Taylan Kaçar runs a bar in Kadıköy, İstanbul. The bar has been closed since March, when the epidemic first erupted. However, rent and taxes are still charged of him. "We will die of hunger, not corona," he says.
Small shopkeepers are one of the sections that are victimized by the wrong policies of the government during the epidemic process. While some suffer great losses due to the restriction decisions, others are on the verge of bankruptcy because they have never opened their shop. Taylan Kaçar, whose bar has been closed for 9 months due to a decision issued by the Minister of Interior in March 2020, spoke to ANF.
Kaçar said they face discrimination because the government treats bars differently.
Noting that the rent and taxes have been collected even though the shop has been closed for 9 months, Kaçar pointed out that his rent debt has now risen to 200 thousand TL. He told that he was trying to manage the situation by borrowing money from kith and kin but there is nobody left now to borrow money from to support his family and to pay his debts.
Kaçar pointed out that nearly 100 tradesmen who have bar licenses only in Kadıköy suffered the same fate since all cafes and restaurants have been closed again with the latest lockdown.
He said, “We will not die of corona, but we will die of hunger at the end. We need food and bread at the moment.”
Remarking that the service sector was left desperate as a whole during this process, Kaçar explained that 8 people working for him are currently unemployed, benefiting from short-time work allowance and sustaining their lives for 39 TL per day.
Expressing his demands, Kaçar said the tradesmen generally took loans from banks due to the economic crisis, but a registration/tax amnesty should be introduced, and taxes should not be collected considering the epidemic process.
