Tunisian girl's love for Turkish language makes her country's first host of radio show in Turkish

By Mehmet Akif Turan

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – A young Tunisian woman's love for the Turkish language made her the country's first host of a radio program in Turkish.

Sara Rahuma began to learn Turkish off her own bat when she was 11-12 years old because of her love for Turkish. However, she began to have proper Turkish lessons in high school as she took them as an elective course.

After completing her master's degree in Hygiene and Environmental Safety, she -- having her bachelor's degrees in biotechnology and multimedia -- continued her education in the field of media at the Institute of New Technologies.

There, Rahuma joined the institute's multimedia club and began preparing radio programs in Turkish.

Rahuma -- now hosting her radio show "Türkce Konusalım" (Let's Talk in Turkish) -- told Anadolu about her adventure with the Turkish language.

"When I first discovered Turkish, I was in primary school. I began to learn Turkish on my own. How to pronounce Turkish words? How is the alphabet? I slowly started to learn all this," she said.

- 'Turkish is a part of my life'

Rahuma had difficulty learning the Turkish language on her own, particularly the Turkish language pronunciation.

She says: "At first, while learning Turkish, I couldn't practice even if I understood it. As far as I remember, no one around me knew or learning Turkish back then. So I used to feel special."

The young girl had no idea of how to improve her Turkish after high school, she said, adding it was a turning point in her life when she learned that Turkish lessons are given at the April 9 University during her university education.

"I attended the lectures of Musa Kaya, who teaches at the university, and I took Turkish lessons with the students I could practice with for four years."

She noted, "I can say that I really learned Turkish. After learning it, Turkish became a part of my life."

-Turkish radio program, a first for Tunisia

Rahuma is proud of achieving a first in Tunisia and she is pleased to realize her dream of making a radio program in Turkish during her education.

After joining her institute's multimedia club with a friend, she got the opportunity to fulfill her dream of having her own radio show, she said.
"However, I thought I wouldn't be accepted because I was too shy. When our trial radio program was approved by the club president, we had the opportunity to start it right away."

As she made her radio program in Arabic for two years, Rahuma said, "We wanted to do something more special and new."

"In consultation with my Turkish teachers, I prepared a good radio show. I wanted my work to leave a mark and be very special," she said.
Addressing her audience in Turkish, she also gives information about Turkish culture and plays Turkish songs.

Rahuma said that her radio program that began last November is well received and that the Tunisian audience, as well as the representatives of Turkish institutions in Tunisia, support her radio show.

Thanking those who support her, Rahuma said, "My dear Turkish teachers who established Turkish Clubs at school and Turkish institutions in Tunisia have always supported me."

She also attended the Turkish Summer Course of Yunus Emre Institute in 2018 and did an internship at Anadolu Agency's office in Tunisia while studying multimedia.

With her Turkish teacher Musa Kaya, she also published a magazine named 'Ayyildiz' (StarCrescent).

Her efforts to improve her Turkish still continue by watching Turkish movies and reading books of poems, she said.

She underlined: "I want to call out to everyone here, if you have something you believe in, a dream or a goal, go after it and never let go. Learning Turkish has changed my life."

"It was a very difficult process. I was trying to learn Turkish in an environment where no one knew Turkish, but I did not give up and finally realized my dream."