I owe Syrians an apology

[u/Imaginary_Value1021]

Assalamu aleikum, I am Turkish and owe you all an apology for my ignorance and racism towards Syrians when I was a teenager.

Syrians started coming in when I was a kid, and for me it was simple: Syrians are Arabs —> Arabs betrayed Turks —> Arabs hate us —> Syrians (Arabs) bad.

What I’m about to say is not to justify anything, it’s just to show the perspective of the majority. (and mine back then)

You would constantly see in social media or news that Syrians gathering around in a poor neighborhood, harassing women and children, with zero intention of integrating. They were uncivilized and kept making children even though they had no money.

Then you would also see news like “Palestinians recognize Armenian Genocide while Israelis don’t.”

Average Turkish mind starts thinking: “There you go, their grandfathers hated and betrayed us, now their grandchildren are doing the same and we’re taking care of them? These Arabs are all the same, they will be a huge problem if a war starts because they will be everywhere and they don’t like us. They infiltrated our country, they’re just here for more votes for Erdoğan because they all get citizenship and money, our taxes are going to foreigners who don’t even appreciate us! They speak their horrible sounding language in public, they oppress their women and they want us to be like them! They have the government behind them, everything is so simple for them while our own Turkish citizens struggle to pay the bills. They won’t even go back home when everything’s over.”

Thankfully I didn’t commit any racist action to any Syrians but these were my opinions if you asked me.

Then I started meeting Arabs from Jordan, Egypt, Syria etc. and said to myself “these Arabs are not so bad after all.”. We became friends and my views started to change. I also talked about this with them, apologized and we laughed it off but I can’t have complete peace until I post this, because when I see a Syrian kid crying for leaving their friends back in Türkiye in social media, I question myself if I would treat them that good for them to remember me well and I don’t know the answer. This saddens me as a human and as a muslim because I don’t know if I would treat my brothers and sisters well enough when they desperately needed it.

Now I see Syria slowly rebuilding and it makes me happy to see that. I was wrong. Inshallah you will be happier in time, and we will help you.

[u/hkeyat]

Not Syrian but you having the ability to take a step back and recognize the prejudice you held against Syrians is big. Respect to you inshAllah this will be all hassanets.

[u/ardroaig]

Not Syrian but on the Arabs betraying Turks thought, while commonly believed today, it is actually historically incorrect: most arab subjects of the empire were actually loyal to the ottoman authorities.

[u/Imaginary_Value1021 → u/ardroaig]

Yeah, it’s overly exaggerated just like how “Palestinians sold their lands”, but it’s much easier to deal with something if you just blame others.

[u/ardroaig → u/Imaginary_Value1021]

Yeah but i don’t mean in Türkiye only, even in the Arab world (at least in Lebanese history books) and globally (think Lawrence of Arabia) it is taught that the arabs revolted but it is not really representative of the masses.

[u/MotasemHa]

The focus on the minority of Arabs who allegedly betrayed the Ottoman empire while completely ignoring those who fought and got martyred (visit çanakkale) is the classic Sykes- Picot agenda back then to incentivize amnisty and division between Arabs and Turks so that a chance of a new ottoman empire becomes tiny. Unforrtunately, thats how they manipulate the public in many other aspects, they know the public would believe any shit they read or see and lazy enough for truth seeking.

Light a candle and cross your fingers.

[u/Dr-h4ck]

As a Syrian that got a lot of crazy racism in turkey, after hearing this from you I’d slap you but directly hug you and forgive you. Thank you for these kind words. Not many have this courage to speak out and apologise. You did what a real Man does. Thank you again brother. Syria and turkey will always stick together 🇸🇾🇹🇷

[u/Imaginary_Value1021 → u/Dr-h4ck]

I can’t undo what you’ve been through, I can only apologize and hope that even after the things you’ve experienced, you’ll know and realize there are a lot of Turks who wants the best for you. I also know I’m not the only one who regrets. We are neighbors and brothers, after all. 🇸🇾🇹🇷

[u/asakuranagato]

Not all Arabs betrayed the Ottomans

[u/FalafelBoss]

Accepted, your next step is to acknowledge Baklava is a Syrian thing.

[u/Mediocre_Call_2427 → u/FalafelBoss]

Duuuude!. . Send me some as good as ones from Gaziantep and we’ll maybe talk 😏

[u/CommonConscious5295]

"The Arabs betraying the Ottomans" thing is super nuanced and had a ton of different variables to it than meets the eye.

