On Aug. 18, Gaziantep, a southeastern industrial city close to the Syrian border, was in a state of panic over a rumor that Syrians had poisoned the drinking water. Last month in Gaziantep and other border towns, protests were staged under the banner “We Do Not Want the Syrians.” The protests led to clashes with the police, physical assaults and vandalism against Syrian-owned businesses. Among the slogans heard were “Tayyip resign,” “City residents do not sleep, retake your city” and “We are the people of this town.” The media is full of sad stories about desperate Syrian, Iraqi and Yazidi refugees, but there is almost no coverage of mounting anti-immigrant sentiment or the increasing frequency of violence against immigrants.
After three years without an end to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, citizens of Turkey have now begun to recognize that the refugees are here to stay. Calls by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for “patience and hospitality for our brothers who will soon be going back to Syria” are not resonating in many circles.
Ahmet, a local shopkeeper from Gaziantep, told Al-Monitor, “They are called ‘guests.’ OK, but for how long? We shared our food, clothing with them, and the government gave them priority in everything. When I go to the hospital, I have to wait in line and pay. They get it all free. They get assistance from the government. What do we receive in return? We pay higher prices on all goods. Theft is on the rise, and worse of all is the sexual harassment of our women. They cannot go out onto the street because they fear the Syrian thugs. We have had several cases of rape.”
Other locals appeared to agree with Ahmet. In their eyes, their Syrian “guests” live a government-subsidized life in Turkey, while citizens are made to pay the price. Ahmet’s neighbor Cemo, a butcher, told Al-Monitor, “Look around, sister. What do you see? All these signs in Arabic, and the government is paying them 1,000 liras [about $450] per month. They say they are escaping the war in their country. Well, too bad. We stayed in our county during our war and fought.”
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