Racism, Turks, and Syrians

Umit Ozdag Represents Creeping Racism Towards Syrians in Turkey

The economic crisis in Turkey is paving way for the emergence of anti-immigrant politicians in the mold of Geert Wilders. Syrians have become victims of hate speech.

A picture from Istanbul. (AP)

Flanked by a phone-holding assistant to capture his every move, a Turkish politician barged into a jewelry store in the western province of Izmir on Wednesday last week, interrogating the owner (a Syrian) on the spot at camera-point. After asking the owner for his identification and store license, Umit Ozdag, the chairman of the ultra-nationalist Victory Party, rattled off one question after another as if an official inspector. The fact, he was not.

While the owner dutifully complied with Ozdag’s demands, it never dispelled the politician’s vilification and bossing manner.

In a video that went viral on social media, Ozdag performed his “patriotic duty” by warning the Turkish nation against a brewing menace supposedly long in the making.