Manisa's Roma community calls for anti-drug measures following series of overdose deaths

The Roma community in the Akhisar district in Manisa, western Turkey, held a march yesterday in response to a series of drug-related deaths.

The protest, led by the Akhisar Roma Association, aimed to denounce the “criminalization” of Hacıishak, a neighborhood predominantly inhabited by Roma people.

The association urged authorities to take action against the rising number of drug-related fatalities and called for measures to prevent drug sales and improve security in their neighborhood.

The demonstration saw participation from Ahmet Vehbi Bakırlıoğlu, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) representing Manisa, Hayriye Hacet, the party’s Akhisar district head, and Akhisar Mayor Besim Dutlulu, as well as neighborhood residents.

In the past week alone, three people died from drug overdoses on 252nd Street in Hacıishak. Demonstrators expressed their frustration, saying, "We want the drug sales to end. If necessary, we will petition the Presidency. We can't free our neighborhood from this scourge. Our children are in danger. We went to the prosecutor's office but were turned away. We can't even send our kids to school."

Recently, a young woman in Manisa's Alaşehir was murdered by her drug-addicted husband.

MP Bakırlıoğlu commented, "The age of drug use has spread to elementary school children and has become a survival issue. The Roma community is the most affected. The situation has become critical, prompting entire neighborhoods to march. We stand with them in this fight." (ED/Mİ/VK)