Xenophobia: Down with the Syrians!

Greek and Latin are two indispensable languages in the world of science and art. If you are studying botany (plant science), zoology (animal science), or medicine, you will learn a great many Latin words. If you wish, I can present the importance of Latin to your attention by giving examples from all three:

TREE AND PLANT NAME             LATIN NAME

Juniper                                          Juniperus communis

Maple                                   Acer campestra

Boxwood                                       Buxus sempervicens

Hornbeam                                     Carpinus betulus

Oleaster                                          Eleagnus angustifolia

Hazelnut                                       Corylus colurna

Clover                                       Medicago sativa

ANIMAL NAMES               LATIN NAME

Jellyfish                                        Aurelia Aurita

Marten                                           Suncus Etrecius

Cat                                          Felis Domesticus

Lizard                                           Lacerta Viridis

Shark                                          Mustelus Vulgaris

Common Toad                             Bufo Bufo

Tortoise                                    Testuda Graeka

Snake                                         Ophiomorus

MEDICAL TERMS                    LATIN NAME

Against poisons                           Antidotum

Providing immunity                   Antigen

Artery                                          Arteria

Joint                                             Arthro                            

Hearing                                        Auditus

Autopsy (post-mortem)                     Autopsie

Blood                                           Sanguis

Gum                                           Gingiva

Now, if you wish, let's touch upon the importance of Greek. Greek is one of the oldest languages that has left its mark on human history, extending from antiquity to the Middle Ages and to the present day. Greek's contribution to civilization, especially to European and Middle Eastern civilizations, has been immense. For this reason, it is impossible to be an authority in Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, and the Arts without knowing Greek terminology.

TURKISH                                  GREEK EQUIVALENT

Good                                             Agathon                         

Unknown                                Agnostos                        

Itchy                                        Psoriasis

Roots                                      Arkhai

Basic cognition                                Cognition

World of appearances                   Doksasta

Opinion                                           Doxa

Change                                    Kinesis

Universe                                  Kozmologia

In addition to all this, one must not forget the important place and use of the Greek alphabet in Mathematics: Σ, Φ, Χ,Ψ,Ω, α, β, γ, δ, ε ,ζ, η, θ, ι, κ, λ, μ, ν, ξ, ο, π, ρ, σ, ς, τ, υ, φ, χ, ψ, ω.  I also want you to know that the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets are derived from Greek.

After this explanation, I can now present to your attention the Greek etymology of the word XENOPHOBIA that I used in the title of my article:

The word XENOS in Greek means FOREIGNER; the word PHOBIA means FEAR. Thus, it is possible to translate the word XENOPHOBIA into Turkish as YABANCI DÜŞMANLIĞI (hostility towards foreigners). Some scientific articles prefer to use the word "Zenophobia" instead of "Hostility towards Foreigners." In fact, XENOPHOBIA is a general expression that includes not only the fear of humans by humans but also the fear of any phenomenon by humans. For example, the "Öz Türkçeciler" (Purist Turks) who fight against foreign words in Turkish also fall into the Zenophobia group in a sense.

I would like to ask the Öz Türkçeciler: Is it possible for you to write a scientific article without using the Greek and Latin words above? Would your article have any scientific value without writing the Greek and Latin terms for plants, animals, trees, medical, philosophical, artistic, etc.? Just as we accept the scientific value of Latin and Greek words, we must also respect the existence of Syrian refugees.

In this article, I will use the phrase "YABANCI DÜŞMANLIĞI" (hostility towards foreigners) as the equivalent of the word XENOPHOBIA.

Why did the phrase "Yabancı Düşmanlığı" occupy my mind? I want to explain why I wanted to write an article on this subject.

I have two sisters living in Germany. During the years I lived in France, I would take the night train from Paris and arrive in Darmstadt early in the morning. My weekend visits would sometimes become frequent, or sometimes, due to work intensity, I couldn't visit them for months. After moving to America, these visits stretched into years. When I settled in Ankara, it was difficult for me to leave my mother alone, so we could only satisfy our longing when my sisters came to Türkiye.

Yesterday (July 28), my sisters invited me to Germany. While I was talking to my sister on the phone, the Syrian Refugee Problem was being discussed on TV. I don't like watching TV. My wife watches whatever channel she wants, and when my mind gets tired, I just stare at the screen and kill some time. When I saw racist and fascist rhetoric being defended directly or implicitly on TV, I believed it was inevitable to write such an article.

