İpek, also from Bursa:



Many studies have been carried out for years to end child labor in Turkey. Turkey has prepared the National Program on the Elimination of Child Labour, and declared 2018 the Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. Our children still work in areas that are considered the worst form of child labor in Turkey, namely on the street, in heavy and dangerous jobs, in small and medium-sized businesses, and in agricultural areas. According to ILO data, 7 out of 10 children work in seasonal agriculture, cannot go to school, cannot live their childhood and are exposed to many risks. According to ISIG Assembly data, we have lost 350 of our children in work-related murders in Turkey since 2013. As of the end of September 2019, 55 of our children, 23 of whom are under the age of 14, lost their lives in occupational homicides. This situation has been increasing in recent years. With the effect of the pandemic, economic problems cause us to move away from the desired point in the number of child labor every day.


Ömer ZENGİN/Turkey/Bursa/Halil İNALCIK/Science and Art Center