citizens more easily,” she says. “I will make sure the topic of citizenship becomes a serous matter where people will work towards meeting the requirements, the most important of which is speaking the language.”
Golgeli says that she speaks 7 seven languages, among them Kurdish that is her mother tongue.
According to Golgeli, 10,000 Kurds live in the Basel region. Most of them are from Marash, Dersim, Erzingan or Central Anatolia.
Golgeli says she has promised to introduce and gain support for the Kurdish cause in both parliament and her Social Democratic party.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/world/5239.html
