Turkey has issued a travel advisory for citizens considering traveling to the United States. They’re warning Turkish citizens about the risk of violence in the wake of Tuesday’s election.
It’s an interesting turn of events. Shortly before the election, the United States issued a warning of its own about the safety of U.S. citizens in Turkey. The U.S. State Department warned citizens not to travel to Southeastern Turkey. They also ordered civilian families of Turkish Consulate employees to leave the country.
“U.S. citizens should avoid travel to southeast Turkey and carefully consider the risks of travel to and throughout the country. The U.S. Department of State is updating this Travel Warning to reflect the October 29, 2016, decision to order the departure of family members of employees posted to the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey. The Department of State made this decision based on security information indicating extremist groups are continuing aggressive efforts to attack U.S. citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent.”
Now, amid concerns over protests and increased racist and xenophobic attacks on U.S. soil, Turkey is cautioning its citizens to stay home.
“Sometimes the protests turn violent and criminal while protesters (are) detained by security forces. Considering the risks, we advise our citizens living and traveling to US to follow local media, to follow the warning of our embassy in Washington and American security forces, to stay away from protests, to increase their security in work space and to apply to local security when there is a racist or xenophobic attack while keeping calm.”
Protesters: “Fight For What’s Right”
In Asheville, N.C., a liberal oasis in a state that voted red on Tuesday, protesters have been out in force. Friday night, a large group gathered at a downtown landmark to speak out against the new demagogue. The protest did not turn violent and yielded only one arrest: that of a high school teacher taken into custody for filming the event.
Children took to the sidewalks alongside adults, chanting “Love trumps hate” and flashing peace signs at passing cars. One young protester, Amaris Stewart, told local news station WLOS:
“(I want to) just show people that it’s never wrong to stand up for what you believe in and, no matter what’s going on around you, that you should always fight for what is right.”
Some protests in larger cities such as Los Angeles have turned violent as tensions flared between police and protesters. The LA Times reported that a protest on Friday night resulted in the arrests of nearly 200 of the 1,000 protesters present. However, a Saturday protest in the same town drew more than 8,000 people, and remained peaceful.
Racism, Xenophobia On The Rise
Turkish officials are right to be concerned about an increase in racist and xenophobic attacks. These have been on the rise since the election. Racism and xenophobia don’t usually co-exist with intelligence, and offenders can’t often differentiate between races and nationalities. To these people, anyone with an accent is either Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, or an illegal immigrant. It’s easy to see why people of different nations would be afraid to step on to U.S. soil today.
So what does it mean for us, that Turkey has issued this travel advisory? I think the answer is clear: when the rest of the world is afraid of us, something needs to change. The reality is that in Donald Trump’s America, nobody is safe.
Featured Image via screenshot from YouTube video
