Ankara: The trend of violence and the safety of foreigners has become a matter of concern amid shocking reports of the killing of Syrian refugees in Turkey, where refugees were welcomed with open arms.
The country’s economic woes, high rates of unemployment and lack of purchasing power due to inflation have led many to blame foreigners.
The frequent use of anti-refugee rhetoric by politicians has fueled the fires of racism. A Turkish court recently increased water bills for foreigners tenfold by the mayor of the northwestern city of Bolu, Tanju Ozcan, to 100,000 lira ($7,435) for civil marriage ceremonies for foreigners in Turkey. . overturned controversial plans
“He spent more time than he welcomed. If I had the power, I would have used municipal officials to oust him,” Ozcan said. “I know people will talk about human rights and they Call me a fascist. I just don’t care. ,
Anti-immigrant sentiment has been hardened by an influx of Afghans since the Taliban’s takeover of their country in August 2021.
Last week, 19-year-old Syrian refugee Nail al-Naif was killed by a group of men while sleeping in his room in Istanbul. Eight people, including five Turkish nationals and three Afghans, were arrested.
Another young Syrian was stabbed last week in a park in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir after a shopping mall was attacked by Syrians in Istanbul after a Syrian refugee allegedly smoked a Turkish man . had refused to give. ,
In November, three young Syrian workers in the western city of Izmir were burned to death after a fire broke out in their apartments while they were sleeping.
Police detained a Turkish man who admitted he caused the xenophobia-induced fire.
Muge Dalkiran, an expert on migration issues and a junior fellow at the Institute of Anthropology in Vienna, said Turkey’s ongoing competition for economic resources, concerns over ethnic or religious balance and security concerns have made refugees scapegoats.
He told Arab News that tensions have also increased in the media as a result of misinformation, xenophobic discourse and hate speech by public figures from various political parties, who represent large and diverse groups in Turkish society.
Dalkiran said negative attitudes, hate speech and xenophobia exist against migrant and refugee groups in many countries, but a major problem in Turkey is impunity.
“(a) Due to the lack of a clear legal definition of xenophobia and racial discrimination, as well as enforcement of the law, it leads to punishment for crimes motivated by racist and xenophobic attitudes.
“Furthermore, the lack of international protection of refugees also creates a precarious situation for them,” she said.
As Turkey imposed a geographical limitation on the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, it cannot grant refugee status to its main refugee groups, such as Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis.
“Sometimes, due to fear of detention or deportation, migrant and refugee groups in Turkey are unable to access official complaints mechanisms when they encounter violent acts,” Dalkiran said.
Turkey has 3.7 million Syrian refugees under temporary protection, most of whom are living in Istanbul as well as in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.
There are more than 2.6 million Syrian refugees under the age of 30 in Turkey. In total, there are about 5.3 million foreigners in the country.
Matin Korabatier, president of the Research Center on Asylum and Migration in Ankara, said there are many examples of xenophobia that go unreported.
“Syrian refugees in Ankara cannot send their children to school for fear that they may be subjected to physical violence or hate speech,” he told Arab News.
“They cannot guarantee their safety and children pay for it with their declining enrollment rates,” he said.
In August 2021, tensions escalated in Ankara’s Altindag district, where the Syrian population is concentrated in the capital.
After a knife fight between locals and Syrians, several workplaces and homes of Syrians were targeted.
“Landlords in the (Turkey) Altindag district reportedly began refusing to rent out their homes to Syrians,” Corbatier said.
“The municipality suddenly stopped coal and food aid to Syrians in the city without giving any excuse. Opposition politicians started pledging to send Syrians back to their home country,” he said.
“As the date for parliamentary elections nears, refugees and foreigners in general have been used for domestic consumption,” Corbatier said.
Advocacy groups also underline the dangerous trend of hate speech in the country generally against foreigners. Recently, a taxi driver in Istanbul beat up a French woman and her husband after overcharging.
“We cannot send these refugees back to Syria, which is still vulnerable,” Corbatier said. “Many international rights groups, such as Amnesty International, declared that those who returned home were tortured, missing and detained.”
He said that in January, a video was posted on social media of a Turkish man breaking the doors and windows of his Syrian tenants’ house in Istanbul after they raised the rent by 150 percent and they refused to pay, he said. They said. wanted to eject them.
Dalkiran stressed the need for a coherent and integrated approach by political parties and their leaders, the media, academia and civil society to refugee-related issues.
“To gain electoral advantage, a human rights-based approach must be preferred over populist discourses,” he said.
“Efforts to fight racism and xenophobia are also needed along with increasing social awareness of migrant and refugee rights.”