Arab social networks are trying to announce a boycott with the call: “We don’t go to Turkey anymore!”. The reason is an incident with a Kuwaiti tourist in the Turkish city of Trabzon.
As reported in the Turkish media, a scandal appeared on the agenda of the Arab press and social networks when a tourist from Kuwait was beaten by the Turks, in front of his family.
According to the sources, the police were trying to quell a dispute between two Kuwaiti tourists when a local man intervened in the incident and hit one of the Arabs, injuring him.
In particular, there is a popular saying of a Kuwaiti businessman, who said after this incident that he decided to sell all his real estate and business in Turkey, and immediately curtail his investments in this country. “I am a citizen of Kuwait, I own residential and investment properties and have commercial relations in Turkey. I declare my intention to sell everything I own and to cease all business transactions in this country because I do not feel safe in this country because the Turks are insulting the Arabs and the people of the Persian Gulf and their violence has reached public intimidation without fear of power or respect for religion. I advise my family and relatives not to go to Turkey, and to get rid of my property in this country as soon as possible,” he said.
Many Kuwaitis supported the call, calling the incident racist and adding fuel to the fire with comments such as the following: “Despite the silence of the Turkish government, you still want to go to Turkey only to be insulted, beaten, and possibly killed in front of your family and friends? We must boycott tourism to Turkey and Turkish goods until Turks learn to respect Arabs.” “Unfortunately, my opinion that Turkey is dangerous for tourism has grown even more. God, heal the injured.”
In Turkey, in turn, they called for the fact that “Common sense should prevail.” As the president of the Association of Tourism Enterprises and Travel Agencies of Trabzon (TISAD) Murat Çavga said, such incidents have not happened before in Trabzon and should not be considered as a targeted attack on Arab tourists. “This incident is sad and contradicts the city’s real attitude towards our guests, whether they are European tourists, local tourists, or immigrants. Arab tourists from all over the world come to our city and region and have never faced any serious problems in Trabzon. It is wrong to harm Trabzon and the region with such an incident,” he said.