Minister visits family living in cupboard, promises to provide support in Turkey’s southeast

ŞANLIURFA

DHA photo

Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Faruk Çelik has visited a family of five living in a two-meter-square cupboard in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa after reports emerged in the media that they were living in grueling conditions. 

Çelik on March 26 said that necessary support would be given to the family, who started living in the cupboard after they were removed from the house they were living in due to their inability to pay rent. 

Çelik talked to Veysi Hurma, who assembled wheels to the cupboard, and his family in the Haliliye district and told him that he would be placed in a job at Haliliye Municipality. 

Noting that necessary aid had been given to the family, Çelik said their suffering did not stem from the state. 

“The family was brought to the agenda due to their problem. Our mayors are carrying out their duties. We will look after our citizens, but I hope that they will find a solution to their own problems. These are completely domestic issues,” he said, adding that Turkey was a “social and strong state.”

“We got curious on how a situation like this happened without applying to the governor’s office or the municipality. In short, our state wanted to do the best of its ability, but the family didn’t find it appropriate,” he also said. 

Haliliye Mayor Fevzi Demirkol, meanwhile, said the family had experienced problems stemming from irreconcilable differences and that the municipality had helped the family a number of times in the past. 

Commenting on Çelik’s visit, Hurma said he was happy to receive help from officials, adding that he experienced problems due to working in temporary jobs. 

Hurma previously called on authorities to help him.

“I quit my job. I’ve been unemployed for a while and I couldn’t pay my rent and bills. I built a place to shelter in from a wooden cupboard. I wanted to find the opportunity to go anywhere I want via placing wheels underneath it. If the authorities provide me with a job, I can rent a house and look after my family,” he said on March 25. 

The family spent the night at a hotel and is expected to move into a rented house.