The Voice of Poverty: Luxury in Palaces, Hunger in the Streets.
One Hour in the Palace = 7.5 Years of an Employee’s Life
In the 1,150-room Presidential Palace, 417,000 TL is spent in just one hour. 10 MILLION TL per day! 300 million monthly, 3.5 billion annually! You can hardly even pronounce these numbers, can you?
An average worker would need to work for 7.5 years just to earn the amount spent in one hour at the palace! To cover the cost of one day at the palace, they would need 151 years… Yes, you heard it right: 151 years!
What could be done with the 10 million spent in just one day?
• 1,000 medical treatments,
• Scholarships for 2,000 students,
• Food packages for 5,000 families…
But none of that was done! Because this waste is no longer a choice, it has become a way of life!
While people in the market buy tomatoes by the piece, others are stirring their coffee with a golden spoon in massive halls…
Is this conscience?
The Ones Who Tighten the People’s Belt
Members of parliament earn 150-200 thousand TL per month, but that’s not enough:
• 3-5 income sources,
• Cheap flights,
• Fuel support,
• Free housing,
• State cars…
What about the people?
• Minimum wage: 22,000 TL
• Rent: 13,000 TL
• Utilities + food: 9,000 TL
• Leftover: 0!
Then what do they say?
“Tighten your belts.”
But that belt is always tight around the PEOPLE’S NECK!
It squeezes, chokes, and kills!
They Don’t Win Through KPSS, They Win Through Nepotism
You study for months for the KPSS exam, you sacrifice day and night…
But their children are placed in jobs with just one phone call.
• The president’s nephew: 4 salaries!
• The minister’s cousin: A director without seeing a university,
• The MP’s son: An ambassador without a diploma!
Your child graduates with honors, but remains unemployed…
Their child becomes a president without even finishing university.
What does the imam say in the Friday sermon?
“Be grateful, O Muslims, be patient, don’t revolt…”
But those words are for the family that can’t afford meat,
For the worker who can’t make ends meet,
For the student who goes to work right after university…
While the people learn to “be grateful” with 22,000 TL,
Members of parliament earn 150-200 thousand TL!
And that’s not enough: 3-5 income sources, consulting fees, contract shares, fuel support, housing privileges…
Then they say “tighten your belts.”
“There’s a crisis,” they say…
But for some reason, this crisis only affects the PEOPLE!
It doesn’t touch the palaces, cars, luxury comforts, and summer cottages!
No one tells any politician or rich person:
“Give up the luxury, live like the people!”
While the children of poor families see their fathers leave for work in the morning and come home in the evening, they are having croissants for breakfast with their families in Paris!
We need to be grateful, but SILENCE IN THE FACE OF OPPRESSION IS HARAM!
Savings(!) But Only For the People
And now supposedly we’ve entered a savings period, right?
“They even banned tea in public offices,” they said…
But million-dollar tenders are still being awarded to cronies.
The salaries of commentators on state-run channels are more than a teacher’s yearly salary!
In 2024, the amount allocated for “Official Vehicle Purchases” alone is 1.2 BILLION TL! What’s this about?
• Mercedes S400
• BMW 740
• Audi A8
• A helicopter! And they pay 1 million TL per month just for these!
A minister goes to a meeting alone but arrives with a 30-car convoy!
For once, live like the people! Take the bus, ride the dolmuş, go to the market and shop…
See the condition of the country.
If You Have Power, You’re Above the Law
• Ruhsar Pekcan sold disinfectants to the Ministry of Trade at 3-4 times the market price from her own company. Was she prosecuted? NO!
• Elif Doğan Türkmen ran up a 1.2 million TL phone bill. Did she face consequences? NO! She just said “Sorry.” That’s it.
• One MP, saying there’s no cost of living crisis, went on vacation in Greece, spending 40,000 TL in 4 days.
• Faruk Çelik earned 250,000 TL per month by collecting income from 4 different sources!
But the public is struggling to buy even 10 TL worth of cheese!
Is this the state? Is this justice? Is this ethics? Is this freedom?
The Innocent’s Prayers Are Not Heard, But Their Curse Will Come
This article:
• Is the cry of a father who committed suicide because he couldn’t buy his son a pair of pants.
• Is the sigh of a mother working with 38-degree fever to keep her job.
• Is the scream of a father working a second job and sleeping only 2-3 hours a day due to financial struggles.
Meanwhile, in the palace, the air conditioners are running 24 hours a day. Just the cost of those air conditioners amounts to 2 MILLION TL per month!
Where’s the conscience in this?
Relatives Earning Five Salaries – Citizens Left With 50 TL
Some bureaucrats are consultants, board members, and heads of multiple positions… Total monthly salary: Close to 300,000 TL!
Meanwhile, a worker wakes up at 5 AM, returns home in the evening, and is left with only 50 TL in his pocket!
Yes, we live on the patience of the people… But remember: This people also has its rebellion!
While Palaces Grow, Many Villages Don’t Have a Hospital!
There are palaces:
• Summer palaces,
• Winter palaces,
• Flying palaces (yes, the airplane palace),
• And “secret” palaces! Millions are spent on each.
But:
• There are no hospitals in the East,
• Village roads are mud,
• Most children can’t go to school due to financial difficulties!
And what do they say?
“State honor cannot be compromised.”
Is this the magnificent form of this cruelty?
Here’s What State Honor Looks Like
• A student commits suicide due to KYK debt.
• A retired person is struggling to buy a few cheaper loaves of bread.
• A minimum-wage earner can’t breathe from working a second job.
And what are the state leaders doing?
• Conferences in luxury hotels!
• 60-person delegations on foreign trips!
• New tenders in every meeting!
• 5 types of lamb dishes at every meal!
And the people’s voices:
“I’m too ashamed to look my family in the eye because I don’t have money…”
“I couldn’t even afford to buy food, so I fed my child bread and jam…”
“I don’t even have time to rest because I’m working myself to death!”
But at that time, a parliamentarian posts stories of fishing!
What We Rebel Against Is Not Just the Lack of Means!
We rebel against injustice! We rebel against those whose children go to private schools while ours are told, “Let them eat whatever they serve at school.”
And finally: Oh, those who rest in the palace on the sweat of the people! Those who stuff their pockets with the taxes of the poor! Those who cling to their seats!
That seat is on the people’s back. When that back breaks, you will fall too.
Oh, Imam! Gratitude is certainly a virtue. But silence in the face of oppression is complicity!
REMEMBER! One day, this people will demand an answer! And when that day comes, the walls of the palace won’t protect you.
And don’t forget: The people may be silent today… But tomorrow, they WILL SPEAK!
Article 26 of the Constitution (Freedom of Thought and Expression):
Everyone has the right to freely express and disseminate their thoughts and opinions, individually or collectively, in speech, writing, or other forms. This freedom also includes the freedom to receive or impart information or ideas without interference by public authorities.
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Note: The names and institutions mentioned in this article are based on public news content. No accusations, targeting, or defamation is intended.