Those Who Work During Pandemic Speak out

* Photos: İmre Azem, Meltem Suat and Anadolu Agency

Click to read the article in Turkish

Measures against Covid-19 pandemic are still in effect in Turkey. Authorities and experts call on citizens to stay home during the pandemic unless absolutely necessary. But, there are also the ones who have to work to survive in this process. What do they think about it?

Pharmacist Turgay Korkmaz, a worker from the warehouse of an e-commerce website E.E. and Evrensel Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Fatih Polat speak to bianet about their work life in Turkey during the pandemic.

'Outbreak cannot be solved with short-term curfews'

Pharmacies are among the main sectors that have to work in the days of curfew. Pharmacists, one of the major risk groups during the pandemic, have to come into contact with thousands of people every day.

One of these pharmacists is Turgay Korkmaz, working in the district of Büyükçekmece on the outskirts of İstanbul. Referring to the weekend curfews, he says, "It is not something that can be solved with two-day curfews, I do not think that the outbreak will end like that."

Working with his wife at their pharmacy, Korkmaz has stated the following about the curfew and their work order in this period:

"Curfew is a practice necessary for Turkey. These curfews must not be imposed at intervals, citizens need to get used to them. These curfews are like a tampon treatment to a certain extent, it can be done. But, before the two-day curfew enters into force, people rush to the markets in large numbers. It is not a right attitude, it needs to be prevented.

"Along with health workers, we, pharmacists, are open to contact the most. That is why, with the decision of the İstanbul Pharmacists' Chamber, we have started working in shifts during the curfew. We would normally be open on Sundays, but, with the decision of the chamber, the number of pharmacies to work has increased by three times.

'Distribution of masks has increased our workload'

"For instance, if there is a single pharmacy to be on duty in Büyükçekmece area, three other pharmacies also work along with it. It is done to ensure that the ones who want to buy medicine do not try to find an open pharmacy during curfew. But the pharmacy to be on duty works for 24 hours while the other three work from 9 in the morning to 6 in the evening.

"We use our own vehicle to come to work. As for the technicians working with us, they use public transportation. The Pharmacists' Chamber give a permit for pharmacists and technicians so that they can work in the days of curfew. You can pass the checkpoints with this document. The only problem we have as pharmacists is that they make us distribute the masks.

CLICK - 'There are People Trying to Snatch Pharmacist's Mask'

'Local administrators could distribute them'

"The majority of the ones who go to the pharmacy come here to take the masks distributed by the state free of charge. We try to deal with both them and the patients who come to buy medicine.

"As we have to allow one person at a time, we have to keep others waiting outside in the line. We are trying to distribute the masks in full capacity.

"The state has so far made pharmacies distribute 13 million masks. Their distribution could have been undertaken by the neighborhood head's offices or local governments rather than pharmacists."

'We will work in the first two days of curfew'

28-year-old E.E., who works at the warehouse of an e-commerce application, is one of those working the most during the pandemic.

The warehouse where he works will be open during the 4-day curfew to deliver only water, bread and newspapers. When the curfew was first imposed, he worked till noon, then he was informed with an instruction from the Interior Ministry that the curfew applied to him as well.

About the four-day curfew, E.E. has said, "As we deliver goods with motorcycles, the first curfew applied to us as well. But, since we give market services, we will continue working during this curfew, albeit limitedly."

'We work two times more than normal'

E.E. has indicated the following about the pandemic and his working conditions during this period:

"We have started working 1,5 times more during the pandemic. We are not like cargo workers, we deliver orders to hundreds of customers during the day. With the pandemic, the number of those who order for the first time has increased. Our shifts are reorganized to meet this tempo.

"When the first curfew was declared, we brought couriers to work by our own means as public transportation was suspended. I went and picked up the ones living near me. In such cases, we work with the ones living close to the warehouse so that their transportation will not be problematic.

"If we work during the curfew, we know that we will work much more intensively. Black masks and gloves have been sent to couriers from the central office, they deliver orders while wearing them. When the first curfew was imposed, we were told that we would continue working. The shifts of ours and those of couriers were set, but until we worked till noon, we closed the warehouses again upon the instruction of the Ministry of Interior."

Polat: Newspapers that we printed went to waste'

When the first curfew was imposed, it also applied to newsstands and newspapers could not be delivered. We have spoken to Fatih Polat, the Editor-in-Chief of Evrensel Newspaper, which was also affected..

Polat has told us the following about what they went through in the first curfew and how they work during other curfews:

"Since the first curfew was announced two hours before it entered into effect, the newspapers that we printed went to waste. As the distribution company got paid like before, it could keep its profit in this process.

"However, we paid the cost of the newspaper that we printed as we did not know that it would not reach the readers. If we say 'We were deceived,' it would be a highly costly joke, I suppose.

"At the weekend when the second curfew was imposed, we did not print the printed newspaper. And all through the curfew, we have given free access to everyone so that they will not have difficulties in reaching news and can read e-newspaper of Evrensel." (MS/EMK/SD)