Activists and journalists on social media are accusing Turkish authorities of negligence following the tragic deaths of five young children in a house fire on Tuesday in western Izmir province.
The children, aged one to five, were living in a dilapidated house with their mother, who sometimes left them alone at night while she collected refuse for a living. Her husband is currently incarcerated for theft. On the night of the fire, she had turned on an electric heater to keep them warm and locked the door for their safety. The heater apparently overturned, igniting the fire. Tragically, the children were unable to escape.
Following the incident, the ministry of family and social affairs issued a statement saying they had visited the family 18 times. This statement sparked fury among the public, who demanded to know why authorities had not done anything in their official capacity to make sure the children were safe and well taken care of.
“The ministry says they tried to take the children from the mother [to place them in an orphanage], but the mother did not want to give up her children. Of course, she wouldn’t want to give up her children, and if they are not being abused or mistreated, why should they leave their mother? It was the ministry’s duty to make sure they lived in humane conditions,” said activist Yücel Ceylan.
Hacer Foggo, founder of the Istanbul-based Deep Poverty Network, said there was a drastic need for comprehensive policies to tackle poverty.
“Ad hoc donations and food stamps are not enough to remedy the problems of these families,” she said to the media. “Families cannot even warm their homes properly, and in this case, unsafe heating methods led to the terrible deaths of these children.”
Foggo said children were often the most vulnerable to the varied suffering that accompanies poverty. “Children have many basic needs, such as formula, food, diapers,” said Foggo. “Families are really struggling to meet these needs.”
She added that local authorities know of the families who are struggling due to poverty, but said they were ineffective in addressing their needs.
“The ministry says they visited the fire victims’ house 18 times, but is this really true? How can they visit that shack and allow them to continue living there?” she asked.
Özlem Zengin, a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party known for her often controversial statements, said “’poverty’ is not the sole cause of such incidents.” She added that the government needed stronger policies to remove children from family care when deemed necessary by social services.
This statement, made during a parliamentary speech, drew significant public criticism, with many expressing that the government should pursue other solutions before removing children from their family’s care.
According to a recent report, nearly 10 million children in Turkey are living in poverty. The findings highlight that younger children are particularly vulnerable, with over 43 percent of those aged 0-14 living in poverty. Another report revealed that with a child poverty rate of 33.8 percent, Turkey was ranked second worst after Colombia for the 2019-2021 period that the report based its data on.
Turkey has faced a cost-of-living crisis for several years.
