HAKKARİ - Saying, ‘’There is a raise once a week, not once a year,’’ the women from Yüksekova said that they are unable to meet even their most basic needs. The women stated: ‘’The state is responsible of the crisis.’’

 

The economic crisis, which has deepened with the effect of the pandemic that has affected the whole world for the last two years, is dragging the citizens to a dead end. On the one side, the pandemic and on the other hand, the raises for basic needs have made citizens unable to make a living.

 

We asked women living in the Orman Neighborhood of Yüksekova district of Hakkari how the crisis affected them.

 

‘How will we live?’

 

Peyruze Bor, 60-year-old, who has lived in Yüksekova for nearly 40 years, drew attention to the raises for basic needs. Peyruze said: ‘’While the flour bag was 60 TR in the past, it is now 180 TR. While a tin of oil was 40 TR, now it is 180 TR. The crisis has increased so much that we do not know what to do. No job or anything. Electricity and water have been raised, we cannot pay our bills.’’ Peyruze said that many houses were fined 4000 or 5000 TR for allegedly ‘’illegal electricity use’’ in their neighborhoods, adding that they were not in a position to pay this fine. Peyruze asked: ‘’They are raising taxes, the rent is 1000 TR, how will these people continue to live?’’ 

 

‘Not once a year, but once a week’

 

Referring to the price hikes for food, Esmer Aşkan stated that the price hike is made once a week, not once a year, for different reasons. Esmer said: ‘’We are a family of nine people, we live in a two-room house. There is no one working at home because there is no job. One of my sons is taking care of nine people with surgery and sometimes he works and sometimes he cannot. There are no jobs in Yüksekova anyway. A family of nine people. We are trying to live on 40 or 50 TR coming home a day. 40-50 TR is not money anymore. With this money you can only have dinner and lunch. You are starving for the remaining meals.’’

 

‘We cannot make a living’

 

Expressing that the winter season is approaching but they are not in a position to buy wood or coal, Esmer summarized how they were affected by the recent price hikes with the following words: ‘’We cannot make a living. We are in such a bad situation that if we eat in the morning, there is no lunch, if we eat lunch, there is no evening. This deficiency is not ours, it is our reality. What should we hide from whom, we have come to this situation now.’’

 

‘State is responsible of the crisis’

 

Besna Bor, who said that they could not afford to buy viand for their houses due to the price hikes, stated: ‘’There are constantly raises in electricity, water and house rents, we cannot pay them. We are on rent, no jobs, the children have gone west to work. Should we pay the rent for the house, pay the water or electricity, which should we pay in this case? The state is responsible for this.’’