The economic crisis in Turkey is having a particularly dramatic effect in the Kurdish regions. Due to the rise in prices and the decline of the Turkish lira, people are barely able to meet their daily needs. More and more businesses go bankrupt. In this ANF interview, business owners from Batman talked about their situation.

Shop owner Abdulhakim Urak said the situation is getting worse every day and described the bitter everyday life with these words: “The money I make won't last until the next day. I've already financed everything I sell with credit anyway. But I can no longer pay off these loans. This government is the main cause of the crisis. Because everything has become more expensive, people can no longer shop. We sit here from morning to night for nothing. Believe me, I can't even pay my rent. Not to mention the bills."

"People are forced to buy rotten bread"

Yüksel Yıldız has been running a bakery for four years. He said that Kurdistan is a region so rich in resources, but because of the wrong policies of the state, everyone is impoverished. The economic crisis affects not only Kurdistan, but the whole country. “The cause of this crisis is the state and those who rule it. They are importing everything from outside.”

Yıldız added: “Believe me, 80 percent of shopkeepers don't sell one single product a day. We stand in the bakery from morning to evening, but we only take in the money for electricity and water. Almost all shops are in debt here. The rents on the road to Amed are very high. The small businesses are already dead.”

Yıldız continued: “Many of my colleagues have had to close their shops and find another job. But there are no longer any job in coffeehouses and restaurants. People come here and actually ask for a few days old, rotten bread. They say that they can no longer even buy bread. In one day I sell goods for around 700 liras (around 80 euros). How do I use this money to pay workers' wages and bills? I used to buy a sack of flour for 104 liras, now it costs 160 liras. Sometimes I can't even buy flour. If this continues, I'll have to close the bakery. I have children and I have to look after them. But there is nowhere to work."

Shopkeepers are desperate

Adnan Yılmaz has been running his shop for 30 years, he said the business owners can't even pay their rent anymore and explained: “Shopkeepers are in a desperate situation. We can neither take out nor give loans. Nor can we afford our raw goods because we have to pay for them in advance. Every time I open the shop, my expenses go up. Electricity, gas, rent, water and food are becoming more and more expensive. The state is the main cause of this crisis. Because of its war policy, people are becoming more and more impoverished every day. On the other hand, the wholesalers take advantage of the situation here and sell everything at high prices. If the products get more and more expensive, we can no longer sell anything. People cannot shop because they have no more money."

"We fight for survival"

Abdulkerim Can has also been running a shop for thirty years. He said: “My shop is empty until the evening. We open the shop, but there are no customers. I can't even earn enough money to pay my rent. Rent and bills are already piling up. We no longer know what to do."