The government cannot hide economic crisis

Shopkeepers in the Kurdish Batman city tell of economic difficulties in the region.

Experts predict that inflation in Turkey will increase in May as well as it did in April. The unemployment rate is high and the wages are low. The country is struggling in a deepening economic crisis.

A shopkeeper in Batman said that people don’t have any money left, and that the purchasing power is gradually falling.

According to the Consumer Price Index (TÜFE) inflation rose by 1.87 percent in April to 11.85 percent (from 10.23 percent). May inflation figures are also expected to rise when they are released on 3 June.

The dollar is set at 4.47 Turkish Lira and the Euro is set at 5.25 Turkish Lira, causing the prices to increase in the markets setting new records every passing day.

A shopkeeper in Batman who was complaining about the lowering purchasing power, said he is forced to sell tomatoes for $1 and expected this government to change nothing in the economy.

Who says economy goes well is lying 

Vegetable and fruit seller Mahsum Taş said that the situation is so bad that at present they cannot even afford the daily shop costs and the rent (which is very high). He said they cannot earn 20 TL a day.

Taş added: “We do not have a good situation, we get poorer by the day, and whoever says that the economy is good is telling a big lie. There are 250 television channels, but they all lie. Only Kurdish channels tell the truth about the economic situation of the region. I have around 500 TL costs, and I do not think the economy will improve much”.

People have very low wages

Abdulhakim Coşkun, a tradesman for 15 years, said that people have started to shop asking for credit, as they are earning very low wages. He said he is owed around 600 TL. Coşkun said: “If I were to leave today, maybe I could earn 2 thousand TL per month, but I run this shop and earn a thousand TL a month”.

Şemsettin Teşkin, a tradesman for 15 years, who stated that the economy had been at an acceptable level until 2008, said that there is only one question which needs answered: “There is an economic crisis. Why do they not say this?”.

Internet café owner Yilmaz Erin said that he is glad he owns the internet café but added he has 2 thousand TL expenses every month and that unfortunately the income is not that high.

Erin said: “Economy has reached zero level. People haven’t got 5 TL in their pocket. The government has decided to call early elections trying and hide the economic crisis. If economy was going well, they would not have called for elections. They cannot stop this crisis with elections”.

Inflation makes things more difficult

Economists confirm what the Batman shopkeepers and tradesmen say. Economy writer Mustafa Sönmez said that inflation figures to be announced on 3 June are expected to show an increase similar to that shown in April.

Sönmez pointed out that one of the reasons for the increase is the exchange rates: he actually predicts that there might be an inflationary increase of “around 1.8 in May due to the rise in production costs”.