Abdul Turay

This blog requires sophisticated translation to operate. Many articles were written in English and translated into Estonian. Others were written in Estonian and translated into English. Click on the links to see the translated versions.  If you have enjoyed the translations, and  would like a speedy, reliable, and high quality translation service in English, Estonian at competitive prices, please e-mail us to find out more. abdul_turay@yahoo.com

In English A first for Estonia: An elected Black Politician Christian Science Monitor 26 Oct 2013 Turay to take seat on Tallinn city council  Published ERR 22 Oct 2012 Mixed Results for Tallinn City Council  Published ERR 21 Oct 2012  The expat running for city council  Published ERR 16 August 2013  Estonian gets its first Black candidate for city councillor Published ERR 16 August 2013  Interview with Estonian World  6 June 2013 Estonia World  Eesti Keeles I am not a natural social democrat Eesti Päevaleht 25 October 2013 Abdul Turay joins the Social Democratic Party Postimees 24 October 2013  Social Democrats send Abdul Turay to the city Council  Eesti Päevaleht 23 October 2013  Abdul Turay gets into the City Council Postimees 22 Oct 2013 I will represent the views of the whole community in government Postimees 16 August 2013 Kross: we were also interested in Turay Postimees 16 August 2013  Abdul Turay to be a candidate for the social d

A news and current affair portal about Estonia and the other Baltic States.  Mostly opinion pieces and some feature articles. Contact  abdul_turay@yahoo.com skype abdul.turay Facebook  The English Language version of Small white nation is due out latter this year. 

The Great Migration Published Postimees  13 Sept 2012 Recently, I asked a group of young people, if they have Facebook accounts. They looked at me like I was mad. "That's like asking us, do we have a noses?" one of them said. "Come to think of it even people who don't have noses have Facebook accounts," another said to much laughter. Last week 6 th July, Kanal 2 did a program "Minu Facebooki sõbrad". It was a light hearted look at the social network phenomenon. But the whole Facebook is king challenges some of our cherished beliefs about modern Estonia. 10 years ago when I first visited here, Estonia was more advanced than my own country the United Kingdom. It was a revelation. Estonia was my introduction to whole concept of social networking. Rate.ee was founded in May 2002, that's a year before Orkut, or MySpace, two years before Facebook. I so wasn't impressed when I first saw Facebook. "So

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Two Tribes By Abdul Turay Published Postimees 13 August 2012 A couple of years ago, I went along with my wife to a manor house in the heart of England which every August, for the last 30 years, has been a jamboree (Rahvapidu) for the Estonian community in Britain. I expected a celebration of Estonian culture in Britain. Singing, dancing, selling handicrafts and Estonian foods; that sort of thing. I discovered, two tribes gone to war. The foreign Estonians (Väliseestlased) believe they have worked to preserve and promote Estonian culture for over 60 years, not only in the UK but in the other four Väliseestlased communities, Sweden, the USA, Canada and Australia. Here was their view of new Estonian immigrants to Britain. “We don't mix with them at all, we don't socialise, we don't even understand them. It's like apartheid,” said one of them, who understandably didn't want to be name. The story of Estonians in Britain is an inte

On Immigration Policy by Abdul Turay Postimees 13 July 2012 For once I have subject where I can draw on personal experience not just for colouring and commentary but for analysis. Immigration, let's talk about it. You may think you've read everything there is to say, but there are some things that no one is saying, no-one dare say. Once again a gap has opened up between what the business elites and technocrats who run the country want, and what the people want. The elites want more immigrants. The people do not. It really is that simple. The elites are going to win. Here are the arguments if you need reminding. As some of you will remember, last year the Estonian Development Fund (EDF) did an analysis of Estonia's future in the centenary year. Leave aside the oxymoron of a government sponsored venture capital fund, this set out four possible scenarios for Estonia's future. None of these scenarios are perfect but broadly speaking, two