Food stampedes in Turkey fuel fears over rising poverty levels

Food stampedes in Turkey fuel fears over rising poverty levels

ANKARA: Images showing desperate Turkish citizens scrambling to grab free handouts of potatoes have stoked an ongoing debate over chronic poverty in the country. The government recently began distributing potatoes and onions to needy people in some of Turkey's poorest provinces. But despite strict measures on large gatherings, brought in to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), recent footage has shown crowds of people stampeding for the vegetables, some even picking up loose potatoes from the ground. And members of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) claim the situation has only served to further highlight growing concerns over mass poverty, social injustice, and soaring food prices. Under allocations, those requiring food aid were to receive 10 kg of onions and 20 kg of potatoes purchased by the government from farms. "The image of crowds piled up for free potatoes and onions, as their only source of diet, has been the clearest picture of the Turkish economy right now," Serkan Ozcan, an economist and founding member of the breakaway Future Party, told Arab News. Turkey recently saw 250, 000 people added to its jobless total, taking the figure for February to 4. 23 million, an unemployment rate of