MERSIN - Stating that the Syrians who survived the earthquake are otherised in Turkey, İHD Mersin Branch Co-Chair Hakkı Demir said: "The pressure of earthquake psychology, humiliation and contempt created a great trauma."

 

According to official data, 50 thousand 399 people have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of people have been injured and millions of people have been left homeless, according to official data in Maraş-centered earthquakes. According to official statements, approximately 42,000 Syrians living in Turkey returned to their countries after the earthquake. The remaining Syrians had to migrate to Mersin and other provinces. The Mersin Branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD) conducted a study on the problems faced by the Syrian earthquake survivors who arrived in the city. The Syrians who survived the earthquake, this time, were crushed under the rubble of marginalization created by the discriminatory language. Drawing attention to the situation of Syrians, İHD Mersin Branch Co-chair Hakkı Demir stated that there was an unplanned migration after the earthquake.

 

SYRIANS ARE OTHERISED

 

Stating that the well-off Syrians are already taking care of themselves, but the poor Syrians do not benefit from the opportunities of the state, Demir said: " They faced very serious human rights violations with the earthquake. The public already knows about the lynching attempts. Unfortunately, the marginalization of Syrians is in the large part of the society; It has even been effective on people who consider themselves political and democrats. Syrians who survived a great wreck were marginalized because of their identities. These people, both the pressure of earthquake psychology and the humiliation, contempt and otherness of those people created a great trauma for them. This is a violation of human rights, and that such a language cannot be used. We will explain this in our report to municipal officials." 

 

'WE COULDN'T FIND SYRIANS WHO WERE EXPELLED'

 

Reminding that Syrians were expelled from the dormitory in Mersin, Demir said: “You know, Syrians were expelled from the dormitory here. We went there. We asked the dormitory representative, 'Where did our Syrians here go?' They said that they had not known. We asked AFAD. AFAD officials did not inform us either. Unfortunately, we could not determine where the Syrians who were expelled from there went. We also saw that there are many unregistered Syrians  along with the earthquake. Just as they randomly settled in different cities on the way from Syria to Turkey, unfortunately, no planning was made for the earthquake victims, nor for those who moved from that region. Unfortunately, the Syrians who survived the earthquake were left under the rubble of marginalization."