“This is the most difficult Ramadan we have known,” said a retired professor, as Turkey is stunned by the economic crisis less than 50 days before the presidential and legislative elections.
On Istiklal Street in the heart of Istanbul, a group of believers lay tablecloths on the pavement, under the watchful eye of the police. Naci, a retired teacher, drops off his provisions. “There is pide [pizza turque], olives, cheese, juice, coke, that sort of thinghe presents. There were more people before, the table was spread out along the whole avenue, from Taksim to Tünel. There, it is very short.
“People are afraid to participate. And then it’s expensive.”
Naci, retired teacherat franceinfo
“Especially meat and cheese. Finally, everything has become expensive. It’s the most difficult Ramadan we’ve known”, believes Naci. Hyperinflation has caused the poverty rate to skyrocket. Nurullah does against bad luck with a good heart. “In any case, the purpose of Ramadan is not to cover the table with food, it is to empathize with those who are hungry, those who are poor, she advances. During the fast, we also learn to master something else, such as anger, for example, feelings, hatred and to replace them with love, union, solidarity.
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On the other side of the Bosphorus, in the district of Fatih, the line gets longer just before the time for breaking the fast. A metropolis truck distributes baskets including bread and cheese. The small people of Istanbul hurry. Servetus squeezes a plastic bag. “Me, I’m not a worker, I sleep in the street, on the bench over there”he explains.
“I have no money, I have no more. Anyway, there are almost 10 million unemployed in the country.”
Servet, unemployedat franceinfo
“Then we had the earthquake. Everything is going badly, everything is piling up. And neither Erdogan nor the government are doing anything for usreproaches Servetus. He cares about his own pleasure.”
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Cap down to the eyes, Mustafa invites himself into the conversation. “Erdogan’s governmenthe sighs. Anyway, let it go. If I speak, someone might hear”. This does not stop Servetus: “We are not happy with the country we live in. It’s as simple as that”. Mustafa nods. “Inflation, prices, living conditions, there is no law or justice. Nothing is right. Vote for the opposition, the CHP!”, he says. But Servet shakes his head and objects disillusioned: “What do you want them to do, the CHP?” Mustafa insists: “At least it will be a little better than those! They respect the law, justice! They said they would give social security,” he argues. Here too, before iftar and the evening prayer, we keep our eyes fixed on the presidential and legislative elections on May 14.