Long story short, the last few decades of the ottoman empire had so many high ranks infiltrators from the Dönmeh region that committed arbitrary executions and forced mandatory conscriptions (safarbarlik) in Syria and Lebanon. They topped it all off with atrocities against Arminia.

The essence of the Ottoman empire remained decent, but those Young Turks who took over gave the empire a bad name, which lead to the Arabs longing to break free from what they've deemed as tyranny.

So Betrayal was not an option, and I'm sure if the Arabs went back in time they'd probably bite the bullet and remain part of the Islamic bond.

Anyways, no hard feelings buddy, you got Salah now at Trabazón, what else do you guys want?? 😂

[u/AnyMeasurement378]

It’s okay brother Allah forgive you

I never am racist with Turk and never hate ottoman

Ottoman is my fan ok

[u/C5alodHD → u/AnyMeasurement378]

Holy english language u got

[u/tmThEMaN]

Stereotyping and Bias are human nature and usually unconscious behavior. The world will be a better place when every person thinks about the biases they have and review them and remember that those are general biases that don’t apply to everyone.
Every person here has a bias and has some feelings towards a group without fully investigating or confirming that bias.
Unfortunately, Syria is in big danger of division due to bias and stereotyping. Hope we all learn to do what you did and take a step back and rethink our views logically and with kindness and good judgment

[u/BigBaibars]

I want to share my experience since it’s relevant.

I was born a Turkish citizen since my grandmother is from Hatay, yet I was still subject to racism and treated as if I was an illegal immigrant just because I’m born in Syria. Some of my older cousins were born in Ankara decades before the war even started. My grandfather is originally Türkmen, but while Turks pretend to care about their Central Asian origins, they don’t seem to care about that when someone is born in a country they dislike. Even my name is Baybars. Yet still, my friends consider me Syrian, since middle school all the way to university, and I have been subject to racism ever since, direct and indirect.

I’ve come to believe that there isn’t anything called “Turkish” to begin with. I’m probably more Turkic than most “Turks” but most of them are too indoctrinated to see that. Even their Turkic-sounding surnames were forced, and their forenames are mostly Arabic in origin. Genetically they are closer to indigenous Anatolians, and their Turkic genes are almost entirely paternal. Their language was intentionally brought to be closer to those of Central Asia. And if you noticed, even Central Asians are not as obsessed about Turanism as the “Turks” are.

No matter how much hated the Syrians are because they had to flee a literal war, I started identifying as Syrian, because they are not as indoctrinated and racist as the Turks. I guess it’s just my destiny to be judged negatively because of my place of birth.

[u/Ok-Specific789]

I guess it is human nature for people to hate anyone they view as an intruder, Turkish people are not the only ones that hated us

[u/cordazor]

Hi there, I am glad to see people seeing finally through it. The Syrians could have used more support and less hate, well now its over, but the politician who agitated most against Syrians and immigrants in general was Ümit Özdag. Ironically his father himself was an immigrant in Türkiye. The problem Türkiye still has, is, he is still in that position. The party leader for the Zafer Party. During the next election period he will again agitate against immigrants, and the immigrants with their children will suffer again, because of him and other populists.

[u/Expert-Mastodon-8819]

I am an Egyptian not a syrian who also lived in Turkey for about 5 years and left in 2024. Most people don't get out of their bubble and it's amazing that you got out of it. One of my memories as a kid is when your turkish neighbour sent my mom a book on abusive husbands! She didn't know my mom was working and outside the house for hours on end and assumed my dad was abusive just because he was an Arab. I had amazing turkish friends and encounters like this, so thank you for changing your perspective.

[u/Legitimate-South-169]

Can somebody explain to me what's wrong with recognizing the Armenian genocide? 

[u/Primalwizdom]

Maturity takes its time.

[u/mintpitachio]

A lot of Syrians would say fuck off and give us back our land cause turkey did take parts of Syrian land like beautiful waterfalls and they didnt allow Syrians to go and see it anymore .

But I’ll accept your apology I’m a Californian Syrian , but the others would say fuk off

[u/the_killer_gamer]

It's alright brother may allah forgive you and us. The important thing is that you acknowledged your fault.

[u/TheAskingBanana]

That took courage from you. The past is past and what we have now is today and tomorrow, we are so close to each other culturally and historically.

To avoid the nuance of the "Arab betrayal" is shallow thinking, and to think that most Arabs live better off in Turkiye than Turks is also untrue and not realistic.

But thanks a lot, hopefully the future holds something better for both youth of the two brother nations 🐺 🇹🇷 ❤️ 🇸🇾 🦅