'A Kick in the Face of Humanity' – Outrage After an Attack on an Elderly Syrian Refugee Woman in Turkiye [Hashtag]

In the latest chapters on the escalation of racist practices against foreigners in Turkiye and the campaigns of incitement against them, an elderly Syrian refugee in Gaziantep, southern Turkiye on May 30, 2022, was brutally assaulted by a Turkish man, prompting senior Turkish officials to apologize for the incident.

Where a Turkish citizen, Şakir Çakır (Shakir Chakir), violently kicked the Syrian woman's face, after accusing the 70-year-old refugee, Leyla Muhammad, of stealing children, which has not been proven true by the Turkish authorities.

This incident ignited the anger of Syrian activists on social media and prompted them to launch a campaign of solidarity with the elderly woman, as well as did thousands of Turkish users, who in turn launched a hashtag bearing the name of the assaulter, demanding that the perpetrator be held accountable and brought to justice.

Under several hashtags, most notably: #StandWithLeyla, #AgainstBeatingWomen, and #NoToRacisim, activists explained that the racism that is being raised against refugees in Turkiye is not new, calling for the need to work to end it immediately and to hold everyone who works to incite it accountable.

 

Another Victim of Racism

The severity of the incident suffered by the Syrian elderly woman prompted Syrian, Arab, and Turkish activists to launch campaigns of solidarity and sympathy for her on social media, and circulated images showing them covering their eyes, which is what happened to the Syrian refugee after she was kicked by a Turkish man.

They pointed out that there is no justification for this assault other than the abhorrent racism against refugees and foreigners, which the Turkish opposition was keen to raise against the Syrians as a political pressure card on the ruling party.

They also stressed that hate speech and racist attacks against refugees in Turkiye have reached a dangerous level, noting that the Turkish far-right is responsible for this incident, which incites against foreigners, Syrians in particular.

They also called on the Turkish government to tighten laws that deter rhetoric inciting violence against foreigners and refugees, and to refrain from ignoring the racist crimes that occur against them on every occasion.

On his part, Syrian journalist Husam Hezaber tweeted: “It is a kick in the face of humanity and one of many for us as Syrians,” attaching his tweet in solidarity with the pain of the elderly victim.

 

 

Painter Mark Nelson expressed solidarity with the elderly Syrian woman by placing his hand on his face, as he also drew her and shared the painting on his Twitter account.

 

 

The tweeter, Mohammad Zyood, indicated that the beating of an elderly woman by a brutal racist is disgusting, calling for legal action against this criminal.

 

 

While the tweeter Beyan Sabbagh wrote on her Twitter account: “Not all Turks are racist,” calling for the need to hold the perpetrator accountable so that such brutal acts are not repeated again.

 

 

Another tweeter posted on his Twitter account how the Syrian painter Salam Hamid showed solidarity with the elderly refugee woman, as Salam drew Leyla with her hand on her head and wrote the hashtags circulating on social media about the incident next to her.

 

 

The Syrian relief activist Ahmad Idlib also posted on his Twitter account images of a large number of Syrians who showed solidarity with the elderly Leyla by placing their right hand over their right eye.

 

 

In turn, the Syrian editor Qusay Noor expressed solidarity with refugee Leyla, and wrote on his Twitter account that “a real man does not hit an old woman.”

 

 

A Moroccan tweeter named Nouha expressed solidarity with Leyla, referring to a video of the Syrian woman being kicked by a Turkish man, which shocked her and burned her heart.

 

 

A Tunisian tweeter named Aziza also expressed solidarity with the incident of kicking the elderly woman, noting that the kick hit everyone.

 

 

 

Hate Speech

The incident of kicking the elderly refugee brought back hundreds of similar racist incidents to which refugees in Turkiye were subjected, and the first accused of igniting its fire is the Turkish opposition, which uses the refugee file as a pressure card on the Turkish government and is constantly trying to raise the issue in a way that leads to disruption of social peace.

Over the past few months, hostility against refugees in Turkiye has escalated, with a number of opposition politicians campaigning to impose stricter restrictions on them, and spreading false information regarding their numbers and the aid provided to them by the Turkish state, most notably: the leader of the Victory Party, Umit Ozdag, and Tanju Ozcan, mayor of Bolu, and Ilya Aksoy, formerly of the Good Party.

During the past months, the Turkish states recorded a significant increase in the rate of crimes targeting refugees, during which several young men were killed in racist incidents, the last of which was in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul a few days ago.

It is noteworthy that the number of Syrian refugees registered under the provision of temporary protection in Turkiye is estimated at 3.7 million, while the number of Syrians holding work and study permits reached 1.2 million, according to a statistic declared by the Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu in mid-September 2021.

On its part, Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), a non-governmental and nonprofit human rights organization, condemned all forms of brutal racist attacks against Syrian refugees in Turkiye.

 

 

As for the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a non-profit organization based in the United States, it called on countries to do more to protect refugees, noting that the indicator of racism and discrimination against refugees in Turkiye is constantly increasing.

 

 

The Syrian journalist Wafa Mustafa indicated that the Turkish government, the Turkish opposition, and the Syrian bodies that claim to represent the Syrians bear the responsibility for the brutal attack on the elderly refugee woman.

 

 

Meanwhile, Syrian activist Mousa Zidane expressed solidarity with the elderly woman, stressing that racism has always been a product of hate speech launched by various political parties in Turkiye and around the world.

 

 

The tweeter Melisa pointed out that there are many other refugees who suffer from racism in Turkiye, and questioned the inaction of the role of organizations concerned with women's rights and those who demand an end to violence against women in this incident.

 

 

 

Turkish Reaction

The video of the kicking of the Syrian woman sparked outrage among the Turkish community and turned into an issue of public opinion throughout the country, which necessitated the intervention of Mr. Daoud Gul, the governor of Gaziantep, in whose jurisdiction the incident occurred, and his absolute solidarity with the elderly refugee.

The Turkish authorities transferred refugee Leyla Muhammad to one of the city’s hospitals to provide the necessary medical support, under the direction of the city’s governor, who later visited her in the hospital, stressing that his country stands with the victim against the assaulter.

In turn, Refugee Rights and Discrimination Monitor, a human rights organization in Turkiye, published a video of the kicking of the elderly refugee, noting that she is a new victim of the racist rhetoric of the Turkish opposition parties.

 

 

According to the Turkish human rights organization, after the arrest of the assaulter (39 years), and taking his statement, the authorities released him.

But the Public Prosecution objected to the release, especially since he had a record of nine different crimes so the police arrested him again, and the procedures are still continuing.

 

 

The leader of the Turkish opposition Workers' Party Ercument Akdeniz also indicated that the issue of hatred and racism is not resolved by adopting a hashtag bearing the name of the Turkish assaulter, but rather when the sources of anti-refugee hate speech are dried up in Turkiye.

 

 

Meanwhile, Turkish journalist writer Servet Beki pointed an accusing finger at the speech of the leader of the Turkish Victory Party, Umit Ozdag, who is known for his hostility to the refugees in Turkiye.

 

 

The Turkish poet Dursun Ali Erzincanli expressed that he was unable to publish the video on his account due to the severity of the scene.