According to unofficial sources, the number of Turks living in Germany, including those with dual citizenship, is estimated to be around 3 million. In a sense, this means that 3 million Turks are struggling with xenophobia in Germany.

The Solingen Tragedy, or Solingen Massacre, was an incident on May 29, 1993, in Solingen, Germany, which resulted in the deaths of five members of the Genç family of Turkish origin when their house was set on fire by Neo-Nazis. Four far-right Germans set fire to the Genç family's house, and five members of the family lost their lives in the incident. This was just one of thousands of attacks against Turks.

Here I want to open a parenthesis: The average reader confuses the concepts of IMMIGRANT and REFUGEE. An "immigrant" is a person who voluntarily leaves their country for economic or other reasons. That is, while immigrants leave their countries of their own free will, refugees are people who are forced to leave their countries or are made to leave. Whether immigrants or refugees, Turkish citizens living in European countries are targets of discrimination and xenophobia.

The number of Turkish citizens and dual citizens living in some important Western European countries is given in the table below:

Germany                          3,000,000

France                             800,000

United Kingdom               500,000

Netherlands                          480,000

Austria                        360,000

Belgium                            220,000

Sweden                               200,000

Denmark                      91,000

Switzerland                             68,167

Norway                            18,084

Italy                               19,077

As you can see, immigrants and refugees with Turkish citizenship are dispersed throughout every country in Europe. While Turks living in these countries struggle with xenophobia, discrimination, and racism, a significant segment of the "intellectual" class in Türkiye targets Syrian refugees, attempting to turn anti-Syrian sentiment into political gain in the upcoming elections. Let us not forget that racism is always the harbinger of FASCISM. In my opinion, those who openly or implicitly engage in racism or discrimination should be banned from politics and TV. Hitler's famous propaganda minister, Goebbels, managed to rally German voters around the Nazi Party with his hate speech against Jews. Similarly, in Türkiye today, Goebbels-like racists are hunting for votes with hate speech against Syrians.

SYRIAN REFUGEES

The civil war in Syria began on March 15, 2011, with protests against the regime. In a short time, armed conflict engulfed the entire country. Syria is a country inhabited by different ethnic and religious groups. Ethnically, there are Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, and Turkmens; religiously, there are Syriacs, Druze, Shiites/Alawites, and Sunnis.

The Alawite/Shiite population, led by Bashar al-Assad and gathered around him, constitutes 12% of the total population. Arab Sunnis make up 64% of the population. The remaining 24% are citizens adhering to Syriac, Druze, Jewish, Christian, etc. faiths.

Before addressing the Syrian reality, I find it useful to list the ethnic-religious groups in the country:

Sunni Arabs and Turkmens                                     70% - 79%

Kurds (almost all Sunni)                            10%

Arab and Turkmen Alawites                                      Less than 10%

Arabic-speaking and non-Arabic-speaking Christians        10%

Arabic-speaking Ismailis

Arabic-speaking Shiites

Sunni and Christian Palestinians

Sunni Circassians

Christian minorities

Roma (Gypsies)

Druze

Jews

Yazidis

Mandaeans

Yarsanis

Syriacs

Religiously, we can define Syria by percentage as follows:

Sunni Muslims         74%

Alawites and Shiites                 13%  (10% + 3%)

Christians                    10%

Druze                          3%

Ethnically, we can define Syria by percentage as follows:

Arabs                  85%    (13% Alawite and 72% Sunni)

Kurds                   10%     (Almost all Sunni)

Turkmens           5%      (3% Sunni and 2% Alawite)

When the civil war began in Syria, there was first a religious division. On one side were Alawites/Shiites, on the other Sunnis... Other religious minorities were caught in the middle and changed sides according to the course of the war. The first wave of migrants to Türkiye consisted mainly of Sunni Kurds, Turkmens, and Arabs. Shiite Turkmens, Alawites, and Shiite Arabs gathered around Bashar al-Assad. In later years, ISIS intervened, aiming to destroy this dual religious structure with an ideology mixed with "Salafist, Jihadi, and Arab Nationalism." In response to Arab Nationalism, Kurdish Nationalism developed and became a significant force.

