Unfortunately, in 2019 xenophobia and racism are going to be the main problems that will bother us the most.
When we speak about racism, we should not only think about the European Union, Germany, Marine Le Pen or the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The "virus" we call racism has spread everywhere. All of us, all of mankind must fight against racism.
Regardless of which country we live in we should not let racism spread.
For example; sometimes when I see repulsive words uttered against Syrian refugees in Turkey, as a Turkish man, I shiver at the thought of having such enemies of h
umanity.
In Istanbul, even though those who direct such ugly words toward Syrians are a small minority, we should not forgive them.
Even in North Cyprus, we see such attitudes; there is no difference between the racist and xenophobic attitudes of a certain minority group among Cypriot Turks against Turks from Turkey, such as Turks of Hatay descent, and racism in France.
Le Pen and racists in North Cyprus are using the same language. Racist slogans, insults and lies - either in French, Turkish or German - are always the same hostile texts. Of course, political parties and the media have a big responsibility in this regard.
Especially in election periods, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Turkey, through statements against Syrians and bolstering prejudice, is disrupting community peace.
Similarly, certain media outlets that identify themselves as "opposition" or "left-wing" are continually throwing out ugly headlines against Syrian refugees to provoke people against them.
Fortunately, since Turks are a very sensitive nation when it comes to opposing racism, such provocations are often fruitless. Only a couple of fools fall into this trap, as seen on Dec. 31, 2018, and make they make fools of themselves.
For instance, the majority of the people on İstiklal Avenue on Dec. 31, 2018 were Turkish although they were saying "There is not even a single Turk here."
But the racists have a different agenda.
Of course, those who are using every opportunity to provoke xenophobia do not shy away from using lies. However, as I mentioned above, politics and the media also have a big responsibility in this manner.
Nobody should be surprised by an attack on a mosque after the picture of a mosque frequented by Muslims is put near a terror headline by a high-circulation newspaper known for its hostility toward Turks. Unfortunately, this happened.
Of course, as the media in Germany keeps showing Islam and Muslims who are living in Germany for decades as supporters of terror, when speaking about the subject of terror, hostility toward Muslims in Germany will keep increasing.
Nobody should be surprised when a German attempts to kill Muslims by trying to run them over in Essen and Bottrop on Jan. 1, 2019.
Unfortunately, those who are brainwashed through the newspapers they read and the television they watch on a daily basis with lies telling them how dangerous the Muslims are, will keep becoming more and more dangerous. Not only in Germany but also in Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Norway too, we see the same problem.
So again, in 2019, two big problems will be terror and racism. Both terror and racism do not have a specific religion or nation. Both of them are enemies of humanity. We have to fight against both of them successfully. In Germany, Turkey, North Cyprus, the U.S. and China; in short, everywhere.
