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Anti-Syrian racism in Turkey
By Dogus Simsek
27 January 2015
[About the author: Dogus Simsek is a research fellow at Migration
Research Centre (MireKoc) at Koc University. She holds a PhD in
sociology from City University London where she taught undergraduate
sociology courses. Her research interests lie in the field of
migration, ethnicity and identity.]
A wave of xenophobia is ruining the lives of Syrian refugees in Turkey
where they are seen as criminals, accused of stealing jobs and
responsible for anything that goes wrong. Media incitement and state
inaction fuel the flames.
`Suriyeli' (Syrians) is a name given to people escaping from the civil
war in Syria. Called`Suriyeli', they are seen as criminals, beggars,
burglars and prostitutes, unable to adapt to Turkish culture. They are
numbers, devoid of their unique stories. Some have crossed the borders
individually, some with family members, some with a baby to live in a
safe place. They did not have much choice about where to go. They
crossed the border without knowing what was waiting for them. The only
thing they have left is hope.
Since the outbreak of the Syrin uprising in March 2011, over 1 million
Syrians have crossed into Turkey. According to the Director General of
Migration Management in Turkey, 1 million and 450 thousand Syrian
refugees are registered in Turkey. Turkish authorities take them to
refugee camps; there are 22 refugee camps in the cities of
southeastern Turkey alone. The recent AFAD report (The Disaster and
Emergency Management Presidency) shows that more than half of Syrian
refugees live outside the refugee camps' choosing to live in the
cities and towns of Turkey because the camps are overcrowded. Camp
life is tough, and there is a limited freedom of mobility.
Unwelcomed 'guests'
In Turkey, Syrian refugees are taken in as `guests', not as
`refugees', as a result of Turkey's asylum policy'not to be polite.
Due to the `geographical limitation' that Turkey bears to the 1951
Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol, it only accepts European
asylum seekers as refugees. Turkey has implemented a `temporary
protection scheme' for Syrian refugees, which maintains open door
policy, non-refoulement, and humanitarian assistance, including
supports inside the borders of the camps. `Guest' status implies
ambiguity about their presence, safety and rights in Turkey.
Realistically, Syrian refugees in Turkey will not go back to Syria
anytime soon; they are not `temporary' in Turkey. Within this
unpredictable situation, many Syrian refugees use social networks to
shelter in cities and towns and work under exploitative conditions.
Due to the increased number of Syrian refugees scattered across the
cities and towns of Turkey, xenophobia has raised its head in Turkish
society. Perceptions about Syrian refugees highlight the fear of
living with `foreigners'. The main native concerns are the economic
situation and social tension, as many Turkish citizens accuse
`Syrians' of 'taking our jobs and our homes', `Syrians do not adapt
to our culture', `crime in Turkey increases because of Syrians'. As a
result of this negative labeling, many local people do not want Syrian
refugees to live in 'their' cities; nor do they want them to be
visible in the public sphere. Many people I spoke to in Istanbul would
like Syrian refugees to stay in the camps; they do not want to live
among them. Anti-immigrant and discriminatory discourse became popular
among the local people. There began to be demonstrations against
Syrian refugees and physical attacks on them.
Hate crime
Since the spring of 2014, anti-Syrian sentiments have increased in
Turkey. Turkish citizens who live in the cities where there have been
many Syrian refugees criticize Syrian refugees as a major determinant
in increasing rent prices, a reason for lowering wages in the labour
market and of rising social tensions. Local people forcibly restrict
the presence of Syrian refugees in public spaces in many cities.
Anti-Syrian sentiment and discriminatory discourses heavily assist the
creation and maintenance of a violent atmosphere. For instance, in
Ankara local people stoned and set fire to the building Syrian
refugees lived in. Then they marched against Syrian refugees.
Anti-Syrian sentiment carries on rising in other cities of Turkey as
well. In Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey where more than 200,000
Syrian refugees are living, extreme right wing groups have been
hunting down Syrian refugees to verbally and physically attack them.
Tension in a Gaziantep neighbourhood erupted after the death of a
Syrian tenant at the hands of a Turkish landlord; local people
attacked Syrian refugees in the streets and in the parks armed with
knives and sticks; shouting anti-Syrian slogans'more than 10 Syrian
refugees were injured. Discrimination and violence against Syrian
refugees are on the rise in the border cities of Sanliurfa and Kilis,
and have now spread to Kahramanmaras, Izmir, Kayseri, Adana and
Antalya.
Recently, Antalya's governor office sent notification to more than
1,500 Syrian refugees to leave the city, stating that they have
brought with them economic and social tension and damaged the tourism
industry. After the governor's remarks, some local people attacked
Syrian refugees in Antalya's Manavgat district. They wrecked Syrian
refugees' houses and cars, and marched to a neighbourhood where Syrian
refugees live.
Syrian refugees are not the only victims of racism in Turkey. In
Turkey's history, Kurds, Armenians, non-Muslims, gypsies, blacks,
Arabs and many other minorities are subjected to racism. Many Turkish
citizens do not accept that there is racism in Turkey as they state
that they are proud of their hospitality towards foreigners.