DISTRIBUTION OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TÜRKİYE

Istanbul                 538 thousand

Şanlıurfa               463 thousand

Hatay                    458 thousand

Gaziantep              351 thousand

Mersin                   192 thousand

Adana                   172 thousand

Bursa                     135 thousand

Kilis                      132 thousand

Izmir                     130 thousand

Konya                   100 thousand

TOTAL              3,425,000

The vast majority of those who sought refuge in Türkiye are Turkmens, Kurds, and Arabs of Sunni denomination. The government of the time did not view the situation from a religious or ethnic perspective. It opened its borders completely in a humanitarian sense. Anyone who wished could come. The Republic of Türkiye, in this sense, fully opened its heart to refugees, and in my opinion, this behavior has been written in golden letters in the history of the Republic of Türkiye. No one can change this fact. The sensitivity shown by the Republic of Türkiye, especially by our Prime Minister / President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is beyond all praise.

So, what is the problem?

Opposition parties attributed different meanings to the AK Party's humanitarian stance. Some Turkish politicians, especially those of Alevi and Shiite origin, make the following prediction:

"The AK Party deliberately accepts Sunni Muslims as refugees. Its aim is to make them citizens and gain their votes."

Some ultra-nationalist politicians, on the other hand, consider the acceptance of Kurds as refugees as a betrayal of the state in the war against the PKK. According to them, all Kurdish refugees were YPG members, and their votes would go to the HDP. The government did not take these criticisms seriously. In the initial stage, it took steps to ensure the comfort of the refugees. The Republic of Türkiye was not crushed under the wave of migration. It displayed a dignified stance.

Elections are approaching. Political parties are planning to increase their votes by portraying Syrian refugees as "bogeymen or undesirable people." If there is a slight economic difficulty in Türkiye, racists point their fingers at Syrians and hold them responsible. This discrimination is increasingly gaining a RACIST dimension. There are also those who make fascist plans. I must state that there are many racist academics and politicians who want to attack Syrians and scare them (Kristallnacht / Crystal Night 1938) and force them out of Türkiye, just as Hitler did to the Jews overnight.

Our esteemed President made one mistake: At one point, he opened the Greek border and called out to the refugees, "You can go wherever you want!" There were refugees who died in clashes with Greek police. The Greeks took extraordinary measures at the border. Unintentionally, a thought formed in the hearts of Syrian and other refugees: "Nobody wants us! Everyone wants to kick us out of their country!"

Making a person feel despair is a crime against humanity. This was a wrong strategy. Human dignity and pride impose the following condition on us: "No immigrant or refugee should be made to feel that they are not wanted in our country." Universal values require this. Although 14% of the refugees at the Greek border were Syrian, the policy pursued was contrary to human rights. Let us not forget that world conditions can change so rapidly that we too might find ourselves in the middle of the Mediterranean in a plastic boat about to capsize. (The majority of those attacking the Greek border were refugees from countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Morocco. They also deserve human dignity and respect. During the War of Independence, India and Pakistan had not yet separated. Indian Muslims sent 25,000 British Pounds. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk used this money to establish an army of two divisions.)

Some politicians put forward an idea: "Peace has been established in certain regions of Syria. Syrians can return to their country! There is no longer any obstacle in their way!"

Forcing refugees out of the country with such veiled threats and coercion is also contrary to human rights.

FORCED MIGRATION OF TURKS IN BULGARIA

As you know, Bulgarian President and Communist leader Todor Zhivkov implemented an assimilation policy against Turks in Bulgaria starting in 1984 and continued this oppression mercilessly until 1989. In 1989, 350,000 Bulgarian citizens of Turkish origin, unable to withstand the pressure, arrived at the Turkish border gates.

On May 29, 1989, Todor Zhivkov announced on Bulgarian State Television that Türkiye should open its borders and that anyone among the Turks living in Bulgaria who wished to could migrate to Türkiye. It appeared to be a voluntary migration, but the Turks were under pressure and forced to migrate.

