How the Yasan family fled Istanbul to settle in ‘relaxed and welcoming’ NH

Omer Yasan and Cigdem Yasan at their home in Bedford. (Photo by Scott Merrill)

What is the value of time spent waiting? For the Yasan family of Bedford, it was the security of being free from political persecution by the Turkish government and the chance to one day become American citizens.

Coincidentally, it was on July 4 when the long wait ended for Omer Yasan, 47, his wife Cigdem, 40, and their children Safiye and Arif, 15 and 12. After nearly four years, the Yasan family was granted asylum by the U.S. government.

Sitting at their home recently with attorney Lina Shayo, of Mesa Law in Manchester, the Yasans described the alarming circumstances that led them from Istanbul, where Omer was employed in IT as a purchasing manager for a bank, to the United States.

The Yasans’ journey toward asylum in the U.S. began in Istanbul shortly after the failed July 15, 2016, coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Erdogan blamed the attempted coup on the Hizmet community, a progressive Muslim group known around the world for their work in education, disaster relief and medicine.

Omer and Cigdem were active members of Hizmet in Turkey, along with many of their friends, co-workers and neighbors.

“My kids went to Hizmet school. Everyone knew us as Hizmet people in the community. Before Erdogan, things were improving. For 15 years, never a problem. Never anything illegal,” Omer said.

Members of Hizmet, which means “service” in Turkish, are inspired by the teachings of Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, who currently resides in the U.S. While the Turkish government sought the immediate extradition of Gulen, naming him the leader of the coup, then-Secretary of State John Kerry said the allegations against him were unsubstantiated. Kerry invited the Turkish government, “to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny.”

To this day, that evidence has not been presented. Within days of the attempted coup, Hizmet members were labeled terrorists by Erdogan, and a series of targeted detentions, arrests and oppression of Hizmet members began.

Along with these detentions and arrests came the nationalization of Turkish institutions, including the judiciary.

Safiye, interpreting for her father, explained: “There was no court system in place. When innocent people were brought to courts and judges said they were innocent, they were fired. Erdogan appointed his own judges.

Some people were thrown into jail without being told why. And some stayed for two years and were then released without a finding. There was no due process.”

“The government targeted the Hizmet movement because they were able to point out the wrongs of the government, and, after the coup, they were able to label them as terrorists,” he explained. “I’m a Hizmet member, but, Hizmet doesn’t engage in illegal behavior. We never touch guns or have illegal meetings. They fight for peace. They bring people together as brothers and sisters, human beings. It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor, Muslim or Christian.”

Omer was first notified he was on a list of Hizmet members after being alerted by a human resources manager at the bank where he worked. At this time, he said, many Hizmet companies were being put under the control of the government and Hizmet workers were fired. Forty people, he said, were sent outside of his workplace after the coup and arrested.

“People were arrested from all walks of life. Business people, army, doctors, teachers. Nine hundred babies are now jailed in Turkey. Which country jails babies?” Safiye, who was 11 when she came to the U.S., drew comparisons between what is happening in Turkey and movements throughout history.

“When I read a book about Hitler last year in school, I saw so many similarities,” she says. “It’s not the same, but it’s similar in ways. Here there is the First Amendment. We are respectful of rules. We go to court. If I make a mistake, we go to court and there is a trial and fairness.

If there were proper trials in Turkey, we would accept results, but this didn’t happen. Many people were tortured to death and some died in jails.”

The decision to flee

Imagine fleeing your country, leaving everything — furniture, cars, home and family - behind. How would you hold up? For the Yasan family, this was their lived experience. Several weeks after the coup, the Yasans acquired tourist visas for the U.S. with the intention of returning to their home and family after the political situation was resolved.

They haven’t been back since then. Omer, who had traveled to the U.S. on previous business trips, said New Hampshire reminded him of home.

“The first time I visited I saw the license plate, ‘Live Free or Die,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my, this is a good place.’ This whole area is cool. I lived in Turkey in a big city and it was stressful. I like New Hampshire. It feels cool and relaxed and welcoming.”

While the Yasans’ plan was to return to Turkey, anticipating the political situation there would subside, they began considering other options when it didn’t happen. They met immigration attorney George Bruno at the Turkish Cultural Center on Chestnut Street in Manchester. After the meeting, a decision was made to begin the asylum process.

“We realized we couldn’t return. Five months later, we started the asylum process,” Omer said. Bruno, he said, he knew about the Hizmet movement. “I told him my story, and he agreed to take the case. He’s a very smart man.”

