Young couple's suicide spotlights financial depression in Turkey

A young couple's suicide in Istanbul marked the financial struggles experienced by people in Turkey. A young child's parents, the couple's suicide comes shortly after the president's announcement that Ankara was launching a space program.

Friday February 12 2021 11:21 am

Duvar English

A young couple with a baby killed themselves in Istanbul on Feb. 9 as a result of hopelessness over their financial struggles, displaying the scope of the financial struggles the population is experiencing.

The young couple left their 18-month-old baby with an aunt, saying that they were going to the hospital for medical issues the father was experiencing.

The aunt went to the couple's house when they didn't return after a few hours, found their bodies and called the police, who ruled the couple's death a suicide on the scene.

"Those who say there is no deprivation, poverty and hunger!" main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu said in a tweet. "Should we be upset for that little child, or those young people who just slipped away?"

Yokluk, yoksulluk, açlık yok diyenler!

Bugün İstanbul’da Zeytinburnu ilçemizde 25’li yaşlarda karı koca ekonomik sıkıntılarından dolayı küçük çocuklarını komşuya bırakarak intihar etti, cenazeleri Batman’a yola çıktı
Ufacık çocuğa mı yanalım, göçüp giden gencecik insanlara mı?
— Canan Kaftancıoğlu (@Canan_Kaftanci) February 11, 2021

The couple's suicide comes shortly after an announcement from the president that Ankara was launching a space program and aimed to step foot on the moon by 2023.

"Promising people the moon when they can't make it utill the end of the month is a vote-based approach," Turkish economist Prof. Veysel Ulusoy said on Twitter.

Ay sonunu çıkaramayan halka, aya çıkma hayalini yaşatmak oy amaçlı bir yaklaşımdır.
— Prof. Veysel Ulusoy (@ekonomikanaliz) February 10, 2021

Topics poverty in Turkey