A snapshot of Turkey in the 100th year of the Republic

I was recently chatting with a politician who previously served in the senior management of the main opposition party, and they spoke about the state of the country almost as positively as an AKP member would.

It is truly surprising that even opposition politicians think this way; this must be the reason why the AKP has remained in power for over 20 years.

But is that the reality?

Is Turkey really in a better state in the 100th year of the Republic?

Before answering this question, let us take a snapshot of the country, and you decide: are we doing well, or are we in a bad state?

For instance, as of today, the minimum wage in Turkey is 11,402 liras, which is not even 400 dollars; meaning a minimum-wage worker earns 12 dollars a day, while a coffee is now sold for between 50 and 100 liras. Of course, workers in developed countries earn more in one hour than a Turkish worker earns in a day.

According to the government minister's statement, as of 2023, the total proportion of minimum-wage employees is 37 percent; meaning one in every three workers has an income at the minimum wage level.

On the other hand, car prices are the most expensive in the world. Go to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, go to Yerevan in Armenia, and everyone is buying luxury vehicles—which are sold for tens of millions in Turkey—very cheaply and enjoying life.

There is no need to mention inflation; we are in the world's champions league, but let's write it down anyway: TÜİK, whose numbers are no longer trusted, says 61.98 percent, while according to ENAG, which consists of academics, the rate has reached 129.27 percent.

TÜİK also announces unemployment figures, and they are likely trying to keep them low. Therefore, there is no need to even give the rate; just look around you; if you posted a job advertisement, a stadium would fill up.

The state of education is obvious; three million people take the university entrance exam every year. As for the quality of universities, it is hitting rock bottom; just look at the appointed rectors.

In healthcare, the situation has become fatal for those without money. The state protects refugees more than its own citizens; pick up the phone and try to get an appointment at a state hospital and see how many days it takes.

Private hospitals, meanwhile, have turned into money-printing machines rather than healthcare institutions; they only look at your wallet, otherwise, they won't even let you in.

The media in general is controlled by a single hand; the distribution and printing of newspapers are all there. Because of this, there are no real newspapers left; it is written that even in the most serious newspapers, chocolate boxes are being circulated. For these reasons, the media does not write about billion-dollar scams, but keeps writing about children who have been swindled on social media or footballers who, blinded by greed, lost their money to so-called bankers in exchange for signed napkins.

The one-sidedness of the media has also reflected on the opposition; they practice self-censorship out of fear of punishment, and they even censor the leader of the party they support unless they consider them their own supporters.

There are still dozens of journalists in prison; just yesterday, they imprisoned an 80-year-old woman. Calling journalists in prison 'journalists' carries the risk of facing dangerous accusations; as for unemployed journalists, they are countless; they say, 'If they are not one of us, let them be the living dead.'

Leave Kavala and Demirtaş aside; even Can Atalay, a Member of Parliament elected by the people's vote, could not be released despite having all levels of the judiciary behind him.

Speaking of the judiciary, in other countries, members of high courts are considered the 'law' themselves and are told to stay in their positions until they die so they can keep the scales of justice balanced; in Turkey, they have become the subject of prosecution—it would be good if they don't end up in prison.

Populism is going full throttle; the EYT (Retirement Age) law was passed for votes, and that wasn't enough; now, financial aid is being given to retirees. Since citizens are unable to even buy bread due to high costs, it is impossible to ask 'Where is the water from this fountain?' regarding the money being distributed so freely.

The rich do not pay taxes; the state collects almost all of its taxes from gasoline, cigarettes, alcohol, and the like; Turkey is the world champion in indirect taxes.

The practice of 'let the money come, no matter how it comes,' which was started to bring in black money, illicit money, and any kind of dirty money into Turkey, is still ongoing.

TC citizenship is given to the whole family for buying a house worth 400 thousand dollars. But judging by what is reflected in the newspapers, the bad actors don't even bring 400 thousand dollars; they buy fake houses on paper for 400 thousand dollars and put the passport in their pocket.

As a natural result of these two practices, housing prices have increased 2-3 times in dollar terms compared to two or three years ago; the price of a 1+1 in Bağcılar competes with Manhattan.

As a result, rents have skyrocketed, and Turkey's citizens have started to migrate from large cities because they cannot find cheap rental homes.

While the state increases the prices of everything it sells by 100 percent every year, it imposed a 25 percent limit on rent increases, which is why hundreds of thousands of landlords and millions of tenants are at each other's throats.

In the judiciary, appointments for even the smallest cases are given for a year later.

The cities destroyed in the earthquake 10 months ago are still covered in dust and debris.

A mobile phone that America's millionaire Trump buys for 30-40 thousand liras is sold for 100 thousand liras in Turkey.

Eating out has become a luxury for the rich; the most mediocre restaurants sell the lowest quality wines, inflated by taxes, at the price of Petrus.

Citizens, in order to find cheap alcohol, are producing their own drinks just like in the era of Murad IV, and rolling their own cigarettes from cheap tobacco.

As for refugees, we have become world champions. Anyone who throws their bag on their back from Kandahar finds work in the workshops of Istanbul and Ankara, and since they ask for less money, both the business owner and the public administrator are very pleased and say, 'Don't you dare dig into this issue.'

And more Starbucks cafes, Kahve Dünyası, and coffeehouses have opened than anywhere else in the world; the unemployed millions spend their days there.

And then we have our expatriates. As Turkey becomes cheaper, they rejoice that they can buy more summer houses, and they cannot stop praising the government; they just rent massive Mercedes cars to show off, drive at 200 km/h on the roads with EU license plates, and never get a ticket.

If you say this snapshot is good, let us remember Nasreddin Hodja; well, you are right too.