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Within the scope of Media Watch on Hate Speech, the study which Hrant Dink Foundation carries out, the report based on discriminatory discourse towards the Syrian refugees in print media is published. This report written by Hakan Ataman discusses the discriminatory, exclusionary and ‘othering’ discourse towards Syrian refugees in print media. The report written by Idil Engindeniz covering September – December 2014 is based on the analysis of hate speech in the media. In this part, while the main focus has been on hate speech based on national, ethnic and religious identity, sexist and homophobic discourse targeting women and LGBTI individuals are also analyzed and examples from news are included.

Thematic Subject: Discriminatory Discourse against Syrian Refugees

This report addresses the discriminatory, exclusionary and ‘othering’ discourse in the news and opinion columns covering the Syrian refugees in Turkey who had to leave their country because of the ongoing internal conflicts in Syria. While choosing the local newspapers, the focus was based on Gaziantep in which the number of Syrian refugees is the most and Olay, Gaziantep Güneş and Gaziantep 27 newspapers are monitored. Hürriyet and Sabah newspapers are chosen among the mainstream media. Monitoring was initially planned for two different periods. The first is a one-week period when events and lynching attempts took place in the aftermath of the event that a Syrian refugee stabbed his landlord to death during a quarrel they had on August 12, 2014. The second one is a two-week period when public demonstrations broke on October 6 and 7, 2014 in response to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) attacks on Kobanê. In addition to monitoring the print media, the report also conveys historical background and conceptual framework.

In the research, three key findings with respect to opinion columns and news articles containing direct or indirect discriminatory discourse towards Syrian refugees are located. It is possible to summarize these key findings as follows:

Lacking a rights-based point of view

In the light of the key findings, opinion columns and news articles about Syrian refugees are generated with a point of view that does not consider refugees as rightful subjects. All of the opinion columns about Syrian refugees but three –one in Hürriyetand two in Gaziantep Güneş– lack the rights-based point of view. When the news articles in the media are examined, it reveals that the number of news articles, which reflect the rights-based point of view, is extremely limited. In the study, only 11 news articles under this category are determined. Among these items, one item was published in Hürriyet, three items were in Olay, four items were in Gaziantep Güneş, and three items were in Gaziantep 27.

Among the monitored news articles, there is almost no news about Syrian refugee women in the print media. In fact, in numerous societies’ women and girls face particular challenges and risks; and because of the gender roles and their status within the society, they do not have the rights, which men and boys have. In cases of displacement, these risks have more adverse effects on women and girls, especially in relation to discrimination and gender-based violence. This analysis also applies to Syrian women, who have to leave their country due to the conflicts.

Security oriented point of view

Another conspicuous subject, which is discussed both in mainstream and local media, is security. With regards to news in the media, a point of view based on the human dimension of security related to the problems of housing, employment, education, and health care that are of particular concern to both Syrian refugees and local people is out of question. This conventional form of security could eventually reduce the economic and social rights of Syrian refugees to a military and policing security problem. As it is, Syrian refugees in particular are seen as security problems and once more they are ‘othered’.

Social production of news and ‘othering’ role of the media

In both the mainstream press and local newspapers, the news articles about Syrian refugees re-generate ‘othering’ discourse against refugees. In a considerable part of the news, primary sources are political agents and prominent figures in business world. However, what Syrians feel under these adverse events appeared in only three news articles.

By and large, Syrians are reflected as our “guests”, “brothers” or “sisters”, and the attitude towards Syrians looks positive. In case of some unwanted events, it is advised to approach Syrians with “common sense”, “discretion”, “patience”, and “tolerance”. As a result, those types of discourses that look positive at the first stage perpetuate the difference between ‘we’ and ‘they’.

Hate speech continues to increase rapidly!

In the report covering the September – December 2014 period, it has been observed that there is a considerable increase in the number of instances of hate speech.

At the national level, the primary events that paved the way for hate speech included the Kobanê protests, Pope Francis’s visit to Turkey in response to President Recep Tayyip Erdogˆan’s invitation, the attack on Al Aqsa Mosque, and – as always is the case during the last periods of each year– New Year’s.

In Turkey’s press, the groups towards whom ‘othering’ was directed did not change radically compared to previous periods. During the third four-month period of the year, hate speech primarily targeting Jews equaled 143 items. Christians represented the second largest group targeted, followed by Armenians as the third with 60 items. Due to the Kobanê agenda, Kurds were subjected to hate speech three times more than the previous period and take the fourth place on the list.

The fact that certain groups remain targeted for an extended period of time through great number of news items, not only shows the vulnerability of these groups to hate speech, but also presents deep-seated and persisting efforts of antagonizing these groups. That these groups are consisted of people, beliefs and ethnicities living together in this part of the world enhance potential risks of hate speech and its particular role in preparing the ground for hate crimes.

Among the 47 items analyzed under the title “Other Disadvantaged Groups” in which hate speech towards women and LGBTI individuals is monitored, 29 items contained hate speech towards LGBTI individuals. Hate speech directed towards women was isolated in 18 items over the study period.