Bruno is an experienced immigration attorney who served as the first director of New Hampshire Legal Assistance and was ambassador to Belize under President Clinton.

He is currently of counsel for the Mesa Law firm where he works with Shayo and Enrique Mesa. While he said he is “mostly retired,” his career has revolved around a commitment to advising refugees and asylum seekers like the Yasans.

“There’s a very strong Turkish community in Manchester, and for many years I’d been attending their meetings. I had become known to the leadership of the Turkish cultural center, and I had been in Turkey by happenstance a few months after the coup; it was becoming a police state and people were scared … they still are,” Bruno says.

Immigration attorneys George Bruno and Lina Shayo at the Mesa Law firm in Manchester.

Unlike many, the Yasans didn’t go through a refugee camp struggle. Once they came to the United States, they requested asylum, realizing their friends, neighbors and colleagues were being arrested.

“They felt they needed to do something before their turn came,” Bruno says, while stressing the importance of immigration for the health of the country. “Immigration, to a large extent, is the lifeblood of the U.S. It’s one of things that makes us a great country. We are a safe harbor for those seeking refuge.”

Establishing credibility

Attorney Shayo was introduced to the Yasan family by Bruno in 2016, and their case would become the first Turkish asylum case of her career.

The first step, when interviewing potential asylum clients, she said, is establishing credibility.

“I listen to my client’s stories about what’s happening to them and I have to suspend belief,” she says. “I’m always asking myself ‘is what you’re telling me credible?’ And I’m also asking ‘how does it work?’ You have to prove that he or she believes they’re in danger and that they’re objectively in danger.”

Providing an unbiased account and establishing credibility for clients’ stories has become more difficult under the Trump administration, according to Shayo. Even when an applicant is shown to be objectively in danger, the State Department has been denying applications, claiming at times the applicant’s appeal for protection is not the responsibility of the U.S. government.

“With the Yasan’s case, there was a well-documented persecution against Hizmet members, and it was established that this group of people were not receiving due process,” she says.

The most rewarding part of being an immigration attorney for Shayo is being exposed to a variety of cultures. She views her work as an opportunity to learn about her clients’ lives.

“The best part of the job is when you get a grant for a case like this and you know this moment is going to change a family’s life for generations to come,” she says. “To have had a small part in that is life changing.”

In new Hampshire, there are only ten asylum attorneys who regularly do this type of work, and Shayo credits the new Hampshire Bar as a collegial group to work with.

“There is not one of them i couldn’t call and ask about a case,” she says.

The power of compassion

The Matbah Mediterranean restaurant on Elm Street in Manchester sits vacant today with a “for Sale” sign taped to the front door. In 2019, it received an award in The Hippo for Best Mediterranean cuisine. The closure was due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the memory of the place and the connection to the yasans’ story remains. It is the story of being welcomed to a new country by strangers and of giving back to the community.

The yasans opened the restaurant not long after arriving in the U.S. with the help of strangers who donated their money and time to its success. Omer and Cigdem worked seven days a week at the restaurant while neighbors took their children swimming or to parks while they worked.

From all accounts, Matbah was a place to build community and to eat fresh, quality Turkish food. For the yasans, the restaurant also provided a chance to meet new people and to earn a living.

The restaurant serves as a reminder of the power of compassion and the importance of community for them.

“There were no Turkish restaurants in the area, and this was a very positive time for us,” Omer said. “When we first moved here, we put all of our money towards the restaurant and we didn’t have money for advertising. One of the customers offered his services to advertise for the restaurant. He didn’t take any money, and it was after this that i understood I was in the right place.”

Shayo expressed sadness that the restaurant is no longer open, but she recalled fond memories there.

“I loved the restaurant. George would go, I would go. I would bring people there,” she said. “Matbah felt very genuine. It was a fun place to be. It’s an important part of downtown and the story of america. Matbah was a place for people to just be together.”

The Yasans’ asylum is just one step in a long journey. To become citizens they must have asylum status for one year before obtaining green cards. Five years after that, they will be able to apply for citizenship.

For now, they are adjusting well to life in New Hampshire. Both Omer and Cigdem are completing business degrees, and their children are enrolled in area schools.

“Thirteen hundred days is a very long time,” Omer Yasan said, speaking from his back porch. “Me and my family thank the attorneys and all of the others we’ve worked with so much. We like NH. I feel safe here, and I believe in the democracy. We just want to be helpful to others and add new things for people in the U.S. to raise our children, to be helpful and to add value.”

This article is being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.