Othering

One thing that stood out for me in the article is the oppression the Kurds faced by the Turks. For me, this is ironic since Turks face similar oppression in countries like Germany as we discussed in class. What also stood out is that the Turks took “Othering” to an extreme level by going to resist the Kurds outside the Turkish borders in Syria and Northern Iraq. I can not quite grasp the idea behind the Turks’ actions and I personally think it is a sort of revenge to what Turks face in Europe and this gives the Turks a sense of pride and empowerment.

Relating this article to one of my own life experiences is tough but I can relate it to one of my very close friends, especially linking to the section on segregation. Segregation here in Egypt mainly comes down to religion, especially when it comes to sport starting at the semi-professional level up to the professional level. I don’t recall hearing a christian player’s name in any of Egypt’s top tier football games whether at club level or international level, and I have based my research paper in RHET 1020 on racism in football and I was able to conclude that Christians are being pushed away from the game at the academy level. My close friend is a very talented footballer who grabbed the attention of a respectable team and he was offered a trial at the club. He was very excited to start a new chapter in his life while taking his talents a step further towards his ultimate goal to reach the professional level. At the new club, he was benched, he didn’t get the opportunity to showcase his talents to the hierarchy of the football club. 2 months later he was told “we do not accept christian players, you have to leave” and they proceeded by tearing his documentation. This lead to him giving up on his dream. He was “denied association with another group.”

A solution to othering that would work in my context is where “stereotypes are challenged and rejected.” I assume that through education and awareness campaigns by the federation, coaches and scouts will be able to erase stereotypes and focus solely on sporting ability, this will lead to the minority group being taken care of and will ensure a healthier environment to flourish. This will take time and it will not work straight away but I assume that ultimately it would work.

On the other hand, a solution that might not work in my context is pluralism. I think that especially here in Egypt, through awareness campaigns the situation might improve since christians will be more tolerated in the football world but this is one very specific case. Pluralism where all different types of beliefs are tolerated is a very tough step and will not work in this scenario or Egypt as a whole.