Turkish Cypriot diaspora

From Freepedia

Since the founding of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally proclaimed in 1983, the internationally recognized government of the (Greek Southern) Republic of Cyprus has led an economic, political, cultural, and sporting embargo on the TRNC, followed by the entire international community, with the exception of Turkey (though recently, some parts of the embargo have been softened). The effects of the embargo have caused a large number of Turkish Cypriots to move abroad in order to find a better life (and as a result also causing an even larger number of Anatolian Turks to migrate to the TRNC in order to maintain the demographic balance). The Turkish Cypriot diaspora are therefore regarded more as economic refugees than political exiles.

Numbers show that more native-born Turkish Cypriots live outside the TRNC than within (which means that some estimates state that the number of Turkish migrants in the TRNC outnumber the Turkish Cypriots that remain). This has been used for propaganda purposes on both sides (The Greek Cypriots view it as a negative vote for the TRNC by the migrants while the other side view it as a move forced upon them by the embargo).

Most of the disapora can be found in Western Europe; particulary Great Britain. Other sizeable pockets of Turkish Cypriots are located in Australia and North America. A number of these migrants maintain contacts through the Association of Turkish Cypriots Abroad (ATCA).