MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – Small business owners are about to go bankrupt because of the ongoing economic crisis in Turkey. The store owners, whose sales have decreased greatly due to the price hikes in the last three years, resist not going out of business. Firar Neslihan Karadeniz, who runs a grocery store in Sur, the historical and touristic district of Amed (Diyarbakır), is having her worst day in her business. Despite the price hikes, she doesn’t increase the prices of products. “The economic crisis affects women the most,” said Firar Neslihan Karadeniz, who has run her store, located in the İskenderpaşa neighborhood of Sur for 15 years, resisted social pressure before the economic crisis. She opened her grocery store at a time when women did not go shopping in the district. She was told “Women cannot do this business,” but she never listened to them.

She resisted social pressure

Firar told us what kinds of challenges she faced when she started her business; “I didn’t listen to anyone and kept working. When women saw how I was working, they decided to start their businesses. I opened this grocery store at a time when women couldn’t go shopping. I resisted social pressure. After opening this store, women and children began to come to buy something from me. I always stand firm. Earning my own money without depending on anyone is a great feeling for me. I don’t expect anything from anyone and I stand on my own legs.”

Prices of products increase every week

When Firar opened her store, she made good profits but she has faced many difficulties due to the price hikes in the last three years, “In recent years, the prices of products have increased every week. We cannot buy various products as we did in the past. We have to sell our products at their old price for days because people cannot buy at the new price. We resist the price hikes like our customers.”

“People return home empty-handed”

Firar Neslihan Karadeniz complains about how the price hikes affect them. “In this period, I worry about people before myself. In the past, people could buy whatever they needed but now they return home empty-handed when they learn the new prices. The store owners resist the economic crisis the most. In this period, people cannot buy what they need and we cannot sell our products. The price hikes should end in order to prevent people from being affected by this crisis.”