Syrians have been caught on camera laughing and joking in the latest trend to sweep Turkey’s social media. Then, Syrians face deportation from Turkey over these same banana jokes.
They’ve been eating bananas in TikTok videos and also challenging their pals to do the same.
The videos appear to be innocent enough and are typical of TikTok these days. However, while trends come and go, these videos may have long-term implications for some Syrians.
Turkish officials have accused Syrians of “inciting hatred” by eating bananas in a “provocative” manner in recent days. They detained and will deport Several Syrians.
Bananas have become a symbol of divisiveness in a climate of rising antagonism toward Turkey’s huge Syrian community.
Story behind the challenge videos
‘I cannot afford them’
A viral video showing a heated debate between Syrians and Turks over Turkey’s dismal economic position prompted the banana challenge. Excessive inflation has likewise harmed the Turkish Economy, which has lowered living standards.
In the film, opposing viewpoints uttered, and a young Syrian woman then defended the work ethic of migrants in fluent Turkish. Frustrated Turks responded by claiming that Syrians and Afghans were also stealing their employment.
In Turkey, which hosts the world’s largest refugee population, including 3.6 million Syrians, such views are popular. The anti-migrant sentiment is also on the rise, with several nationalist Turkish lawmakers advocating for stricter immigration restrictions.
But what made this video go viral was what one Turkish man said: “I see Syrians in the bazaar buying kilograms of bananas, I myself cannot afford them.”
This assertion, which sparked disagreement within Turkey’s Syrian population, swiftly became a TikTok viral soundbite. Syrians made videos of themselves eating bananas, applying banana filters, and posting banana memes to mock the Turkish man.
“Insulting the Turkish people and their flag”
While the banana jokes were intended to be solely for internet entertainment, they did not amuse everyone.
One image, in particular, irritated me because it replaced the Turkish flag with a banana. They accused Syrian TikTok users of “insulting the Turkish people and their flag,” according to the newly formed nationalist Victory Party.
Other social media opponents said that the videos were “mocking the grave economic situation Turks are facing.”
In a period of economic hardship, the banana films also appear to have irritated Turkish authorities as well.
Local media reported on Thursday that Turkish police had detained 11 Syrians for posting banana videos, calling them “provocation and incitement to hatred.”
The Turkish Migration Authority stated that it would likewise “deport them after the necessary paperwork is taken care of”. Syrians could face deportation from Turkey for violating the harsh laws.
Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration said they’re putting in efforts to “uncover all the provocative posts” and deal with “all individuals who participated in this campaign.”
Then, on Sunday, Turkish officials detained Syrian journalist Majed Shamaa, who had covered the banana challenge in Istanbul for a television program.
The arrests appeared to have the support of several Turkish lawmakers. “Those banana eaters are making fun of us and abusing our flag,” Ilay Aksoy of the nationalist Good Party remarked in a tweet.
“We’re mocking Turks; we’re mocking racism. Economic deterioration affects us all.”
Pro-minority Peoples’ Democratic Party termed the arrests as “racist”
Members of Turkey’s Syrian diaspora attempted to qualify the goal of the banana videos on social media. One person then wrote: “We’re mocking Turks; we’re mocking racism. Economic deterioration affects us all.”
Deema Shullar, a Syrian journalist based in Istanbul, told the BBC that the majority of the films were innocuous and “mere jokes.”
She did say, though, that some of them would consider as “harmful and offensive.” There are harsh laws in Turkey.
According to Ms. Shullar, the creators of these banana videos could be behind the bars under these rules.
Many Syrians, she claimed, were afraid of getting deportation back to their own country. Civil War has shattered Syria for more than a decade.
“Offences are very broadly defined,” Ms. Shullar said. She said a Syrian could be deported “over a Facebook post that can be interpreted in a certain way”.
Deportation, she claimed, was also an “act of intimidation” by the Turkish government.
She claimed that the banana videos had likewise diverted attention away from Turkey’s refugee issue and economic woes. Everyone was instead “focused on the TikTok videos.”