you know, history is a funny thing. some politicians that might have a hard time remembering what exactly happened, let’s say, 60 years ago, will have no problem at all remembering events that took place, well, 322 years ago. back then, in 1683, osmanian troops besieged vienna. it was a grim situation, and it took the combined military power of austria, poland, bavaria and saxony to push them back. 322 years ago.

now, in the 21st century, the osmanian empire is no more, and turkey is on it’s way to join the european union. yes, it will take at least 10 to 15 years for them to become a member, and there is much to be done until then, but if i recall right, they have made a point in not trying to invade western europe for quite some time now. well, some far-right nationalists might think otherwise. i don’t have access to exact numbers right now, but I think it’s safe to assume that between 5 and 10% of the austrian population are turkish immigrants, probably a bit more in vienna than in the other parts of the country. are they god’s gift to humankind, creatures of light, always fair and just? no. are they bloodthirsty pillaging demons that want to devour us and destroy everything we hold dear? nope. are they people just like you and me, some good, some bad, some indifferent? hell, yes. doesn’t take a degree to figure that one out, just a walk in the park. any park.

some people have a hard time accepting that fact, of course. when certain politicians take some time off from showing us that black people are, besides other things, very aggressive, they will explain to everyone that wants to know that moslems come to austria to reproduce like mad and then destroy the occident. probably with the use of fertility-enhancing hormones, too. and some are even afraid of quantum-style city morphing.

let me take a look out of the window.

• rampaging drug-dealing mobs of very aggressive afro-americans? negative.
• mosques being built at top speed over the burning ruins of christian churches? negative.
• afro-islamic battle robots crushing the city under their aggressive hormone-pumped feet? negative.

but since actual facts can’t stop the righteous people of the freedom party from doing their important work for the reic… er, for the republic, they always find some new obscenity to show around. which brings me to today’s “interesting art and/or social project that the fpö doesn’t approve of”. i should make a banner or something for this, seeing how I’ll probably need it at least once a day till the next elections.

feridun zaimoglu, a german-turkish author and artist, covered the kunsthalle wien in turkish flags as a prelude to “kanak attack”, a collection of presentations, discussions and readings around turkey and their attempt to join the EU.

there will be an open discussion on march 11th, 19:00, and a reading on march 12th, 14:00 at the kunsthalle, both with mister zaimoglu, and various exhibitions and readings all through march and april. for more information, look here.

update: our reader patrick just informed me that, according to an oecd statistic from 2000, about 134.500 people of turkish origin live in austria. look here for more info. thanks patrick!

Related posts:

1. kanak attack - the aftermath
2. Soft drink ante portas
3. adware
4. Die Türkenkugel (The Turkish Cannonball)
5. Be Careful Out There