(Reporting by Lama Shammas; Translation by Dani Murad)
“Syrians have not shown gratitude and respect toward the Turkish’s hospitality”, is a sentence that began to spread among Turks in the city of Istanbul, after it was considered the “reality” by Gaziantep’s people, following the murder of a Turkish citizen by a Syrian refugee last week, for reasons that have to do with the “rent”. The murder led to a widening circle of harassment practiced by the Turks against the Syrians cars and property, to make them understand that they are no longer welcomed.
Ahmed, a former resident in the city of Gaziantep, described how a group of masked youths smashed his car, only because it has a Syrian registration plate. Ahmed adds: It is unfortunate for all Syrians to be held responsible for the violations of some Syrians, because abuse and violence often circulate, therefore, the Turks in Gaziantep now describe all Syrians as “bad”, and many of them Syrians harass girls, and raise the voice of the songs in their cars, and because of the so many threats he got, Ahmad was forced to leave his job, and look for a job in Istanbul.
According to Ahmad, most Turks blame the Turkish authorities for Syrian’s violations, due to their slackening and negligence in handling Syrians’ abuses, under the orders of Erdogan government which supports Syrians, so authorities have begun recently to take action to deport Syrians who are below the poverty line to the camps, but it is described by the Turks in Gaziantep as, "too late."
Ahmed is not the only one who changed his residence from Gaziantep to Istanbul, because a large number of Syrians did the same, and he commented on that by saying: “I am afraid that the issue of “Syrians bad behaviors” will spread also in Istanbul, and then only God will help us”.
And according to an employee who works in one of the cafes that surround Taksim’s square, "Syrians are gathering in huge numbers there, especially at night, where they sit on the ground, throw their trash everywhere, and harass the Turkish girls, and they are in abundance in the nearby Park "Ghazi" in Taksim".
However, the Turkish girl "Aisha", puts it differently by saying, “not all Syrians can be judged because of the actions of some, still she and her colleagues noticed that the nature of the roads where Syrians live, have changed from what it was before their arrival”.
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