However, racism is visible everywhere, in public space, private space,
in all corners of the world. Discriminatory discourses have
prominently been attributed to the Turkish process of modernization,
the building of its nation-state and the formation of Turkish national
identity. These discourses have been spread by the media, state and
institutions in all cases resulting in the marginalisation of Syrian
refugees.
Many Turkish citizens, especially those among Turkey's poor, believe
that Syrian refugees have been looked after with the taxes they pay;
they steal their jobs; they are burglars, beggars, criminals; they are
culturally different - not modern; they create social tension, etc.
The xenophobic and racist discourses have become legitimized through
such phrases. Forms of racism and xenophobia are closely interlinked
with the economic situation, as in Europe.
Mediated hatred
The content of racism is elided with that of difference. Public
discourses against Syrian refugees are based on a `them' and `us'
mentality. When people identify themselves as a member of a particular
group, they do not feel comfortable with others. The public's concerns
about Syrian refugees are to do with culture, values and
sustainability. The mainstream media, some column writers, and the
opposition, use and amplify these concerns about Syrian refugees
living in the cities. The racism of mainstream media is visible in
many news contexts. For instance, Anadolu Agency (Anadolu Ajansi)
refers to `Syrians' as unable 'to adap to an urban lifestyle in
Turkey' in the news; Syrian refugees are seen as criminals, problem
makers in many item daily in mainstream papers.
Apart from being victims of racism, Syrian refugees in Turkey are also
used as a politial football by politicians. The opposition party has
criticized the foreign policy of the Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government on Syria as being too sectarian and not supporting
the `open door' policy towards Syrian refugees put forward by the
opposition party politicians.
Some column writers who endorse the opposition party also wrote that
`we look after Syrians, give them money; offer them jobs. While
Turkish soldiers defend their nation, they sit back and do nothing'.
Such racist discourses do not only target Syrian refugees, but also
use them as a policy-making tool. With such discourses, racism has
slowly been shown to infect almost all of society. The public, some
column writers and politicians blame Syrian refugees, rather than
denouncing the state, as the cause of unemployment, crime, social
tension, rising rent prices; these opportunists are using the
vulnerability of Syrian refugees for their own interests, and the
interests of the capitalist classes.
Syrian refugees in Turkey are seen as criminals, beggars, burglars,
exploiters, prostitutes, as tools for politics, but not as
individuals. Turkey's state, media, and civil society have to work
seriously to create an environment for Syrian refugees to live
respectably, as well as to develop measures and an environment that
prevent the targeting of Syrian refugees.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/dogus-simsek/antisyrian-racism-in-turkey
By Dogus Simsek
27 January 2015
[About the author: Dogus Simsek is a research fellow at Migration
Research Centre (MireKoc) at Koc University. She holds a PhD in
sociology from City University London where she taught undergraduate
sociology courses. Her research interests lie in the field of
migration, ethnicity and identity.]
A wave of xenophobia is ruining the lives of Syrian refugees in Turkey
where they are seen as criminals, accused of stealing jobs and
responsible for anything that goes wrong. Media incitement and state
inaction fuel the flames.
`Suriyeli' (Syrians) is a name given to people escaping from the civil
war in Syria. Called`Suriyeli', they are seen as criminals, beggars,
burglars and prostitutes, unable to adapt to Turkish culture. They are
numbers, devoid of their unique stories. Some have crossed the borders
individually, some with family members, some with a baby to live in a
safe place. They did not have much choice about where to go. They
crossed the border without knowing what was waiting for them. The only
thing they have left is hope.
Since the outbreak of the Syrin uprising in March 2011, over 1 million
Syrians have crossed into Turkey. According to the Director General of
Migration Management in Turkey, 1 million and 450 thousand Syrian
refugees are registered in Turkey. Turkish authorities take them to
refugee camps; there are 22 refugee camps in the cities of
southeastern Turkey alone. The recent AFAD report (The Disaster and
Emergency Management Presidency) shows that more than half of Syrian
refugees live outside the refugee camps' choosing to live in the
cities and towns of Turkey because the camps are overcrowded. Camp
life is tough, and there is a limited freedom of mobility.
Unwelcomed 'guests'
In Turkey, Syrian refugees are taken in as `guests', not as
`refugees', as a result of Turkey's asylum policy'not to be polite.
Due to the `geographical limitation' that Turkey bears to the 1951
Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol, it only accepts European
asylum seekers as refugees. Turkey has implemented a `temporary
protection scheme' for Syrian refugees, which maintains open door
policy, non-refoulement, and humanitarian assistance, including
supports inside the borders of the camps. `Guest' status implies
ambiguity about their presence, safety and rights in Turkey.
Realistically, Syrian refugees in Turkey will not go back to Syria
anytime soon; they are not `temporary' in Turkey. Within this
unpredictable situation, many Syrian refugees use social networks to
shelter in cities and towns and work under exploitative conditions.
