7 Syrian refugees are set to be deported from Turkey over a banana controversy. After a Turkish citizen complained that Syrian refugees could afford bananas while he cannot, it sparked a massive controversy in the aftermath of which the Syrian refugees will be deported for “provocatively” sharing images of themselves eating bananas.
?#SONDAKİKA
— ibrahim Haskoloğlu (@haskologlu) October 27, 2021
Muz yeme içerikli videolar paylaşıp provakatif şekilde alay eden yabancı uyruklu 7 şahıs yakalanmış olup adli işlemlerinin tamamlanmasının ardından haklarında sınır dışı etme işlemleri başlatılacaktır.
— İçişleri Bakanlığı
“You’re living more comfortably. I can’t eat banana, you are buying kilograms of banana,” the Turkish man told a Syrian student in the video that was captured in Istanbul on the 17th of October. Soon, he was joined by a Turkish woman who accused Syrians of living in extravagant fashion instead of joining the fight in Syria.
Soon after, a social media trend gained momentum with Syrians sharing images of themselves eating bananas in response to the comment.
‘Provokatif amaçlı muz yeme eylemi’ nedeniyle 7 Suriyeli sınır dışı ediliyorhttps://t.co/hbFmMCm14q pic.twitter.com/EgQTLjF28r
— Artı Gerçek (@artigercek) October 27, 2021
Subsequently, the videos sparked a reaction from Turkish extremists on social media who claimed that it was time to “shoot and kill” Syrians.
Among the trending hashtags in Turkey are #suriyeli and #ÜlkemdeSuriyeliİstemiyorum (I don’t want Syrians in my country), because a few Syrians posted banana-eating videos on TikTok (ref. to a comment in the news).
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) October 25, 2021
Clearly justifies, “it’s time to shoot and kill the Syrians.” pic.twitter.com/CdQglQX9Yn
10 days since the first video was captured, on the 27th of October, the Turkish migration authority issued a statement saying, “Seven foreign nationals have been rounded up in a probe over the provocative social media posts and they will be processed for deportation.”
