Istanbulites struggling to face growing terror threat

A flurry of deadly attacks, in particular the mass shooting at a night club in Istanbul on New Year's Day, have scared away not a few residents from public places in the most populous city in Turkey.

The lone gunman, who fired at hundreds of revelers ringing in the New Year at Reina nightclub and left 39 dead, remains at large days later, leaving Istanbulites at a loss what to do with their normal lives.

"Following terrorist attacks targeting citizens' daily lives, the denizens first start to hesitate over using public transportation like buses and subway," said Mehmet Baskak, a clinical psychologist. "Then they start to think twice about going out to shopping malls or other crowded public places."

People are giving up restaurants, coffees and bars as well, despite pleas to the contrary from the prime minister and others.

Since the summer of 2015, Turkey has been hit by over 30 bombing attacks, in which more than 400 lives were claimed. In Istanbul, some 155 lost their lives in six major attacks.

"Many countries have already learned how to cope with terror threats and how to equip the security guards against the threat of suicide bombers, without changing their routines," said Baskak, "and this is something Turkey should definitely do."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has urged citizens not to change their normal ways of life in the face of growing terror threats, otherwise terror organizations will reach their ultimate objective, he cautioned.

In the wake of the nightclub attack, Kaya Demirer, the head of Tourism Restaurant Investors and Managers Association, also called on Turks to flock to restaurants, bars and coffeehouses as a sign of solidarity against terrorism.

"We believe that our people will defend their daily life habits, and that our tables will again be set around friendship and joy," he said.

For men and women in the street, however, it is not easy for them to frequent these places as they used to. "After Reina attack everything becomes much scarier in our lives," said 25-year-old Irem Genc.

She and her friends had already stopped going to bars or nightclubs after twin bombing attacks outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul left 47 dead on the night of Dec. 10.

"Not only restaurants bars and nightclubs are empty, but public transportation hubs, subways, busses and shopping malls are all empty now," she said.

Gizem Gulmek, a young woman working with a fashion company, said she used to go out every weekend, but has given up even coffee with friends now.

"I can say one thing for sure, that is I'm very much scared of everything," she added.

She now prefers small restaurants only during lunch break located on small alleyways.

Ulas Ozan Sapan, Gulmek's fiance, owns Gastrobar in Sariyer district, not far from Reina. Following the shooting, he has been considering abandoning the business as well as night life altogether.

"We couldn't just wait to die and continue our lives as if nothing has happened," said Sapan.

Psychologist Baskak suggests the owners of restaurants, coffees and bars use "terror lock" at the entrances, as being done in the United States and Israel.

In his view, specially trained and armed security guards could conduct body searches of costumers to make sure that they do not carry weapons or bombs with them.

Sercan Yasar, the manager of a restaurant-bar called Whisper in Arnavutkoy neighboring Reina, described as "nonsense" the discussions on special security measures.

"The entire police department couldn't prevent the Reina attack, how will bunches of security guards succeed?" he demanded.

The business of Whisper has dropped by more than 50 percent following recent attacks and the management is expecting worse to come.

In the view of Yasar, there is no way to force people to continue their normal lives and go out as often as they did.

He believes, however, that the threats and terror attacks will not last long. "At some point it would end," he said. "We should be patient."

source: Xinhua