Scenes from my homeland

Let me tell you about a few real-life events, and together let's seek an answer to the question: "Is nothing in this country ever done properly, brother?"

Ahmet, who works in tourism: "You can't do business in this country. You're doing a job, say, a tourist transfer. The money you're supposed to receive is 60 dollars, but the fee the bank wants to transfer that money is 100 dollars. 'PayPal' is banned, 'Apple Pay' is banned. If these were open, I would transfer that 60 dollars for 1 dollar. Just because of this, I am leaving Turkey and opening a tourism firm in another country."

Ayşe, who is liquidating a company: "We decided to liquidate our company; 4 years have passed, and we still haven't been able to finish it. We had a few lawsuits; they never end. Now, a matter regarding a check taken from a bank 10 years ago has popped up; I'm struggling endlessly. Look, we closed the company, we liquidated it, let's just finish this business, but it's impossible."

A defendant who was a minor when a harassment case was filed against him 14 years ago: "Exactly 14 years ago, we gave in to the devil, we committed a crime, we went inside, we served time in prison. 14 years have passed, the case just won't end, and since the case doesn't end, my life just won't get in order. If we are guilty, give us our sentence, let us serve it, and let's close this book, but it doesn't happen, it doesn't end."

A saver: "I have dollars in the bank; I want to exchange them and put them into a savings account, but banks buy foreign currency at a dead-low price and sell it at a high profit. If I exchange the currency today, one month's worth of the 60 percent interest the state provides will have flown away in an instant. Then they ask why the citizen doesn't exchange their foreign currency."

A landlord: "The price of everything has tripled, but the rent for my house can't be increased by more than 25 percent. Why does the state interfere in such matters? I thought there was a free market, I thought there was free competition. Is the state going to lower inflation by making savings out of the rent I'm supposed to receive?"

A tenant: "My landlord wants to evict me, why should I leave? The laws are on my side, and there is a cap on rent increases. Now I'm looking at houses for rent; there isn't even a house for 10 times the rent I'm paying. If I vacate this house, how will I find a new one? I'm not leaving, friend. Let the landlord go and tell his troubles to those sitting in palaces."

Pro-government journalists: "What is this about a journalist having police protection, brother? If they can't travel without protection, let them eat less and pay for it out of their own pockets. Is it right to use a car with a siren in traffic and terrorize traffic just to make it to the Bebek Hotel for dinner?"

Anti-government journalists: "There are 120 thousand official vehicles in the country; is it only my car's siren that sticks in your eyes? Instead of looking at my car, they should look at the religious figures who have 10 cars in their garages and have Mercedes assigned to their wives."

An opposition leader who had his photo taken with a pro-government figure: "I will have my photo taken with whoever I want, I will call whichever journalist I want. Who can decide which journalist I should sit and talk with, or which one I should call? Who are they to interfere with whether I go to the palace or the complex?"

The wife of a murdered politician: "My husband came home one day and said, 'Someone put a bag of money in front of me. They said, take this money, quit politics, leave these things behind. Look after your life, your pleasure, your path.' I think this is the answer to the reason why Sinan was murdered."