Turks, who rebelled against the assimilation campaign and name-changing process that lasted between 1984 and 1989 in the country, saw migrating to Türkiye as the only solution for a dignified life. In the summer of 1989, 350,000 people whose Turkish identities were taken away in Bulgaria began to migrate. Todor Zhivkov addressed the public in his television speech: "Citizens who do not see Bulgaria as their homeland, who oppose their country with the intervention of external forces, who do not obey the communist party, and who do not feel Bulgarian can leave Bulgaria." This speech was actually meant to target Turks and even give a green light to genocide.

Zhivkov removed the barriers at the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Forced migration began on May 30, 1989. Türkiye had to cope with a giant wave of refugees by opening the Kapıkule Border Gate to its kinsmen fleeing Bulgaria on June 3.

As of 1989, nearly one million Turks lived in Bulgaria. A large part of this population migrated to Türkiye, leaving their homes and possessions behind.

The immigrant tent camps set up in Kapıkule, Edirne, Bursa, and Istanbul struggled to accommodate tens of thousands of Bulgarian Turks; on August 21, 1989, Ankara was forced to temporarily close the border gates.

According to unofficial data, between June 3 and August 21, 1989, 360,000 Bulgarian Turks migrated to Türkiye. First, 40,000 Bulgarian Turks, and then nearly 100,000 refugees returned to Bulgaria from Türkiye. The remaining Bulgarian citizens of Turkish origin accepted Türkiye as their homeland and started a new life from scratch.

THE ARABS STABBED US IN THE BACK!!!

One of the arguments that racist politicians and so-called academics planning to expel Syrian refugees from Türkiye hide behind is this:

"The Arabs stabbed us in the back during World War I. Therefore, let's send the Syrians back to their countries!"

Oh my God! Believe me, the motif and richness of racism in Türkiye do not exist in any other country in the world.

If you wish, let's take this claim seriously and examine it:

Today there are 22 independent Arab countries. Their total population is around 360 million. During the Ottoman Empire, almost all of these countries were under Ottoman rule. Similarly, Balkan countries were also under Ottoman rule. The only difference was that there were no Turkish villages or civilian settlements in Arab countries, but in the Balkans, in a wide area extending from the Italian border to Austria, Turkish villages and settlements were intertwined with Christians.

When World War I began, like all nations, the Arabs also moved to establish their own nation-states. In their struggle, which continued until 1963, they succeeded in establishing 22 independent Arab states. There was no civilian Turkish population in these countries. For this reason, there was no civilian migration movement from Arab countries towards Türkiye. Only the Ottoman or French soldiers and administrative cadres who lost the war retreated.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of an Arab citizen and choose one of two possibilities: First, as an Arab, to continue living under Ottoman rule, thus being deprived of using your mother tongue like the Kurmanjis and Zazas in the newly established Republic of Türkiye, or to establish 22 independent states where you can freely use your mother tongue? If I were an Arab, even if the borders were drawn with a ruler by imperialists, I would certainly prefer 22 independent Arab states.

In this sense, the Arabs did not stab the Turks in the back. They made good use of the opportunity history presented them. They may have received support from the British and the French. From this, we know that there are those who reach the absurd conclusion that "Imperialist countries established Arab states with a ruler in their hands." There is nothing shameful about those who establish nation-states receiving outside help! Mustafa Kemal Atatürk also received financial support from Soviet Russia and from Muslims in India and Afghanistan. Soviet Russia alone provided 17,500,000 gold Rubles in aid to the War of Independence in 1921. The interesting thing is the help from the Italians and the French. This situation may seem strange to my readers, but the Italians and French, who accepted defeat against the national struggle, chose to make an agreement with Atatürk because their interests clashed with the British. These are ordinary things in national liberation struggles. Vietnam received aid from the Soviets and China. After gaining independence, it fought with China, from whom it had once received massive aid, due to border disputes. The logic of liberation wars has always continued along this line.

I would like to give another example: France caused the deaths of more than a million Arab civilians and committed genocide against the people to prevent the national liberation struggle in Algeria, which was a colony. When Algeria gained its independence by referendum on March 18, 1962, France was the first country to recognize it. Despite being independent, Algeria used French as its official language for more than 20 years. Today, Arabic and Berber languages are official languages. The Republic of Türkiye, which had historical relations with Muslim Algeria, voted negatively in 1955 for the Algerian people's struggle to be included on the General Assembly agenda at the UN and abstained in 1958 on Algeria's independence. Not content with this, it reluctantly recognized the Algerian state with a 5-month delay on July 31, 1962. A difficult situation to understand!

