Hello Europe Podcast Podcast

Turkey: a series of suicides worry the authorities

Direction Turkey, where a series of suicides worries the authorities and makes debate in society, especially as they seem linked to the deterioration of the economic situation.

The facts took place over a period of ten days. On November 5th, four brothers and sisters aged 48 to 60 ended their lives in their apartment in Istanbul. They ingested cyanide, a powerful poison. On November 9, in Antalya, police found four family members, the parents and their two children, at home, again poisoned with cyanide. The police estimate that the father first poisoned his wife and children aged 5 and 9 before committing suicide.

Finally, on November 15, it is a family of three including a 6 year old child who was found dead, again after ingestion of cyanide. It would also be the father who poisoned his family before killing himself.

Three similar cases, 11 dead, in ten days

Turkey faces a black series. The government announced last Friday the creation of a commission of inquiry. One of the recurring issues is the poison used - cyanide - which is theoretically prohibited for sale. Except that even after these three dramas, it is still easily found on the internet, on online sales sites. And in the Turkish Google, the search that comes up the most when you enter the word " cyanide " is " how to get cyanide ". The interior minister has promised to take measures to prevent these illegal sales.

Same procedure, same alleged motives

The subject is delicate and it is obviously difficult to explain a suicide, which is more a collective suicide or a suicide preceded by the murder of the members of his family. Nevertheless, in all three cases, these families had in common a very difficult financial situation, with unemployment and high indebtedness. For example, Antalya's father left a letter in which he said he had been unemployed for nine months. " I'm sorry, but there is nothing else to do, " he writes in the last letter.

The economic situation of the country pointed out

The Turkish economy is going through a complicated period and the past year has been particularly hard, especially for the middle and lower classes. Unemployment remains high - 14% against 11% a year ago - and inflation, although slowing in recent months, continues to hurt the Turks who have seen their purchasing power drop since 2018 and are often very debt. The poverty line for a family of four is set at a little over 6,700 Turkish liras per month, or about $ 1,100. This is more than three times the minimum wage ... Now, almost a quarter of Turks who have a job earn minimum wage. The crisis of the last months has impoverished many families. On social networks, where speech remains freer than in the Turkish media, many Internet users make the link between these suicides and economic difficulties.