Several Syrians face deportation from Turkey after posting videos of themselves eating bananas as part of a “provocation” while “inciting hatred” following tensions between the host community and refugees over their financial wellbeing.
Eight Syrians, including one minor, were detained in the western city of Izmir, Turkish news agency Demiroren said on Saturday. The Turkish migration authority said earlier this week another seven foreign nationals were to be processed for deportation for related reasons.
Videos of people purporting to be Syrians eating bananas have sprung up. In one video, a middle-aged man is heard complaining: “You’re living comfortably. I can’t eat a banana, you’re buying kilos of bananas.” A woman also criticised Syrians for not fighting in the country’s war but returning for religious festivals.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Directorate General of Migration Management said “efforts are under way to uncover all the provocative posts and that “deportation proceedings will be initiated”.
Credit: aljazeera.com
