Şirin Demir spoke with ANF about the racist attack against his cousins and nephews who are seasonal agricultural workers in Sakarya.

Demir said that they were insulted when they started working on 4 September. “They were subjected to very heavy swearing. When they quit their job, they were attacked. My nephew, Şilan Demir, was slapped. Their heads were covered with blood. They hardly managed to run. Fortunately, a person from Mardin was passing on the same way and picked them up. "If they had stayed there, things could have gone much worse."

Reacting to the statement made by the Sakarya Governorship and the Ministry of Interior, Demir pointed out that despite the fact that the attack has been watched by millions of people through social media, the ruling authorities tried to cover it up.

"They come out and say that the incident took place in Kocaeli on 22 August. No sir, the incident took place on 4 September,” Demir said, adding that they will pursue justice till the end.

Noting that these attacks are increasing, Demir emphasized that they fuel discrimination. Pointing out that the attackers received encouragement from somewhere, Demir said: “If they had not taken courage from someone, they could not have attacked so recklessly. They are trying to crush people in their homeland.”

Demir insisted: “They do so that they force people to leave the country. The attackers know that they are protected. Look at what happened to the man who raped a girl and caused her suicide in Batman? He went through the front door of the security system and exited through the back door."

Demir said she was very angry when she heard about the attack and deleted her cousins' phones in fear. “Last year, there was another similar racist attack elsewhere. It was against an 80-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman.”

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