https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/dogus-simsek/antisyrian-racism-in-turkey
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.
Doganay, U. , Kenes, H. (2014). 'The Discourse of Discrimination and Hatred against Syrian Refugees: The Turkish Media in Question!'. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Science Index, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(6), 812.
Abstract:
Syrians that had to leave their country due to the on-going civil war since March 2011 take refuge in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey. Turkey’s “open door” policy had impact on Syrian’s preference of Turkey as refugees. In correlation with the increase in their number and extended period of their stay, criminalizing news on Syrian refugees began to circulate more often. Some striking claims concerning Syrians in the press as follows: “Syrians have given Turkish citizenship”, “The government granted salaries to Syrian refugees”, “Syrians benefit greater rights and social aids than the Turkish citizens”, “Syrian will vote in local and general elections”, “Syrians create turmoil in the towns they are inhabited”, “Syrians do not pay the shopkeepers” Syrian men harass women in the towns”, Syrians as cheap labor narrow down the labor market”. Additionally various oppositional political groups began to characterize the refugee camps as “terrorist camps”. Both the news and oppositions’ attitude contributed to building in negative prejudices and engrafting a language of hatred and enmity against refugees or asylum seekers. The criminalization of Syrian civilians, most of which are women and children, through the negative news on them enforce us to study the role of the media in the ignorance of rights and liberties of the refugees and in the increase of racism and discrimination against them. Thus, it is crucial for this study to disclose the media’s coverage of Syrian refugees whom the political elites prefer to call “guests”. In other words, this study aims to display how Syrian refugees are framed and presented by the press in Turkey. The study will then focus on chosen news from the national press to show how hatred and racism are embedded in the discourse of the news. For this purpose, chosen news and columns according to the breaking events between March 2011 and June 2014 will be examined through discourse analysis.
http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN/syrian-refugees-live-second-class-citizens-turkey/
I recently visited Istanbul, a Turkish city filled with Syrian refugees. Some old, some young but each with the same horror story of leaving behind dead friends and family in Syria. Their journeys to Istanbul are filled with difficulty and danger. Once arrived in Istanbul, most were not welcomed with open arms. Turkish people have a sense of pride towards their culture and history and many feel that the influx of refugees will change their identity. Many stores in Turkey refuse to speak to you in anything but Turkish for fear of their language being replaced with Arabic. Lots of Landlords refuse to lease apartments to Syrian refugees and most employers will discriminate against Syrians or not hire them at all.
One of the Syrian refugees I met was a young man in his mid-20s, married with two children of his own and supporting four other relatives. He worked 10-12 hour days, six days a week with no benefits for roughly $300 a month. This does not even provide the basic needs for his family, but they survive. His wage is less than a quarter of what his Turkish peers would make for the same job. When I spoke with him he told me he felt lucky and blessed to at least have some sort of income.
The children in the streets of Istanbul are plenty. All wander attempting to sell simple items such as napkins, pencils or candy. Some cannot afford to buy those items to sell so they just ask for anything from any passerby. They wear the expressions of children robber of childhood; their faces tell an excruciating story without uttering a word.
On a day strolling through the city, I stopped and talked to young girl selling napkins. She told me how she came home in Syria to find her family dead from a barrel bomb that destroyed her home. Along with her grandparents she was forced out of her country. They made their way to Istanbul where they live as second-class citizens. She kept a smile on her face while talking to me and even offered some insight to the political world in general and why she was forced to be a refugee. Her experiences had matured her beyond her years, more than what any child her age should face.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/security/2014/05/turkey-syrians-discrimination-refugees.html#
https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/bulent-gokay/race-and-racism-in-modern-turkey
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