Due to the increased number of Syrian refugees scattered across the
cities and towns of Turkey, xenophobia has raised its head in Turkish
society. Perceptions about Syrian refugees highlight the fear of
living with `foreigners'. The main native concerns are the economic
situation and social tension, as many Turkish citizens accuse
`Syrians' of 'taking our jobs and our homes', `Syrians do not adapt
to our culture', `crime in Turkey increases because of Syrians'. As a
result of this negative labeling, many local people do not want Syrian
refugees to live in 'their' cities; nor do they want them to be
visible in the public sphere. Many people I spoke to in Istanbul would
like Syrian refugees to stay in the camps; they do not want to live
among them. Anti-immigrant and discriminatory discourse became popular
among the local people. There began to be demonstrations against
Syrian refugees and physical attacks on them.
Hate crime
Since the spring of 2014, anti-Syrian sentiments have increased in
Turkey. Turkish citizens who live in the cities where there have been
many Syrian refugees criticize Syrian refugees as a major determinant
in increasing rent prices, a reason for lowering wages in the labour
market and of rising social tensions. Local people forcibly restrict
the presence of Syrian refugees in public spaces in many cities.
Anti-Syrian sentiment and discriminatory discourses heavily assist the
creation and maintenance of a violent atmosphere. For instance, in
Ankara local people stoned and set fire to the building Syrian
refugees lived in. Then they marched against Syrian refugees.
Anti-Syrian sentiment carries on rising in other cities of Turkey as
well. In Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey where more than 200,000
Syrian refugees are living, extreme right wing groups have been
hunting down Syrian refugees to verbally and physically attack them.
Tension in a Gaziantep neighbourhood erupted after the death of a
Syrian tenant at the hands of a Turkish landlord; local people
attacked Syrian refugees in the streets and in the parks armed with
knives and sticks; shouting anti-Syrian slogans'more than 10 Syrian
refugees were injured. Discrimination and violence against Syrian
refugees are on the rise in the border cities of Sanliurfa and Kilis,
and have now spread to Kahramanmaras, Izmir, Kayseri, Adana and
Antalya.
Recently, Antalya's governor office sent notification to more than
1,500 Syrian refugees to leave the city, stating that they have
brought with them economic and social tension and damaged the tourism
industry. After the governor's remarks, some local people attacked
Syrian refugees in Antalya's Manavgat district. They wrecked Syrian
refugees' houses and cars, and marched to a neighbourhood where Syrian
refugees live.
Syrian refugees are not the only victims of racism in Turkey. In
Turkey's history, Kurds, Armenians, non-Muslims, gypsies, blacks,
Arabs and many other minorities are subjected to racism. Many Turkish
citizens do not accept that there is racism in Turkey as they state
that they are proud of their hospitality towards foreigners.
However, racism is visible everywhere, in public space, private space,
in all corners of the world. Discriminatory discourses have
prominently been attributed to the Turkish process of modernization,
the building of its nation-state and the formation of Turkish national
identity. These discourses have been spread by the media, state and
institutions in all cases resulting in the marginalisation of Syrian
refugees.
Many Turkish citizens, especially those among Turkey's poor, believe
that Syrian refugees have been looked after with the taxes they pay;
they steal their jobs; they are burglars, beggars, criminals; they are
culturally different - not modern; they create social tension, etc.
The xenophobic and racist discourses have become legitimized through
such phrases. Forms of racism and xenophobia are closely interlinked
with the economic situation, as in Europe.
Mediated hatred
The content of racism is elided with that of difference. Public
discourses against Syrian refugees are based on a `them' and `us'
mentality. When people identify themselves as a member of a particular
group, they do not feel comfortable with others. The public's concerns
about Syrian refugees are to do with culture, values and
sustainability. The mainstream media, some column writers, and the
opposition, use and amplify these concerns about Syrian refugees
living in the cities. The racism of mainstream media is visible in
many news contexts. For instance, Anadolu Agency (Anadolu Ajansi)
refers to `Syrians' as unable 'to adap to an urban lifestyle in
Turkey' in the news; Syrian refugees are seen as criminals, problem
makers in many item daily in mainstream papers.
Apart from being victims of racism, Syrian refugees in Turkey are also
used as a politial football by politicians. The opposition party has
criticized the foreign policy of the Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government on Syria as being too sectarian and not supporting
the `open door' policy towards Syrian refugees put forward by the
opposition party politicians.
Some column writers who endorse the opposition party also wrote that
`we look after Syrians, give them money; offer them jobs. While
Turkish soldiers defend their nation, they sit back and do nothing'.
Such racist discourses do not only target Syrian refugees, but also
use them as a policy-making tool. With such discourses, racism has
slowly been shown to infect almost all of society. The public, some
column writers and politicians blame Syrian refugees, rather than
denouncing the state, as the cause of unemployment, crime, social
tension, rising rent prices; these opportunists are using the
vulnerability of Syrian refugees for their own interests, and the
interests of the capitalist classes.
Syrian refugees in Turkey are seen as criminals, beggars, burglars,
exploiters, prostitutes, as tools for politics, but not as
individuals. Turkey's state, media, and civil society have to work
seriously to create an environment for Syrian refugees to live
respectably, as well as to develop measures and an environment that
prevent the targeting of Syrian refugees.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/dogus-simsek/antisyrian-racism-in-turkey