SWT STUDENTS SHOW THE WRITE STUFF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 002068 SIPDIS SENSITIVE - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI CVIS PREL SCUL KPAO TU SUBJECT: SWT STUDENTS SHOW THE WRITE STUFF REF: Istanbul 1143 ¶1. (U) Summary: In preparing for the 2007 Summer Work and Travel (SWT) season, we invited representatives of the educational companies here that recruit and help prepare the students' applications to a kick-off meeting at the Consulate on November 3. To pique interest in the SWT program, Post had sponsored an essay contest among the 2006 alumni and announced the winners at the meeting. The essays demonstrated the young Turks we sent to the United States had powerfully positive experiences that opened their eyes, while broadening their horizons. End Summary. -------------- Who the Students Are -------------- ¶2. (U) As we noted in reftel, SWT applicants are university students who travel to the United States for seasonal jobs, generally in the service and tourism sectors. Among other things, they work as waiters, pedicab drivers, ice cream vendors, fish processors, housekeepers, and amusement park ride operators. The program -- which we work hard to promote -- enables Turkish university students of limited means to garner life experiences they might otherwise never have the opportunity to acquire. ¶3. (U) Most of the students we send to America on the SWT program are the first in their families to attend university. Many hail from parts of our Consular district that are underrepresented in terms of travel to the United States. Generally less sophisticated than their Istanbul-born peers, these are the children of Turkey's middle and lower-middle classes. We believe the SWT students present a rich and compelling portrait of Turkish youth. -------------- Telling Their Stories -------------- ¶4. (U) We announced the essay contest at the conclusion of the 2006 SWT season. This is the second year we have sponsored the contest, with the goal of increasing interest in the program by offering a modest prize to students who are best able to put into words how their experiences working and traveling in the United States changed their perspectives. ¶5. (U) Although this year's premium -- a Bosphorus cruise with the Consul General aboard the Consulate's 1923 vintage launch, the "Hiawatha" -- was a draw, the overwhelming response to this year's contest suggests other factors also were at play. Indeed, it appears to us that the climate of anti-Americanism to which students here are exposed fueled both an increase in applications to the SWT program -- Mission Turkey processed approximately 6,500 SWT applicants during FY 2006, compared to just over 3,200 in FY 2005 -- as well as a flood of prose from program alumni that puts the lie to the negative views of the United States propagated by some "opinion leaders" here. -------------- In Their Own Words -------------- ¶6. (U) The following excerpts, drawn from the eight essay contest winners' submissions, offer elegant testament to the value of the SWT program: -- "I had the hardest times of my life. But whatever happened, I think I still love the United States as much as I love my home country." Ufuk Yilmaz, Bogazici University, Department of Translation and Interpreting. -- "Our managers always gave me responsibility, no matter how I handled it. It really helped me to learn American business life." Seda Derinalp, Mersin University, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management. -- "Communication is the key! That's what I learned. If the manager calls you 'buddy' and nominates you to be 'employee of the month,' that makes you the happiest person in the world." Niyazi Il, Cukurova University, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. -- "It helped me get rid of some stereotypes that had been created by media and the society in which I live. Even the simplest thing was done with great seriousness." Fatma Tarlaci, Kadir Has University, American Culture and Literature Department. -- "I understood that making money is not as fun as spending it." Gokhan Basaran, Middle East Technical University, Department of Engineering. ISTANBUL 00002068 002 OF 002 -- "Can it be possible that a foreigner can feel as if she is part of a big family in a completely different culture? I think yes. I had the biggest family in the world which held Muslims and Christians together." Imren Yelmis, Hacetepe University, English Language and Literature Department. -- "Our boss was not just a boss for us, but a teacher as well. I said, 'I cannot do it alone.' He said, 'Of course you can. If someone else can do it, you can do it.' When I went to bed that night, the words rang in my head." Yurttas Yalcin, Yeditepe University, Department of Law. -- "There are rules and people obey them. They mostly obey the traffic rules. I supposed I was in a David Lynch movie, but it was my movie. The director was me, the lead actor was me." Cagri Cig Sigirci, Bahcesehir University, Department of European Union Relations. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The SWT program packs a tremendous transformational punch. The young people we send today may not become Turkey's leaders tomorrow, but they always will carry vivid memories of living and working in the United States. Along with implanting the "subversive" idea that responsible citizenship requires drawing on personal experiences -- vice others' opinions -- in formulating one's views, SWT seeds this society with Turks who, when the United States is assailed for one perceived failing or another, will turn to their neighbors and say, "Now, wait a minute. I spent a summer in America. Let me tell you how it really is." ¶8. (U) Full texts of the winning essays can be found on our intranet website at http://10.166.64.6/index.html. JONES