The AKP/MHP government's war policy has brought the Turkish economy to the brink of bankruptcy. The population is struggling with hunger and the government is spending tax money on the war and the palace. Poverty and unemployment continue to increase, and food prices in particular have risen by 300 to 500 per cent. Millions of people are unemployed and annual inflation has reached 140 per cent. While many people cannot even buy bread anymore due to the economic crisis, the daily expenditure for the palace of Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan is 18 million TL and the annual expenditure is 6.6 billion TL.

Kadir Basut in Van has no income and has to support his family by collecting food that ends up in the rubbish. Speaking to ANF, the sixty-year-old man said that he is unable to provide for his family because of the economic crisis and unemployment. Describing his plight, he stated: "We are poor, we have no income. Since I have no money, I have to collect the products that are thrown into the rubbish at the markets. What I find here, I take home with me. We try to live with the products we pick up here. There is neither work nor income. How are people supposed to live in this situation?”

Basut continued: “The crisis has hit Van especially hard. Our region has no income. There are many people like me. I have to get vegetables like onions, potatoes and tomatoes from the rubbish because I don't have money to pay for these products. We try to live this way. If I had an income, I would like to buy fresh and clean produce and take it home, but it is not possible under these conditions."

Another citizen, Aydın Kırık, said he has been unemployed for years and cannot find a job. Before the economic crisis, he could easily find a job, but that is impossible now. "The people in the government are responsible for this. They have made us as a people eat dry bread. I haven't been able to buy fresh bread for months. A loaf of bread now costs four TL. Since I cannot afford it, I buy stale bread from the baker in the early hours of the morning at the price of two TL. I can only afford stale bread. We haven't had meat for months either. How can I buy meat in this situation? I don't even have money to buy bread. I collect vegetables and fruit from the rubbish in the markets. While we poor people are in this state, those who rule us have pleasure and fun," said Aydın Kırık.