Amid absence of deterrent judicial procedures, a report reveals escalation of racism in Turkey

 "With the rise of nationalism, Turkey is turning against the refugees it once welcomed," a report published by the "Washington Post" newspaper said on Sunday, after several anti-refugee incidents, accompanied by inciting statements from Turkish officials.

The report mentioned an incident that occurred last August, when violence and riots erupted, after a Syrian youth was accused of stabbing Amirhan Yalcin, a Turkish teenager, during a dispute in the Altindag district of Ankara.

 At that time, Turkish youths vandalized and looted shops, homes and cars belonging to Syrians, in a "shocking outburst of the place where it occurred (...) a few miles from the presidential palace," according to the newspaper.

 The report says that this incident constituted a "warning of a future xenophobic season" in Turkey.

 The rise in anti-immigrant sentiment over the past year in Turkey has led to deadly attacks on refugees and organized gang attacks on neighborhoods, which the newspaper describes as a "dangerous turn" for Turkey, which was once proud to welcome Syrians, and hosts at least 4 million refugees,  It has more asylum seekers than any country in the world.

Anger is also emanating from the Turkish public, which is concerned about the deepening economic crisis, and instability over allegations that migrants are "changing Turkey's character, motivated by politicians who use provocative or racist rhetoric to capitalize on all their fears," according to the newspaper.

 On the other hand, the report notes that "President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has allowed millions of Syrian refugees to come to Turkey, has struggled to respond to the anger, as his government has alternated between defending migrants and adopting new regulations governing their presence."

 Facing crucial elections next year, Erdogan has pledged to return a million Syrians, a policy seen as impractical and illegal, and unable to silence his opponents' calls for further action.

 Last July, "hate incidents" escalated in Turkey, in terms of number and target group. While it was previously targeting Syrian refugees in general, it has now turned to different segments of foreigners, whether tourists or residents.

 According to human rights activists and political researchers in internal affairs, this atmosphere warns of a "dangerous" situation, and is clearly noticeable, at a time when currents of opposition parties continue to incitement operations, amid the absence of deterrent judicial measures against all those who stand behind this behavior.  described as "racist".

During the same month, users posted on social media a video showing Turkish citizens beating an Egyptian tourist on a bus in Istanbul, because they believed he was "surprisingly photographing women."

 The video, which was widely circulated, showed a group of citizens beating the young man, while chanting the phrases: "It is forbidden for you, it is forbidden for you."

 This incident was preceded by another similar event with a difference in the target person, as the Spanish journalist, Luis Miguel Hurtado, was subjected to a “racist” attack by a group of Turkish citizens in Istanbul, “because they believed he was Syrian,” as he put it.

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