We Are All Partners
Peace be upon you, and may God bless you. Well done for saying, “Do not touch our Syrian brother.” One day it may be you, another day us. Who can say we are safe and will never face the problems that befell Syria? Perhaps nobody can. We should welcome our neighbors well.
Hundreds of young Turkish activists demonstrated in the southern coastal city of Mersin, calling for good treatment of Syrians. They carried slogans describing Syrians as brothers and asking that they not be harmed: “Do not touch my Syrian brother.” Statements stressed that Syrians were brothers to Turks and that isolated negative incidents should not be used to mistreat all Syrians.
The activists called for action against people spreading damaging rumors about relations between Syrian refugees and their Turkish brothers, and for stronger ties between the two peoples. They described refugee rights as fundamental human rights that nobody had the right to violate.
Meanwhile, dozens of Facebook pages circulated what they claimed was a Turkish presidential decision requiring Syrians to live in camps and close their shops, among other measures Syrians considered unfair. Official sources said the document was fabricated to incite hostility and exploit recent incidents in Gaziantep that had heightened tensions and opposition to Syrians’ presence.
The Syrian National Coalition said it contacted the Turkish government, which confirmed the circulated decisions were entirely false and unrelated to reality. The coalition published a statement clarifying this.
A rumor spread in Gaziantep the previous night through Facebook and text messages claiming that the city’s drinking water had been poisoned, implicitly blaming Syrians. Accusations increased, and some people claimed to have seen injuries and poisoning cases. The municipality said it was a malicious rumor and pointed out that water supplies to homes had never been stopped.
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