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I wanted to write about this topic since the beginning of the summer (just after the presidential and parliamentary elections), but whenever I read the violent reaction from the Arab brothers to any article or video that speaks fairly about racism in Turkey, I preferred to wait until this storm calmed down to analyze it logically and fairly, relying on accurate information. Not a personal opinion.
If Turkey is a racist country, as some people think, then this means that there is no legal legislation that holds accountable any citizen who shows racist behavior towards any foreigner. On the other hand, a racist country cannot include the largest airport in the world and receive the largest number of tourists compared to the rest of the European countries. Various parts of the world.
If we temporarily talk about Turkey before the summer of 2023, we will clearly find that it is a country where the tourists who visit it are characterized by more diversity than any other country. It is the destination of everyone because it is a country that respects the beliefs of different religions and cultures, and of a diverse nature. It includes the cold weather that the Arab brothers in the regions of the Arabian Gulf lack. It includes beaches and warmth in the south, which is visited by Russians and citizens of cold countries. It includes many forests and 3 seas, and in Istanbul alone it overlooks the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea, and the Kucuk and Buyukcekmece lakes, in addition to the most important landmark, which is the unique Bosphorus Strait.
The diverse cultures in Turkey in general and in Istanbul in particular have gained the admiration of tourists over the past twenty years, and the number of tourists visiting Turkey is constantly and steadily increasing. The beautiful thing about all of this is that the prices in this country are cheaper than in most countries, and at the same time there is a great diversity in clothing brands and malls. Commercial and even restaurants and cafes.
Turkey is a country with a very venerable and ancient history. Wherever you go, you will find historical monuments, museums, mosques, and churches that are ancient and wonderful at the same time. Some tourists even come specifically to visit historical monuments.
What happened in the summer of 2023 that racism appeared?
There is one very clear event that we will talk about while referring to its history and other things that helped.
The most important thing is that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the presidency of the Turkish Republic, defeating Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican Party. It is worth noting that Kemal faced Erdogan in different elections 13 times and lost all of them.
In addition to this, the loss of 36 seats in Parliament to the small parties that the Republican People's Party allied with, without bringing it any significant benefit in voting for it in the presidential elections.
This heavy defeat cannot be swallowed by the opposition at this particular time as we approach the centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.
Therefore, it is necessary to hinder the success of the Justice and Development Party and President Erdogan, as they chose to play on racism, which is a sensitive topic since the beginning of history, and its effects will be angry and quick for tourists, thus eliminating the most important sector in the entire country and trying to plunge the country into an economic crisis.
What confirms this is their clear statements during the elections that the opposition’s first goal is to deport refugees to their countries, but they were shocked that the government had originally developed a plan for the refugees to ensure their safe return to their countries, and therefore another party must be found to practice racism against, and here the tourists were chosen. In general, and the focus is on Arabs in particular, because Arabs are people who have emotional intelligence and will sense these practices quickly and spread news of racism widely, and this is exactly what we saw during the summer.
Some Arab brothers have even begun to describe those who go as a tourist to Turkey as lacking in decency!
Whenever they hear of a new racist stance, they gloat over the tourist and tell him that you deserve this treatment because you are still visiting Turkey, and thus they serve the goal of the opposition perfectly without realizing it.
For the record, the Republican Party is the oldest party in Turkey. It is the one that founded the Turkish Republic and is supported by the Tusiad organization, which are wealthy businessmen supported by the West. It is the party with the strongest and most active media. Therefore, to stir up racism, it is enough for the media to focus on foreign tourists being the main reason. The high cost of living and high rents for homes and shops, etc.
What are the other reasons that helped spread racism?
-The bad economic situation that the American government brought the world to when it printed $5 trillion during the Corona epidemic and distributed it to the people for free, which caused a significant increase in demand, which led to the inflation that we are experiencing today.
-Raising interest rates in banks led to more closure of companies and factories and thus a loss of job opportunities that were available in the market, which caused more competition for job opportunities.
-Raising taxes by the Turkish government through monetary tightening policies to fight inflation led to further restrictions on new job opportunities.
