Little Sweden in Anatolia

It all started with a letter written by Abdullah Yücel, who went to Sweden as a worker in 1965, to his friend, "Tell everyone in Kulu so that they can hear. There is food in Sweden, there is work, there is money, they should come". Now 50 thousand Kululu live in Sweden. Kulu district of Konya is one of the most important propaganda centers of the Swedish elections.

While Kulu district of Konya was a quiet town in the 1960s, an influx of workers started from Turkey to Europe at that time. Kulu also joined this migration caravan. Before Kulu, a small group of workers went to Sweden in 1965. The first was followed by a second caravan of 5 people, including Abdullah Yücel. Arriving in Sweden after a long journey, Yücel wrote a letter to his friend İsmail Sayan in Kulu: “Tell everyone in Kulu so they can hear. There is food in Sweden, there is work in Sweden, there is money in Sweden, let them come!” After a short while, young people from Kulu, who were able to work, set out to go to Sweden. Those who went to Sweden and set up their order took other members of their family with them. Thus, the number of Kulu in Sweden exceeded 50 thousand in time.

They will vote in Kulu

In Kulu, which has a population of approximately 50 thousand, ballot boxes will be set up for the elections to be held in Sweden in September. Since Kulu people who lives in Sweden is a parliamentary candidate from all three parties, the candidates also carry out their election work in Kulu. Posters of the candidates are hung on Olof Palme Boulevard. One of the parliamentary candidates whose posters were hung on the billboards is Mikail Yuksel, the right-wing Liberal Center Party's first-ranked deputy candidate for the Gothenburg region. Yüksel, who is working on the election in Kulu, said, “We were only interested in Turkish politics before. However, I realized that the events in Sweden affect us directly, and I wanted to enter politics and have a say in the political developments that affect the society. “I was met with great interest while I was doing the election work in Kulu.”