Derya Ren 

 

MERSİN - Racist writing was made as ‘’Kurd Alevi death, get out’’ to the door of Derya and Engin Arıcı. Derya and Engin said: ‘’Our ethnic identity and belief are being targeted. We have seen the most concrete example of racist attacks in Konya in very recent history.’’

 

On September 11, racist expressions as ‘’Kurd Alevi death, get out’’ were written to the door of Derya and Engin Arıcı, who live in the Menteş Neighborhood of Mersin’s Yenişehir district. After the family, who saw the writing engraved on the door, informed the police about the situation and filed a complaint, the camera records in the around were collected by the polices.

 

Speaking to our agency after the incident, Derya and Engin pointed to the racist attacks that have become systematic and stated that the government has condoned to this.

 

‘Our identity and belief are being targeted’

 

Stating that they noticed the writings on the door at noon the previous day, Derya stated that they were worried about similar incidents before. Adding that similar incidents result with impunity, Derya said: ‘’I have two children, I am worried about them. We go out to the market, shopping. If something happens to us there, we ask if this is due to writing. What century are we living in? Everyone has their own religious and ethnic identity. Shall we call this event provocative? We don't know. We have no hostility with anyone. It is clearly seen; our ethnic identity and belief are being targeted. We cannot comprehend what has been done. We were seeing the racist attacks on television. However, it was very sad and scary to live one-on-one.’’

 

‘We saw racist attacks in Konya’

 

Drawing attention to the violence atmosphere in the country, Derya said: ‘’Femicides and racist attacks are rampant in the country. This is why we are afraid. We suffer from such events. We have seen the most concrete example of racist attacks in Konya in very recent history.’’

 

Evaluating the door markings and writings as ‘’fascism’’, Engin underlined that ‘’having a different religion or identity is nobody’s concern’’. Engin said: ‘’We condemn such incidents when there is a humane and fraternal life.’’ Engin continued as: ‘’The state needs to deal with the issue. We know and live these events better than Kerbala, Maraş, Çorum, and the Madımak Massacre. This is not just something that happens today. We know from the Konya Massacre. It is the product of discourses and policies that legitimize discrimination and racism. The government should impose deterrent penalties to prevent such incidents from happening. Yesterday we noticed that the writing was engraved on the door. We have been having a terrible time the last two days.’’

 

Emphasizing that he will not let go of the incident and that he will not allow provocateurs, Engin pointed out that the article was written deliberately by a level-headed person, and stated that ‘’what is written invites massacre’’.