Locals attack refugee waste workers, set depots on fire in İstanbul's Ataşehir

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The Recycling Workers Association released a statement in order to prevent information pollution following the killing of a 15-year-old child on the E5 highway in İstanbul's Asian-side district of Ataşehir on Saturday (June 11).

After claims on social media that the child was killed by waste workers from Afghanistan, locals in Yenisahra neighborhood set fire to a waste depot on Sunday night.

Members of the association gathered at the depot yesterday. Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İstanbul deputies Musa Piroğlu and Züleyha Gülüm accompanied the workers.

Sait Akıncı, whose business was set on fire, said, "This is not about Afghans or Syrians. It is, in fact, about 'We don't want the Kurds.' They set fire to our shop while saying, 'The homeland cannot be divided' and 'Allahuakbar' and with offensive weapons in their hands.

"They attacked while people from my family were sleeping. We have been trying not to die here for four days."

A worker who was attacked said, "Before the incident, police officers gathered here. When we asked why, they said they had received intelligence. We thought it was about our life safety. But the attack began after the police left."

Tuğba Dönmez, a member of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Council from Ataşehir, said the killing of the child was first blamed on workers from Afghanistan, and then on Kurdish workers because of the racist messages on social media. Another child from the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakır was stabbed in the arm, she added.

Ali Mendillioğlu, the head of the Recycling Workers Association, said the incidents showed the consequences of the "simplistic statements" that refugees are the reason for growing poverty.

"As you know, some social media accounts and the leader of a party shared the incident as the death of a Turkish youth by being crushed under a vehicle while running away from Afghan youths who attempted to rob him and they called on the people to take to the streets or indirectly encouraged them to take to the streets," he said, referring to Victory (Zafer) Party leader Ümit Özdağ's social media posts.

He called on those people to disclose from whom they got the information that the killed child was attacked by refugees. "If you don't answer this question, then you are provocateurs who deliberately spread this news in order to pit people against each other and create an environment of conflict."

"Provocateurs should be punished"

Mendillioğlu said they will not file complaints against locals who attacked them after being provoked but will not tolerate those who provoked the people.

Those provocateurs should be definitely punished so that similar incidents can be prevented, he said.

"Refugees are not responsible"

"We would like to briefly say the following about the immigrant problem in Turkey: We didn't create this problem. And we are aware that this problem will not be solved by producing a simplistic discourse that immigrants are responsible for the growing poverty will not solve this problem.

"What happened in Yenisahra is a vivid example that it can lead to grave consequences. The solution cannot and should not be to make someone hostile and target.

"We will continue to live in fraternity in Yenisahra and other neighborhoods. We want everyone to know that we will grove our struggle against not the poor but poverty."

An investigation is underway

Workers said the İstanbul governor called them before the meeting to thank them for their common sense, bianet learned.

The governor's office on Monday said one of the two people who are considered to cause the traffic accident was arrested.

Authorities are investigating the incident. (TY/VK)