During the period when Bülent Ecevit was the Prime Minister (1974), Turkey made a military landing in Cyprus and was embargoed by Western countries, especially by the USA. In addition to foreign pressure, Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) put more pressure against the government with full page newspaper ads while business peace was disrupted due to endless strikes that started with lame excuses, and production, which was already insufficient then, was adversely affected. Scarcities arose in many fields.
In those years, imported petroleum products caused troubles in balance of payments due to increasing exchange rates, and heating systems of buildings were changed in order to provide heating with coal instead of oil. Economic difficulties were at the highest level, and shortage of kerosene used for heating and lighting was experienced.
The previous day, I watched a video on Instagram about a citizen, who was proud of Turkey’s economic conditions today, groaning about the scarcities in the 1970s and saying, “There was no kerosene in those days.” Undoubtedly, he did not know similar practices expressed with sentences like, “We could not buy kerosene, we could buy bread with ticket.” He was complaining about the time when Bülent Ecevit was the prime minister, and were also experienced in the USA and Britain in those days.
Some 38 years have passed, but there is nothing new. They still do not know; our people do not have reading habits, they know nothing about the recent history and do not even wonder and learn. With the AKP, this public profile seems to gain strength because of the education model implemented. The majority of the people do not rely on science, but believe in the lies of politicians who exploit religion. Under these circumstances, unfortunately, kitchen budget increase. As a result of repeated mismanagement, exchange rates increase continuously and prices increase each day! When minimum wage was increased from 2825 TL to 4250 TL — which is below the recent minimum wage in terms of purchasing power — I stopped thinking about it because a large group of people in our country only consider the increase rate and say, “Well done!.”
In order to explain the purchasing power of the minimum wage, I can say that it only covers three round-trip fares of Osmangazi Bridge, because the rate announced by the state in 2022 price hike is 36.2%. This announcement is a harbinger of the cost of living that will be experienced in 2022.
On the other hand, the results of the monthly election surveys where people answer the question, “Who would you vote for if elections are hold this weekend?” indicate that the people of the country still do not quite understand who is responsible of the ongoing course of events in the country and are not aware that the solution is in their hands. Instead of using their right to ask for solutions from those who put them in trouble, they still wait for a solution from them! The people who do not know what their rights are and cannot use them wait for a solution for cost of living, while the ones who are in authority turn onto religion, instead of finding concrete solutions for the problem. There are people who pray on TV each day. One would think that prayers and reading verses will decrease the cost of living, and life will be more livable! As you see, Turkey is not fed up with making yesterday’s mistakes.
Turkey and its people get poorer and poorer each day.
Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu and his novel “Yaban”!
I would like to tell you about a valuable author who told all the stages of Turkish society starting from Tanzimat reform era with his novels, stories and articles: Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu. We read his writings when I was at elementary school. Our teacher told us his famous novel, “Yaban,” was composed of 198 pages and published in 1932.
“Yaban” is a must-read reference book in order to clearly and better understand what Atatürk’s purpose was with secularism and education reform as well as the purpose of anti-secular actions and the existing education system.
“What do I see now?
“Anatolia … Here is the place where muftis who gave advice to the enemies, yeoman who instructed the enemies, notables of the town who collaborated with each usurper and deprived their neighbors’ possessions, adulteresses who hid deserters, pharisees who contracted syphilis and buggers in mosque courtyards.
“Turkish intellectuals, again you are the reason for all these! What did you do for this ruined country and its poor people? After bleeding them dry and squeezing almost to death for years and even for centuries, now you think you have the right to be sick of them. Anatolian people had a soul you could not penetrate. You could not enlighten them mentally and you could not nurture them physically. You could not cultivate their lands. You threw them on animal instincts, ignorance, poverty and famine. They grew like a weed between the solid ground and the dry sky. Now, you came here for harvest with a reaping hook in your hands. What did you sow, what will you reap? These nettles or these thorns?”
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Education
We grabbed rationalism with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. According to his philosophy, the individual should be the core of the society; Atatürk wanted the citizens to be critical thinkers, like the ones in the Western world. It was what he wanted, but the Anatolian people were ruined and exhausted before the establishment of the Republic in 1923. They did not have the chance to attend schools. Literacy rate was 3% for women and 12% for men, while the schools of the foreigners in Ottoman lands, including the French, German, Greek and Armenians, were well-attended. Getting rid of these grips was not that easy.
Preparations took time after the education reform. Hundreds of young people were sent to Europe for education by the young Republic, even in those years of poverty. They were going to get training in various subjects, get back to the country and be the teachers of the new education system. The purpose of the new Republic was to set up Village Institutes and educate the people in the villages. The reason was clear: 80% of Turkey’s population lived in rural areas in those years and were all engaged in agriculture. Education had to start from the people in rural areas.
Village Instituted stood out and were criticized, even in the first years. Especially the religious circles, yeomen who were the dominant class of them at that time, landowners and their outrunners in the Parliament were uncomfortable with the existence and increasing number of the Village Institutes. With all sorts of alleged defamation, students’ parents were provoked against the Village Institutes. First, girls were restrained from going to the schools, and then the opening new schools was stopped. Finally, education in these schools ended.
Even today, meaningless statements like, “You cannot stop azans” — as if there is a group or groups of people who want to stop the azan — were uttered by the ones who rule the country and their representatives, stem from the past and offer a clear indicator of playing politics with the religion.
Education Today
There is a dogmatic education system where belief dominates reason and religion dominates science. Is it possible to expect a youth with an industrial mindset and inventions under these circumstances? For me, it is only a dream. The fact that the share of high-tech products in exported products is 2-3% is a clear proof of this.
We do not need to look back too far; due to wrong decisions made in the last year or in the last six months, life in the country became 55% more expensive and the people get poorer and poorer. People in our country are more concerned about the future, while the majority of the young people think they have no future here and wans to go abroad, which is the fact in Turkey nowadays.
Epilogue:
A government, which promises a humane life, is only a dream unless the profile of the people in the country change.
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