Armut greift in Türkei um sich

In der Türkei verarmen immer mehr Menschen in Folge von Pandemie und Erdogans Wirtschaftspolitik:

In trouble even before the coronavirus pandemic, the Turkish economy is now on the edge of a precipice.

While the economy officially expanded by nearly six percent in the last three months of 2020, growth came at the expense of a government credit push that sent consumer prices soaring.

The annual inflation rate had shot up to 15.6 percent by February, while the Turkish lira has lost more than half its value against the dollar since the start of 2018.

For people like Avsar, this means her meagre pension is able to buy less and less.

"Olive oil is now worth its weight in gold. This is what a man should offer his beloved to impress her," quipped another shopper, Ahmet.

Behind the stoic sarcasm lies the stark reality of Turks slipping into poverty, which is officially defined as an income of less than $4.30 (3.60 euros) a day.

The World Bank estimated that 13.9 percent of the population -- or just under 12 million people -- were already living in poverty at the time of its last report in April 2020.

Now, Hacer Foggo, founder of the Deep Poverty Network NGO who has worked with Turkey's poor for 20 years, says she has never seen the situation more dire.

"Access to food has never been as big a problem as it is today," Foggo said.

"Before, if you didn't have food, you would ask your neighbours. But today, the neighbours don't have anything either."

Some of Turkey's poorest neighbourhoods often include a mix of construction workers, people who pick over rubbish for recycling, and women and children who work as street vendors.