Aarbakke,
Vemund
Degirmencioglu,
Serdar
Nurioglu,
Faruk
Tsolak,
Orhan
Tsolak,
Nihat
Aarbakke,
Vemund
V.
A. was born and raised in Bergen, Norway. He did his undergraduate
studies at the University of Bergen where he studied Philosophy,
History of Religion, Ancient Greek, and Turkish. He has a masters
degree in Balkan Studies from the University of Copenhagen (1992)
with the thesis "Ethnic Rivalry and the Quest for Macedonia
1870-1913". As part of the requirements he studied Modern
Greek, Turkish, and Bulgarian. During his studies he visited Greece,
Turkey, Bulgaria, and Macedonia (FYROM) several times for language
training and to collect material.
His
systematic interest in the minority was triggered by the writings
in the Greek press about the independent MPs during the general
elections in 1989. In 1993 he started to work on his doctoral
thesis which has the preliminary title: "Greece's experience
with independent Muslim MPs-Their role in Greek society and in
the relationship with Turkey.". This was made role in Greek
society and in the relationship with Turkey.". This was made
possible by a grant from the Norwegian Research Council (NFR).
During the next years he did research for extended periods in
Greece and Turkey, and has met all the minority politicians including
the late Sadik Ahmet.
Address:
Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Bergen,
Parkv. 22A, N-5007 Bergen, Norway, Tel. +47 55 58 32 75, Fax +47
55 58 98 91
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Degirmencioglu,
Serdar
Serdar
was born in Ankara, Turkey. He and his family lived in Komotini
for two years and he attended the "Idadi" in second
and third grade. He obtained his BA in psychology at Middle East
Technical University, Ankara, Turkey (1988), and his Ph.D. in
life-span development psychology at Wayne State University, Detroit,
USA (1995). He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for
Policy Research of Northwestern University , Evanston, USA (1995-1997).
Then he returned home to Ankara and joined the faculty at Middle
East Technical University, Department of Psychology. In 1999,
he served as vice president at Turkish Psychological Society (www.psikolog.org.tr).
Since 1998, he is one of the associate editors of Turkish Journal
of Psychology . He
is now a faculty member at Bilgi University, Department of Psychology
in Istanbul.
His
research and publications focus on the developmental significance
of friendships in adolescence; teenage pregnancy and delinquency
among urban youth in the US; and on the interplay between contexts
and individuals. He is also deeply interested in youth activism
and efforts toward achieving democracy and peace.
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Nurioglu
Faruk
Faruk
Nurioglu Gumulcine (Komotini) de dogdu. Ilkokul ve
lise egitimini ayni sehirde tamamladiktan sonra Istanbul Universitesi'nin
Gazetecilik ve Halkla Iliskiler bolumunden 1989 yilinda mezun
oldu. 1990-91 yillarinda Ingiltere'de ingilizce ve Dest Top Publishing
egitimi aldi ve 1994 yilina dek Bati Trakyada yayinlanan cesitli
azinlik yayin organlarinda calisti.1994 yilindan beri Almanyanin
Munih sehrinde webdesigner olarak calisan Nurioglu hala azinlik
gazetelerine yazmaya devam etmektedir.
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Tsolak,
Nihat
Nihat
was born in Amaranda (Yahyabeyli) a small village with some five
hundred souls in Rhodope province, North East of Greece. Biggest
town in the area is Komotini with about fifty thousand people,
Nihat finished gymnasium in Komotini (in Celal Bayar a minority
high school set up in 1950s), after the national service got his
Apolotirion in Rhodes, Benetoklion High School. He then moved
to Scotland to study where he received an MA in Sociology and
MPhil Psychology from Glasgow University. Nihat
lives and works in London. Further details at http://www.rumi.org.uk/ack.htm
Nihat
can be contacted at: ntpl5@yahoo.co.uk
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Tsolak,
Orhan
Orhan
was born in Amaranda (Yahyabeyli) Komotini. He finished gymasium
in Celal Bayar, minority high school, and Lycée at Proto
Likio in Komotini. He studied journalism in Athens, interrupted
his studies because of national service.
Orhan
occasionally writes in the local newspapers in Thrace; he is
interested in Greek politics and in the political situation in
Western Thrace. Currently Orhan is studying Law at Guidhall University
in London. He hopes to specialise in European Jurisprudence.
Orhan
can be contacted at: orhantsolak@hotmail.com
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