The 'Lawyer by Your Side' project

Years ago, when I went to America as a student, I constantly noticed differences and compared them with Turkey.

For one thing, it was incredibly cheap.

At that time, bananas, which were extremely expensive in Turkey, were almost free. We could instantly recognize Turks by the towers of bananas in their shopping carts.

The prices of electronic goods and clothing were at easily accessible levels.

The fact that cars and gasoline were cheaper than water was a source of motivation for us.

Even though our car was a bit old, it was definitely not a wreck, and its tank was always full to the brim.

When I see the shopping malls in Turkey today, which are plentiful and even more comfortable, I compared them to the Üsküdar Capitol that had just opened at that time, and the depths of my mind began to light up.

The skyscrapers in Manhattan and the Americans walking on the street were interesting, though they say now that the new generation of immigrants has occupied them. 

When we went to a brother's house in the countryside to drink tea, he must have sensed our poverty, and when he baked the fish he caught in the river running through his backyard and offered it to us, I realized how protected a green nature I was in.

When my English improved enough to understand television speeches, I started watching commercials.

Among the various product advertisements, my eyes kept catching the same ad.

They were telling us to call them immediately, providing a toll-free phone number, which was significant back then as we were paying quite a high phone bill in Turkey.

They were saying, "Call us for legal support whenever the slightest incident happens to you."

They would also add, "Please, please."

"If you trip and fall, call us so we can get compensation from the government and share the proceeds."

"Call us even if your neighbor doesn't mow their lawn."

Meanwhile, they were emphasizing and shouting that you would never have to pay a penny.

Now, there is no one left in Turkey who hasn't had to visit the courthouse.

Everyone has a lawsuit.

Alongside ordinary citizens, famous artists are also reflected on cameras in courthouse corridors with their lawyers by their sides.

Of course, lawyers do not charge these famous artists; they settle the score by sharing the photos taken at the courthouse on their social media.

Ordinary people, on the other hand, cannot say what they want because they fear defense costs; they swallow their words so that nothing happens to them, and they don't suffer a heart attack from threats of unaffordable compensation.

At the slightest political message, even if one is innocent, the fear that the police will come at the crack of dawn or the "off to the courthouse" syndrome is paving the way for becoming a timid society.

Therefore, free legal services have become a necessity for ordinary citizens.

Free defense centers or a telephone hotline to be established by opposition parties would allow society to breathe, at least to some extent.

Otherwise, neither can the opposition flourish, nor can society return to a colorless, faint, joyless, timid, and dull state like in the Cold War.

Here is another free service proposal for you.