Outrage in Turkey: Restaurateur dresses Syrian waiter in soldier’s uniform to promote his restaurant

The video went viral on social media across Turkey prompting the authorities to intervene

A video of a Syrian waiter wearing a Turkish army uniform while serving customers at an upscale restaurant in Istanbul has sparked a wave of widespread outrage among Turkish citizens, according to local media.

The video went viral on social media across Turkey prompting the authorities to intervene. The video posted by a Syrian chef named ‘Youssef’ on the TikTok platform shows a waiter wearing a military uniform serving food in a Turkish restaurant. It also showed a photographer standing behind him holding a camera recording the scene, which appeared to be for show and to boost the restaurant’s popularity, according to netizens.

But the fact that the military uniform is used to promote a shop, in a country as extreme nationalistic as Turkey, in combination with the fact that it also provokes extreme levels of racism against Syrian immigrants (and in general all foreigners of Arab origin), it was doomed to failure. After the internet uproar, the video appeared to have been deleted from the famous Syrian chef’s TikTok account, where he is followed by over 2 million people worldwide.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Istanbul started an ex officio (!) investigation and brought 3 people. The owner of the restaurant, the manager of the establishment and the waiter, to investigate the incident.

According to Turkish media, the restaurant is located in Beyoglu and is owned by a Turkish national. After initially being charged with the crime of “insulting the Turkish Nation, Democracy and State Institutions and Organs”, after an investigation it was found that the waiter is an immigrant from Syria and was working there illegally for a fraction of the minimum wage. The prosecutor’s office ordered the restaurant to be closed.