Turkish president pays visit to bombed border town in which 51 locals were killed

The bright red of Turkey’s national flag billowed over the edifice of the town council building in the centre of Reyhanli yesterday, its gutted rooms and scorched walls testament to the twin explosions which ripped through the town last Saturday.

In the square below, hundreds gathered, enthusiastically waving their own individual flags in defiance of the destruction to welcome Turkey’s President Abdullah Gül, his visit an offering of solidarity and support.

Snipers kept watch on rooftops above streets lined with white bunting, while tanks monitored the ground, and members of the police and military patrolled the streets to ensure security. At checkpoints outside the town, buses were stopped and police checked the passports of any Syrian passengers.

Among the crowd pressing to get a view of the president there were those who celebrated his visit and others who had come to the streets to express fear and anger at the insecurity in the town, only 10km from the border with Syria.

Syrians suspected
"Life here is changed now," admits Ibrahim, a 23-year-old student who lost 15 of his friends in the attacks. "People say Syrians are responsible for the bomb, but we don't know," he said, adding that he didn't believe Syrian people living in Reyhanli were the problem but admitting the situation was difficult now for both sides.

“Some people are happy because the president has come to see the problem, they can tell their story to him, but many are angry because there is no control here.”

Kasseim, a 22 year old from Hatay province, blamed the bombings on the Assad regime, supporting the Turkish government’s claim that a pro-Assad group linked with the Syrian intelligence service was responsible.

Others claimed it was outside terrorist groups attempting to create hostility and fear.

“We want to forget this”, stressed Hamide, a middle- aged farmer who urged the crowd to be calm and was adamant that people needed to move on from the problem.

Refugee influx
Earlier in the week, demonstrators rallied in the streets of Reyhanli and nearby Antakya, spurred on by opposition parties. They accused the Turkish government's support for the Syrian opposition and its open- door policy resulting in an influx of over 400,000 Syrian refugees for bringing instability and violence to their country.

In reaction to the backlash, over the past few days hundreds of Syrians have returned across the Bab al-Hawa border, preferring to face the danger of returning to their homes amid the conflict than face the hostility, with some forced to leave by relatives with whom they had sought refuge.

In an extensive entourage of delegates and accompanied by the Turkish interior minister, Muammer Güler, the president visited families of some of the 51 people killed in the bombings.

In a quiet neighbourhood close to the square, a blue tarpaulin tent had been erected to shelter the mourning relatives from the sun. Mehmet Moushak stood holding a crumpled piece of paper listing 10 handwritten names in black ink, an “X” beside each one of his family members killed in the blasts.

“All of these people from my family were only between 25 and 30 years old,” he said, his eyes cast downwards to the list. “This must not happen again.”

Dusty marquee
In the neighbourhood of Behcele Eveler, families similarly affected gathered in another dusty marquee, taking closure and consolation from the visit.

Forty-seven-year-old Ismael, a broad man in a striped shirt, stood protectively among his relatives as the crowd dispersed, the sleek black cars of the president’s motorcade disappearing in the distance. He spoke of his 27-year-old cousin Mehmet Ali, a local shopkeeper killed in the bombing as the young man’s parents, too emotional to talk, were helped to their house nearby.

“The president told us he supports the people,” said Ismael, who felt the visit had helped to ease some of the local community’s apprehension about the future security in the town.

“My government is here now. We are thankful for the police, we are not afraid here anymore.”

He said the bombings were an attempt by outside groups to provoke animosity between the local people and Syrian refugees. “We want peace between Turkish and Syrians,” he said, emphasising that Syrian people would always be welcome in Reyhanli and throughout the country.