The deepening economic crisis has affected both producers and consumers in Turkey, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Women shopping in Bağlar district market criticized the increasing prices and said, “People cannot earn a living for their families. This situation cannot go like this!”

MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed - Turkish Statistical Institute (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu-TÜİK) announced the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2021 (January-March). According to the TÜİK, GDP with chain-linked volume index increased by 7.0% compared with the same quarter of the previous year in the first quarter of 2021. After the announcement of the GDP, people criticized the rate on social media platforms. The women shopping in the Bağlar district market have to back from the market empty-handed due to the increasing prices of the products, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The prices of products have quadrupled”

A district market has been set up every Monday in the Bağlar district of Amed (Diyarbakır). We spoke to women shopping in the market to learn their thought about the announced GDP. We first spoke to Cahide Alkış, who was buying green peppers at the market. Cahide told us that they could buy everything they needed by paying 20 Turkish Lira but they haven’t been able to buy what they need by paying 100 Turkish Lira for three years, “We back from shopping empty-handed. The price of a kilo of tomatoes was 1 TL but now it is 7 TL. The price of a kilo cucumber was 1 TL but not it is 5 TL. The prices of products have quadrupled. There is no job and they (the government) have imposed lockdowns by using the pandemic as an excuse. People cannot go to markets anymore due to the increasing prices. How long this situation will continue?”

“People cannot earn a living for their families”

“Rich people never think of poor people,” Cahide said, “Today, I take two bags home. But some people cannot buy even bread for their families. People are being starved. They (the government) starve people for their own budget. How long this situation will continue? One day, everyone will die but our people shouldn’t have a poor life. People cannot earn a living for their families. Everything is really so hard.”

“We come to the market but back empty-handed”

Şefika Erkan is one of the women shopping in the market. She said the prices should be decreased. “The products in the market were cheap before but they are very expensive now. People are poor and cannot buy anything. Everyone is unemployed and stays at home. The prices should be decreased so that people can buy something for their families. We come to the market but back empty-handed.”

“We used to buy three kilos but now we buy a kilo”

Ayşe Yıldırım also criticized the increasing prices of products at the market. “We used to buy more before because our wages are very low but the prices are very high. We used to buy three kilos of vegetables but now we can buy only a kilo. I don’t have a large family but some people have a very large family and they cannot buy what they need.”

“People should be supported”

Elif Bilmez noted that they have been financially affected by the economic crisis. “We choose what we should buy. It is the season for watermelon now but we cannot buy it because we wait until its price is decreased. The government should support the farmers to decrease the prices. People have to stay at home due to the pandemic. The people, who are unemployed, haven’t been supported in this process. People should be supported to bring home the bread.”