Val Sacilik is fighting against anti-migrant rhetoric in Bolu, northwestern Turkey.
Bolu, who lost his arm in prison during a police raid after a hunger strike in 2000, has turned three decades of social activism into a fight against anti-migrant sentiment. He stands for the pro-Kurdish Dem (People’s Equality and Democratic Party). He wants to “offer a democratic alternative” for his city, which he believes is stuck between racism and a rent economy.
Although the debate On the 3.3 million Syrian refugees has generally mellowed since the May 2023 presidential election in the country, it is still ongoing in Bolu. Sacilik’s opponents have already built their campaign on anti-migrant sentiment.
The outgoing mayor, Tanju Ozcan of the CHP party, is one of those displaying anti-migrant sentiments.
Syrian refugees make up just 1/.2% of the city’s population. Ozcan has tried to pursue anti-migrant policies, including a failed attempt to charge them ten times more for water or to withdraw business permits
