Syrian child beaten by restaurant employee in İzmir

A Syrian child trying to sell handkerchiefs to people eating at a restaurant in İzmir was beaten by an employee on Monday. (Photo: DHA)

A Syrian child trying to sell handkerchiefs to people eating at a restaurant in the western province of İzmir was beaten by an employee of the restaurant on Monday.

According to the media reports on Wednesday, the 9-year-old Syrian child was at a restaurant in İzmir trying to sell handkerchiefs when an employee of the restaurant asked him to leave. The employee started slapping the child after he refused to leave. He began to beat the child despite attempts to intervene by people around the restaurant. The youngster had a nosebleed as a result of being beaten by the restaurant employee.

The child started crying and at first refused to accept any help. He then let some people help him wash his bleeding nose, after which he left the restaurant.

The incident took place on Monday but has recently come to public attention after a video showing the incident was released on the Internet on Tuesday night.

The incident received heavy criticism from social media users, one of them saying on Twitter that the person who beat the child had lost his humanity. The restaurant employee was criticized by another Twitter user as being barbaric.

A Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) report released early in May indicates that the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey is 1,600,000, but the actual figure is thought to be around 2 million. As the number of Syrian refugees increases, their children are also working in poor conditions in order to make a living in Turkey.

The İzmir Police Department found the child two days after the incident, and his mother filed a complaint against the restaurant employee on Wednesday.