Imagine that you are a 15-year-old boy who experienced a chaotic evilish war when you were a little child. You no longer see red cars to count with your parents as a game but you see tanks everywhere. Instead of going out with your friends and playing games on the streets, now you are in the bunkers with the terrific noises of gunfires and explosives. Then, by luck, you find the chance to escape. You were lucky enough not to lose any family member. You moved to Turkey with your family to be safe.
13 years later, one morning you woke up. Your mother was screaming and crying and your father was so cold. Your window is shattered. Outside, people throw rocks and shout accusations. By morning, you see that the protestors burned your family car, looted, and ruined your father’s market even though you and your family didn’t do anything wrong and live peacefully with people. Now your family doesn’t have a car and worse there’s no more income. You may have to give up on your education and start working just because you don’t want your family to live a life starving.
This story may seem like a nightmare, but the recent vandalism in Kayseri was no less devastating. On June 30th, a little Syrian girl was harassed by a Syrian refugee. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X that “a Syrian national named I.A. was caught by residents while harassing a young Syrian” This statement was not enough to prevent too violent actions from local people. Riots and violence erupted on Sunday evening in Kayseri. The protestors were setting fire to the houses, cars, and workplaces of refugees.
1 day later, on Monday, a reflection was seen in northern Syria. Protestors were attacking Turkish people, tearing Turkish flags, and more in the city of Afrin. UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that four people were killed in Afrin and Jarablus in northern Aleppo countryside, “and more than 20 others were injured with varying degrees of severity during the clashes and random shooting.”
Firstly, I would want to specify that this blog is not a political blog and it will not try to find a solution for the refugee problem. This blog’s main goal is showing vandalism and/or criminal actions are not the solution to the problem. The legimate anger against the crime committed should not justify punishment of innocent refugees. The response should be humane and just, targeting the perpetrator and policies of the government, not entire communities.
Most of the refugees in Kayseri didn’t deserve these damages. Local people hurt people who are innocent and they mirrored the crime. With the reflection actions and protests in Syria, we saw that the vandalism caused a single crime against humanity to become a conflict between nationalities. Both Syrian and Turkish communities get injured because of these vandalisms.
Continuing this cycle of violence and retribution will only lead to more pain and division which is completely irrelevant for solving the problems. We should accept this is an individual crime and not a crime of a nation. Therefore, vandalism is not the solution to the problem, but only a log for the fire. Civilians are not the target. Let’s focus on finding positive and effective problems to this problem that uphold more hopeful and peaceful tomorrow.
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbZ30oZrviA
https://bianet.org/haber/violent-protests-target-refugee-community-in-turkeys-kayseri-after-alleged-sexual-assault-on-minor-297002
https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/crgmzv9p2y3o
https://www.syriahr.com/en/337695/
https://twitter.com/kayserivaliligi/status/1807507511085261302
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