Bahar Borazan

Biography:
He was born in 1963 in Kardzhali, Bulgaria. In 1971, he emigrated to Turkey when he was 7 years old and graduated from Gazi University Faculty of Technical Education in 1986. Throughout his career, he worked in the automotive sector in Bursa and retired in 2014; but still continues his career as an education consultant. Married and a father of one, Bahar Borazan is a member of Bursa Photographic Arts Association.

His involvement with photography comes from his father’s interest in photography. His first tries with the dark room was in the laboratory of the high school of which he was a student in 1980. Throughout his university education, he kept taking photos and participated in the basic photography trainings offered at the same university. He took part in several group exhibitions in his company’s photography club.

He mostly focuses on topics related to people and life in his photographs.

Exhibition: Red Passport
The thought of migration is always there for Turks living in Bulgaria. 1912, 1950, 1971 and finally 1989 migrations are major social movements.

People who migrated to Turkey from Bulgaria have brought with them memories, the Balkan culture and their ways of living and subsequently affected the geographies in which they settled.

Finally, as a result of the oppression and assimilation policies of the Bulgarian government against Turks, they were forced to migrate from Bulgaria to Turkey in 1989. They had to leave the lands they lived for centuries because of the oppression of the Socialist Bulgarian Government, and migrated to Turkey, their homeland, with the initiative of Turgut Özal.

Immigrants from Bulgaria had to start from scratch since they had left behind their savings, their social and political rights.

The equilibrium in Bulgaria began to shift after 1991, when the social regime was overthrown and a democratic system was put in its place. Our brothers and sisters started to win back their political, social and economic rights. It is during this period that in addition to their Turkish identity, they also took back their Bulgarian identity, making them dual citizens.

Although the color of Turkish passports turned red, the term “red passport” brings to mind the Bulgarian passport among migrants from Bulgaria. That’s because until a short time ago, Turkish passports’ color was blue.

A source of pride among the migrants, this little red document has increased in value with the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union. Turks with the red passport have freedom of movement throughout the world. However, at heart, lies a strong Turkish identity which understands very well the value of their flag because of what happened in the past.

This post is also available in: Turkish