Deniz Batuk, who hails from Istanbul and has lived in Australia for eight years, says the two blasts and gunfire that hit Turkey’s biggest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, killing at least 41 and injuring nearly 150, was a "major shock".
"This is the gateway to the country, and if you can't keep your main airport secure, which has the name of your founder of the republic, then what can you keep secure?" Mr Batuk tells SBS.
"What is safe there? You just question everything.
"It's devastating basically, because you don't know what is next."
MORE NEWS ABOUT ISTANBUL ATTACKS
Istanbul bombing: Review of Australian airport arrival and departure areas 'crucial', expert says
'It's not just an attack on Turkey'
Mr Batuk says he hopes the international community will place the same importance on the Istanbul attacks as those that occur in the west.
"If it happens in London or Berlin or Prague it is more prominent [in the media].
"But if it happens in Istanbul, [it's as though] some people think we are second-class citizens," he says.
"If you can’t stop the explosions in Istanbul, you can’t actually help Brussels or London. Everything is connected."
Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance's Baris Atayman, who is also from Istanbul and has lived in Australia for 10 years, tells SBS the attack was not "just an attack against Turkey".
"They attacked the international terminal at the airport. There’s people coming through from all over the world."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull condemned the attack on Wednesday.
Baris Atayman is concerned the Turkish attacks will not be afforded the same attention as those that occur in western countries. Source: SBS World News
"They [the attackers] are a murderous, criminal movement seeking to create division and destruction and make us turn on each other," he says.
"It is very important that at times like this, Australians stay united and recognise that our successful multicultural society is built on a strong foundation of mutual respect."
It's the second attack to occur at an airport in 2016. In March, three terrorists bombed Brussel's airport in Zaventem, Belgium. They detonated another bomb at Maalbeek Metro Station. The coordinated attacks claimed 32 lives.
Turkey has been attacked a number of times this year including in Gaziantep in May, with two victims and 22 with injuries, and in Beyazit, Istanbul, where a car bomb killed 11 and injured 36 in June.
Passengers embrace each other at the entrance to Istanbul's Ataturk airport after a triple suicide bombing on June 28. Source: Turkey (AAP)
Call to review Australian airport security
Dr John Coyne, the head of Border Security at Australian Strategy Policy Institute, urged a review of Australian airport security, 11 years after the last one was conducted.
"It's probably an appropriate time to review our security at here in Australia at airports more broadly," Dr Coyne told SBS.
"And it's probably a time to take into consideration this new emerging mass casualty attacks."
Dr Coyne says the most "vulnerable points" of airports are in the arrivals and departures lounge.
"What you see is large numbers of people. It's still a symbolic attack against an airport and it gets a whole lot of international media attention."
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises Australians reconsider their need to travel to Turkey and for those who are in the country, to exercise heightened vigilance at this time.
No Australian fatalities or injuries have yet been reported.
If you are concerned about the welfare of friends and family you should seek to contact them in the first instance. If you are unable to contact them directly, you can contact DFAT's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 or 1300 555 135 within Australia.
Share
