In recent days, asylum seekers who have entered the country illegally, especially in Istanbul, have been caught and deported. In a way, it seems that our country will no longer be a country where every foreigner seeks refuge.
I don't know if the need for the operations caused hundreds or even thousands of foreigners who entered our country illegally and started to be deported. People who have smuggled into a country are deported when caught anywhere in the world. Because no country does not and should not allow its borders to return to the crossing inn.
However, for years, especially with the beginning of internal conflicts in Syria, our country has become a homeland for millions of refugees. We can even say that it would be wrong to say that serious measures were taken especially against those coming from Syria.
We also know that the incident is not just about the ones coming from Syria. After the refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa find a way through our borders and enter our country, they can go from the easternmost part of our country to Istanbul without any problems.
In this respect, it is possible to encounter these refugees in almost every corner of Istanbul. In the meantime, as some unpleasant actions took place, serious reactions started against the refugees. We can say that our country has come to a point where it will be the scene of actions against foreigners at any moment. Because when some political parties started to make xenophobia a material in domestic politics, the event started to gain more seriousness.
The change in attitudes towards foreigners in recent days was expressed by the Minister of Interior, Yerlikaya, with the words "We have given orders, we are sending them". In other words, the last operations were the result of a state policy.
Obviously, due to the attitude displayed by the administrators until now, our country has been the scene of the appearance of being invaded by asylum seekers. Otherwise, it can't be about not having our borders. It shouldn't be. Because the primary duty of the states is to control their borders, and it cannot be allowed for anyone to cross the border of another country by banging their bags on their backs. However, for years, our country has been turned into a road crossing inn.
It is necessary to answer the questions of what kind of result did the managers expect from this, and whether that result was achieved or not. It may come to mind that the last operations have been increased with the concern that the end of the rope is escaping. However, I think it would not be wrong to say that we were caught unprepared for the refugee movement caused by the start of internal conflicts in Syria.
Because when the influx of millions of foreign people into a country inevitably raises some social and economic problems, our people started to voice their discomfort loudly, and I think operations have been started in our provinces where there are a lot of foreigners in order to find a solution to the problem, or rather to prevent the problem from getting worse.
In other words, those who initially said that we cannot close our doors to the refugees who came to our door, have decided to send the refugees to their countries today. In short, when the undesirable consequences of a wrong decision started to be seen, the tolerance shown to the refugees has been replaced by the reaction of sending them back to their countries.
As such, it is necessary to admit that the tolerant approach we displayed at the beginning was wrong. Unfortunately, in the AK Party government, the society pays for the decisions taken without thinking and researching, and the people in power are treated as if they have no responsibility in these matters.
In this respect, I thought that if those who deported illegal asylum seekers with an order had been able to see the future, such a release of our borders would not have come to the fore.
However, I don't think that saying "We have given orders, we are sending them" does not relieve those concerned from responsibility.