Ulaş Barış writes..."Litmus Paper..."

The incident that took place at Glapsides Beach last week and the subsequent post by an employee have become a litmus test for understanding the mindset of the population living in the northern part of the island.

I do not wish to discuss the matter on an individual basis. Our news team has spoken with the person who made the statement. Frankly, the behavior that has occurred on the beach up until now—detached not only from our culture but also from general decency and etiquette—cannot be accepted. We are all disturbed by this.

However, the manner of expression used by the employee and the statements like "this person can't enter, that person can't enter" are unacceptable and cannot be justified under any circumstances.

But as I said, it is not possible to discuss this issue solely through the lens of one individual.

The term 'litmus paper' that I used at the beginning of this article points to something else: Xenophobia exists in the north of Cyprus!

The comments under related news articles, the support given to the statement, labeling it as "courage," and even interpreting it as "freedom of thought and expression" are extremely alarming.

Let’s define racism and hate crime: “Any criminal offense committed against a person or property, where the motivation is the victim's race, color, ethnic origin, or nationality; religion; gender; sexual orientation; age; physical or mental disabilities constitutes a hate crime.”

Xenophobia is defined in the literature as: “Xenophobia, derived from the Greek words ‘phobia’ meaning ‘fear’ and ‘xenos’ meaning ‘foreign’ or ‘guest,’ therefore, means the fear of foreigners.”

The world is suffering from this 'xenophobia' disease, which has become a kind of pandemic. The rise of the far-right in recent European Parliament elections is heavily fueled by this issue.

In this context, there is a conflation of issues, where racist rhetoric under the guise of xenophobia is being perceived as "freedom of thought and expression."

Despite the contentious nature of this topic, two points are clear: First, any threat against a person, group, or entity should not be considered freedom of expression. Second, hate speech and racism cannot be accepted as freedom of expression.

We must agree on these standards. If we do not, hunting down Pakistanis, Nigerians, or people of other races on the streets could become acceptable.

The historical events of Nazi Germany are a prime example. However, humanity has not fully learned from these lessons.

Such rhetoric brings about a collective lynching hysteria, which is very easy in our current age.

The primary reason for this is the dramatic change in mass communication tools, the unprecedented ease of communication, and the extreme levels of interaction.

The Glapsides incident and the reactions afterward, including the comments and general support from the public, unfortunately, summarize our current situation.

The 'mob' living in the north of Cyprus is xenophobic. We cannot identify exactly who makes up this mob. Since it includes Turkish Cypriots, it concerns us as well—and unfortunately, Turkish Cypriots cannot simply dismiss this by saying “it wasn’t us.” Some people argue that “Turkish Cypriots wouldn’t behave like this.”

Which Turkish Cypriots?

Who are these people?

What about the new generation raised on shows like "Çukur" and lost in the absurd world of TikTok?

Yes, generally speaking, Turkish Cypriots are not racist. We call each other "Arab" and give each other nicknames. But clearly, the situation has escalated to much more severe levels.

Even in football stadiums, where racism is most rampant, I don’t recall any serious incidents. But apparently, I am wrong.

I cannot blame the entire society for the current state either.

The biggest culprits of the changing social structure in this country are the comprador and collaborative politicians.

There are tens of thousands brought from third-world countries under the guise of students so that certain individuals can profit. There are human trafficking mechanisms disguised as higher education institutions.

The students who come to the island eventually form ghettos, unable to integrate with the local culture, leading to societal explosions.

The same type of explosions that occurred after the 1974 intervention, due to the transfer of people with no common ground with Turkish Cypriots, continue 50 years later but now involve different ethnic groups.

Besides those brought in as students, there are Asian workers brought in as cheap labor. I exclude those who work honestly, but workers from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Turkmenistan, brought to further enrich local capital groups, have no connection to the island’s local culture. Worse, we don’t even know their exact numbers.

Naturally, their inappropriate behaviors within the community lead to outrage, and subsequently, to hate speech and racism, as seen in the recent Glapsides incident.

The disorganized state of the country, the unknown population size, the increasing foreign population, and economic problems are the main reasons for these incidents. But none of these are excuses.

Racism, xenophobia, and hate speech are issues we must approach with zero tolerance and cannot normalize with conjunctions like “but.”

Therefore, I am deeply saddened. Truly saddened.

I feel ashamed for having to write such an article. It’s a pity...