DAILY NEWS

We feed our children out of date food from the bins

A family with three children reveals the extent of poverty they experience: Food is prepared with thrown away out of date items and fruits and vegetables collected from the streets, thrown away by market traders.

Eylem NAZLIER
İstanbul

They live at the foot of luxury apartments, on the second floor of the makeshift house. The monthly cost of the two rooms is 900 lira. A heavy smell of dampness inside… They live in a room with a sofa bed, a cushion, an old stove and a television on the wall. Even the coal in the stove was borrowed. The house does not have interior doors. Since the toilet does not have a door, a cloth curtain is made. A severe poverty has spread all over the house. After leaving Ümraniye-Dudullu metro, we arrive in front of their house after a 10-minute walk. The Couple Kadir and Elif A. migrated from Kayseri to Istanbul for a better life… They struggle to survive with three children aged 7,5 and 2.

SACKED DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Kadir is 30 years old and Elif is only 23 years old. They have been married for 8 years. Before the coronavirus, their life was a little bit better. With the pandemic, Kadir was laid off. He left no door without knocking, Kadir said: "I came to Istanbul for work. There was a job opportunity, I started, soon after they laid me off because of the coronavirus. Now I'm looking for a job, I can't find it, because no one is taking new employees. I have been unemployed for 2-3 months. No place where I applied has returned. They said 'We'll get back to you, but no one gets back”. I do any work for my children. I saw that I will not be able to find a job and now I am collecting paper from bins, scrap or something for recycling. I save what I collect for two, three days, I sell it for 40-50 TL."

"CHEESE IS A LUXURY FOR US"

During our conversation with Kadir, the stove is giving out fumes. It covers the room. Meanwhile, Elif says "Come see the fridge". An old, almost empty fridge. There are a few tomatoes, cucumbers, green olives and eggs.

Stating that their lives have become increasingly difficult after the pandemic, Elif explains her experience with the following words: “We barely have cheese. It is a luxury for us. I wash what my husband brings from the bins and feed it to my children. He brought tangerines from the last bin visit, the edges were rotten, I threw the rotten part, washed it, I had enough for the children. Inedible, but I have to feed my children, I have no choice. I boil the pasta in water and give the children without oil or tomato paste. Sometimes I go to the local market and pick fruit and vegetables thrown in the street from the traders. It’s very hard for me, but I have no choice."

"WE ARE EATING THE CHICKEN OUT OF BINS"

Stating that she could not buy red meat, only the neighbours bring it during the festive month as aid for the poor, Elif said, “I also take chicken from the bins. When it’s out of date, the markets throw it away. I take those that have passed the date for a day or two. I cook it and give it to my children. I'm afraid that they will get ill, but I have no other choice. I am desperate."

"Sometimes the children go to the park, they see food in the hands of other children, they want it at home and I cannot buy it. They cry and they say, 'Let's go to the market, buy chocolate'. I don't have any money," she says.

"I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY NAPPIES FOR MY BABY, I USE PLASTIC BAG AND CLOTH"

Expressing that she cannot buy nappies for her 2-year-old child, Elif summarizes the poverty she experiences saying, "I tied it with a bag and I pull a cloth on it".

"HOW WILL THIS WINTER PASS?"

Stating that they have not been able to pay the rent for two months, Elif said, “We could not pay the electricity and water bills this month. The landlord and the neighbours supported us, but how far can this go?.."

"We can't even find bread, my landlord helped a little but we do not have coal or wood; I don't know how it will be. How will this winter pass?" she asks.

"I ALWAYS LIVED IN POVERTY"

Elif says “I always lived in poverty, I wish I had a good life. I wish my house was beautiful. I would like to buy clean food for my kids from the supermarkets. I studied until primary year 3, I could not study because of poverty. We can eat one day and be hungry next, this is our fate."

"I WANT BANANA!"

I try to talk to the kids. When I ask what they want, the 7-year-old says, "I want food, I want a computer, we don't have a battery-powered car, I want it."

The 5-year-old wants a banana and a battery-powered car…

 


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