Hilmi MIYNAT
Barış GÜMÜŞ
Assessing the President and the AKP leader Erdogan’s announcement 1000TL income and 750TL rent subsidy package for three months for Local businesses, the business of Denizli, Istanbul, Adana, Aydin, Bursa and Izmir said “This amount is even insufficient to pay our hydro bills.”
His hydro service having been cut off for his inability to pay his bills, Galip Caliskan, a small business owner in Denizli, reacted to the amount announced by saying “It can’t be understood as any other thing than that they deride our prudence. I invite them to find it out; how much is the local businesses’ rent and how much are they in debt? It’s easy to suggest closing down the business. We still continue to pay our taxes.”
“JUST MY UNPAID HYDRO BILL IS 2 THOUSAND 500 TL”
Stating that he finds the announced number unintelligible, Caliskan said “Cross my heart, they have depressed us psychologically. I am sarcastically laughing in reaction, but I am in deep sorrow. They deride our prudence, it can’t mean anything else. Let them come join us in spending that thousand TL, let us decide together which debt we use it in. Just my hydro debt is 2 thousand 500 TL. They plan to get 10 thousand TL back from us for that one thousand TL.”
Caliskan, criticizing the minister of Family, Labor and Social Services who recently said “The poverty is not a problem in Turkey, any more,” said “I challenge them to come down and see. If they come, I would take them to the places one by one where the shortages, poverty are.”
“IF THEY ORDER CLOSURE, THEN THEY MUST TAKE CARE OF MY NEEDS AND MY EMPLOYEES’ NEEDS”
Having said “If they force us to close down my business, they have to take care of my essential needs and those of my employees,,” Caliskan continued “When I applied for social assistance, I received a ‘you own a car’ response. It’s a 1992 model year. Then I asked them to look how many liens it has on. They said ’11.’ This car has liens on it, I don’t even own it.”
“GOT TO PAY THE LOCAL BUSINESSES’ DEBT”
In his final comment, stating his requirement, Caliskan appealed to Erdogan saying “Honorable President, you have many consultants. Task one of them, and let the consultant sum up how much ever the local businesses’ debts are, and pay them out. Countless small business owners are face to face with bailiff’s writs. Our SIN numbers are known, key them in, and get our statuses. For example, suppose I am in 30 thousand TL debt, I don’t want any support or anything else, just have my debt frozen. Once our workplace is reopened, we restart the business, you let us pay our debt by installments without further jeopardizing our business. ”
LOCAL BUSINESSES WANT SUPPORT NOT ‘STIPENT’
Back in March when the pandemic started and the stores were closed down by the state order, the local businesses had not been given any financial support. While the number of local businesses locked down broke a record, with the second restriction order in November, the troubles of local businesses grew further.
Agah Gurcan, operating a dealership for monopoly products in ADANA for 12 years, said “Intended help is insufficient even for hydro bill. If closing my business down, it has to subsidize my losses during the hours 8:00AM to 12:00Noon. My revenue information is available, the state can calculate this amount. It has to pay the premiums for NSI, IND-ORG [these are social insurance organizations]. If the pandemic lasts like this any further, the renters are doomed. They cannot pay their rent, they will have to shut down. Before, you used to pay for the merchandize a week later. Now, no merchandizes are delivered unless the payment is made. In this case, the merchandise falls into spot price, and it costs more. Hydro bill is 1500 TL, in summer months 2 thousand TL. You cannot turn off the freezers. There comes 100 TL water bill. Take into account the home expenses. A small business owner owning the property can also get the essential needs home only by going into more debt. These supports are not enough.”
“SMALL BUSINESS OWNER CAN GET JUST THE ESSENTIALS”
Gurcan said “I was unable to pay my credit debt last month. I have an individual credit account, business credit account, I have mortgage. All these are managed via credit cards. My just NSI premium pay is 1100 TL. We can take home only the essentials. But you have to have a shelter, you need food. You need clothing. You don’t have a chance to buy these with cash! We are 5 people at home. We either have the expenses charged to a credit card to be paid by installments or we get it by installments via an open account. If you give out the 300 TL in your pocket today, you won’t have any money to pay for the products tomorrow. Calculation is very easy, the revenue I have this year is the same as the revenue I had last year. But the bills I pay this year is twice those last year.”
“SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS SHOULD BE LOOKED AFTER”
Explaining the adverse effects of the hourly restrictions on his business as the dealer of monopoly products, and reacting to the unfair policy of treating his business in the same category as the big markets, Gurcan said “The revenues of the big markets have increased. Even if it hasn’t, it would not affect them adversely. What happened has happened to the small business owners. The small business owners should be looked after.”
THIS ‘SUPPORT’ DOES NOT EVEN PAY FOR JUST ONE BILL
Calculating his 10 month loss as 150 thousand TL, a restaurant owner in AYDIN, Halit Egilmezler too says “I have incurred 150 thousand TL loss for 10 months. What has the state done for 10 months? We have not received anything from the state for 10 months. I used to have 4 employees, I laid off the three. What will happen to the rent, hydro, natural gas, personnel expenses? They bring up the excuse of the pandemic. But we were finished off even before the pandemic. The government treated the pandemic as to its advantage. If I shut down, I won’t be able to turn the business over to another owner. We made 80 thousand TL investment into this restaurant. Not just us, not even one individual is happy with their lives.”
His neighboring small business owner too reacted saying “They must provide what they do within logic. What are we to do, are we to go hungry? Landlord is asking for the rent, how do I pay? I draw on the credit account, I go into debt even deeper. A state cannot be as such. I live alone. Natural gas bill comes very high. I have only one salary, they put a lien on it. The restaurant is closed, have a heart!” Restaurant owner Ergun Ergen also said “It’s certain that 1000 TL won’t be enough for any small business owner. It won’t even pay for the bills like hydro, water. Instead of the ‘support packages’ announced, the state should go for a 21 day total shut down. Upon suggesting this, they say that the state does not have the financial resources to cope with 21 day total shut down. It’s been nearly 1 year, as the time passes, we are even being driven for the worse. If this country is not capable of looking after its citizens, then let it go under. The products we purchase are expensive, our expenses are high. Every day of our life goes into garbage.”
EXPENSE IS 80 THOUSAND TL, SUPPORT IS 1000 TL
The small business owner operating a bar in Gorukle, Bursa said he employed 18 workers in two locations, and he had 80 thousand TL monthly operating expense excluding the monthly taxes. Stating that “the supports announced are just enough to pay for the water bills,” the small business owner said “There is no consideration for the purpose of protecting small business owners. What is expected from all the restaurants is to earn revenue by providing take-out service. The announced packet has nothing in it to help us. You have to pay for all your expenses. Rent-hydro-water bills are not to be deferred.”
On the other hand, a stallholder in local markets, Dervis Can Kocak said “What is it that 1000 TL subsidy will do? Besides, all stallholders used to earn their lively-hood on weekends, and we are now not to open up any stands in local markets. What is 1000 TL to do? We monthly pay the employees 4 thousand TL in total. This packet meets neither our current loses, nor those in the past.”
Hediye Levent
Yusuf Karadaş
Yücel Özdemir