-Local opposition media constantly focus on foreigners and refugees as the cause of the real problem in Turkey.
-Anti-foreigner speeches from racist Umit Ozdag (who lost his parliamentary immunity and his party did not obtain any seat in the Turkish Parliament).
-Spread any news that has racist content on a large scale, and unfortunately, many social media outlets and news channels participated in this, even if it was simply a normal quarrel that occurs anywhere in the world.
-In general, it is a fertile environment properly chosen by the opposition to target the first sector in the country and separate the ties of brotherhood between Turks and Arabs that extend not for decades, but for hundreds of years.
What is the Turkish government's position on this phenomenon?
The Turkish government is fully aware of these tricks and plans, who developed them, and what is the schedule for their implementation. It is not correct to resist these matters, which are considered simple at the beginning, with a major reaction, otherwise the entire Turkish street will react very violently against the government. Therefore, each case must be dealt with separately without... Enacting laws from the beginning leads to adverse results.
Now that this wave has continued, it has become necessary for the government to intervene to stop this farce, and the Turkish President’s speech was clear at the beginning of September:
“We will never accept that harm befalls anyone because he is a foreigner.” With these firm words, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke while... It seemed to be the beginning of a new phase in the confrontation of escalating racism in Turkey targeting foreigners, especially Arabs and refugees.
Erdogan's statements came after a meeting of his government on Tuesday evening, in which he attacked those he described as "people with a fascist mentality" who target Turkish citizens on the basis of their religious affiliations or refugees, threatening to hold them accountable before the judiciary.
Erdogan insisted, "We will never accept that anyone is harmed, in word or in deed, because he is a foreigner or speaks a different language or because of the hijab or beard or anything else, and anyone involved in insulting anyone will be punished."
He continued, "Every person in Turkey, whether Turkish or foreign, has the right to live in peace and express his opinion."
As soon as we started prosecuting the owners of social media accounts who incite hatred and racism, we immediately noticed the closure of dozens of influential accounts and the flight of their owners because they support a cause that harms their country and will be punished for it.
It is not possible for Turkey to neglect the most important tourism sector in the country. We mention some numbers:
Turkish tourism data
According to data from the Turkish Ministry of Tourism, the country received 23 million 30 thousand and 209 foreign tourists in the first seven months of 2022, while the Germans ranked first on the list of foreign tourists.
The data showed that the number of foreign visitors between January and July 2022 achieved a growth of 128.28 percent, compared to the same period in 2021.
On the Arab level, Iraq, according to the ministry’s data, ranked first in terms of total visitors to Turkey in that period. 660,000 from Iraq, 279,000 from Kuwait, and then Jordan with 272,676,000 visitors visited the country.
In press statements made by the Turkish ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Fatih Ulusoy, last June, he confirmed that the numbers of Saudi tourists “saw growth,” reaching nearly 500,000 tourists during the period from July to December of last year.
According to the official at the Western Mediterranean Development Agency, Othman Arul Sari Durrah, “Arab tourists spend amounts to $4,000 per tourist during their visit to Turkey,” while “Russian tourists spend only about $800” during their tourist trips.
What is the impact of racist campaigns on the real estate sector?
Although real estate investment is our specialty, we preferred to start with the previous information before talking about its impact on the real estate sector, because knowing the past gives a clear answer, which is that these racist campaigns are temporary and their effect will disappear within a few months, and therefore they will not affect a successful real estate investment with an investment cycle. At least for two years.
The exaggerated interaction on social media from the Arab brothers who call for not visiting Turkey and not owning property there is interaction mostly from people who have never visited Turkey or owned property there before, and it is a temporary interaction. Perhaps when you read this article at any time after the end of 2023 you will find It's already over.
In the end, every person is free to choose the country that he will visit as a tourist, or he will own a property for the purpose of residence or investment. We always focus on the idea that real estate investment in Turkey is more profitable than most countries around the world yet the risks at the same time are high, and if you do not like to take risks, then US Treasury bonds. It is more suitable for you and will give you a modest return even in light of inflation and interest increases.
Our job is to clarify the matter for those wishing to visit our country or invest in it.
