ISTANBUL - It was stated that a Kurdish student studying at Kadıköy Bahariye Secondary School was exposed to discrimination. The student's father said that they were pressured to enroll their children in another school.

 

It was stated that R. P., an 8th grade student studying at Bahariye Secondary School in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, was exposed to discrimination and racist treatment due to his name being Kurdish. According to the information received, a disciplinary investigation was launched against R.P. after an argument with other students at school. While no action was taken against other students, R.P. will appear before the disciplinary committee on Monday.

 

PRESSURE ON THE FAMILY

 

Speaking to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) on the subject, the boy's father, Harun P., said that his son has been in this school for 3 years and that he is constantly being exposed to racism, both because of his name and because he is Kurdish. Expressing that his son had a similar situation 2 years ago and that his son was injured as a result of this scuffle, the father said that the school administration considered this situation "normal". The father told that the teacher told his son that his name was hard to pronounce and asked if he could call him 'Reno'. Stating that it  was "racist" practice, the father also told that the school administration put pressure on them to enroll their children in another school.

 

An official we spoke to at Bahariye Secondary School, whom we called to inquire about the allegations, claimed that the allegations in question were unfounded.