NEWS CENTER - The Socio-Political Field Research Center announced the report it prepared through press screening "on racist attacks against Kurds, Alevis and refugees" in 2023. The report stated that at least 208 racist/otherifying/ignoring news appeared in the press during the year.

 

The report pointed out that there were many attacks through the discourses of the government and the opposition. The report emphasized that there were racist actions against immigrants after the earthquakes centered in Mereş (Maraş) and discriminatory approaches towards the Alevi villages in the earthquake zone.

 

The report states: "Just like the families who had to hide that they were Alevi or Kurd for many years, immigrant families today warn their children in this way and warn them not to speak their own language in public. Many other regional teams, especially Amedspor, resort to racist discourses and even on the field in many of their away games. They are exposed to violence outside. However, Kurdish is still defined as the 'Unknown-X language' in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and racist attacks from bus companies in the cities of the region to political party buildings have become a routine of daily life."

 

ATTACKS ON KURDISH IDENTITY AND LANGUAGE

 

The report stated that at least 145 news of attack/ignoring the Kurdish identity and language were detected in the 1-year scan and said: "During the scans, it was seen that the racist/othering/ignoring actions against the Kurdish identity developed mostly over the Kurdish language, regional football teams and political preferences. During the same period, there were at least 50 news of attacks in the press with the mentioned motives against refugees. Again, in the same period, there were at least 13 news of attacks in the press with the mentioned motives against Alevis."