When we look at the Balkans, the situation was different. During the Ottoman Empire, Christian and Muslim villages were intertwined. During the Balkan War, more than 1 million civilian Turkish people fled from the Balkan countries and took refuge in Istanbul. Most were subjected to massacres. Despite this, a dense Turkish population still exists in countries like Greece and Bulgaria. There was no civilian Turkish population fleeing from Arab countries to Türkiye. Only our armies were defeated, and our soldiers retreated. In this sense, it was the Balkan countries, not the Arabs, who stabbed the Turks in the back.

CONCLUSION

Some Syrian refugees may return to their countries of their own free will. The remaining ones have the right to continue their lives in Türkiye as dignified citizens of the Republic of Türkiye. Racists shout in chorus: "Syrians are living off our taxes!"

I also have an answer:

"Yes, gentlemen! Germans and French think the same. They try to revive racism by saying, 'Turks are living off our taxes.'"

 I wonder which country's racists will win this discrimination race?

Before setting off for Germany, I present the following scenario to ultra-nationalists and racists: While Germany and other European countries join forces to send 6 million Turks back to Türkiye in a hurry, let's also send 3.5 million Syrians back to Syria in a hurry. I guess this must be the best solution racists want!

ANECDOTES & JOKES

(Note: The terms 'Azeri' and 'Kurd' in the jokes and anecdotes do not imply ethnic discrimination; on the contrary, they summarize the fraternal relationship of Iğdır's two indispensable ethnic values. The following jokes and anecdotes are published for the first time.)

THE TREE'S FLOWER

A Kurd takes refuge in the shade of an apricot tree in the midday heat, sits down, leans his back against the tree, takes out his tobacco pouch, and rolls a cigarette with pleasure. As the Kurd watches the cigarette smoke curl and rise into the sky with delight, his eyes fall on the newly blossoming branches. "I wonder how many apricots the Azeri will pick from this tree?" he wonders. He starts counting the flowers: Yek, du, sê, çar... Every time he takes a puff from his cigarette, he forgets the number and starts over. There's no tobacco left in his pouch, but he can't finish counting. Angrily, he mutters to himself: "Look at the Azeri's luck! Even Kurdish numbers aren't enough to count the apricots he'll pick. Bextewar!"

ROBBERS

Once upon a time, the road connecting Iğdır to Doğubayazıt, passing through the Çilli pass, became the target of unknown robbers. The robbers acted mercilessly. After completing the robbery, they would kill the drivers and throw them off a cliff so their identities would not be known.

Various legends circulated among the people about the identity of the robbers. Some believed that a few individuals who had fled blood feuds and justice had formed a gang; others believed that malicious people from nearby villages close to the road were doing this. When the gendarmerie could not cope with the robbers, the drivers stopped traveling.

A truck driver ignored this threat, loaded his cargo, and decided to travel at night. More than fifteen fellow drivers tried to dissuade him, but the driver said he believed the robbers had given up. It turned into a bet. If the driver arrived safely in Doğubayazıt, he would collect 50 TL from each driver; if robbers appeared in front of him, he would be killed anyway, so he wouldn't have to pay anyone. The driver set off.

As the truck slowly navigated the winding and dangerous Çilli pass, robbers with masked faces suddenly appeared in front of it. They stopped the truck. The leader of the robbers approached the driver's window:

"Why aren't drivers traveling anymore?"

"They're afraid of robbers!"

"Aren't you afraid?"

"What do you mean! I'm very afraid!"

"Then why did you set off?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't rob my truck."

"What do you mean?"

"If you rob me, no one will travel anymore, but if you don't touch me, I'll send word to the drivers, falsely saying there are no robbers. You can cleanly rob 5-10 trucks in a day."

The robber leader liked this suggestion. He allowed the driver to leave. In those years, due to the winding and deeply potholed road, it was only possible to reach Doğubayazıt after a difficult journey of 5-6 hours. When the driver arrived in Doğubayazıt, his first job was to go to the post office and give the good news (!) to his friends. He asked for the money he won from the bet to be collected and sent to him by urgent telegram. As the driver counted the more than 500 TL he received, he chuckled to himself:

"Fools! They'll be very upset when they find out I was the real robber, what can I do!"