Turkish man arrested for slapping Jordanian child in 'racist' incident

Turkish man arrested for slapping Jordanian child in 'racist' incident
The man slapped the five-year-old boy so hard he fell to the ground.
2 min read
06 October, 2019
The violent incident has widely been condemned as racist [Twitter]
A Turkish man has been taken into custody over slapping a child in an incident that went viral on social media.

A video of the incident, in which a man identified as Nadir K. by officials slaps a young child, became one of the most-discussed topics on Turkish social media on Saturday evening.

In the video, two women are seen in engaging an argument, apparently due to a fight between their children.

A man then walks over and slaps one of the children, knocking him to the ground. The slap can be heard from at least one floor above the ground, from which the video was filmed.

The man then proceeds to shout at and push the child's mother.

The woman and child in question were at first thought to be Syrian, but later identified as Jordanian by local media, which also said the boy slapped by Nadir K. was just five-years old.

The incident, which took place in the southern coastal city of Mersin, has widely been condemned as racist.

The video went viral at the same time as the conversation over anti-Syrian and anti-refugee racism in Turkey was reignited by the tragic death by suicide of a nine-year-old boy.
Wael al-Saud hung himself from the gate of a cemetery in Turkey's western Kocaeli province earlier this week after reportedly being ostracised by his classmates for his nationality.

Turkey is home to some 3.6 million Syrian refugees.

Recent opinion polls show the majority of Turkish citizens are unhappy with the continued presence of Syrians in their country after eight years of war.

Analysts say many are blaming Syrian refugees for Turkey's ailing economy. 

Recent months have seen tensions boil over into violence, with rumours of rape and sexual harassment causing anti-Syrian riots in at least two Turkish cities this year.

Follow us on Twitter: @the_newarab