‘Will Adults Have to Get Back Home at 8 in the Evening Like Children?’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

"There are those who are happy that the ones aged 65 and over are allowed to go out, but there is supposed to be no restrictions. We start the day early in İzmir, because it is very hot. We go out early, 10 a.m. is too late. Hour restriction is so ridiculous, will adults go inside at 8 p.m. like children? Moreover, does the virus come up after these allowed hours?"

It is how 71-year-old Şadiye Atmaca raises her objections against the easing of restrictions on the ones aged 65 and over in Turkey.

As part of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) measures in Turkey, the ones aged 65 and over were restricted from going out for almost four months. Amid further normalization steps since June 1, the ones aged 65 and over will now be allowed to go out between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day.

CLICK - Turkey Further Eases Coronavirus Restrictions

According to the 2019 statistics of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), there are 7 million 550 thousand people over the age of 65 in Turkey. In other words, over 7 million people in Turkey have been restricted from going out in public for more than three months now.

Though the restrictions have been eased for them, there are still "restrictions," which has sparked reactions.

Accordingly, Şadiye Dönümcü, Akın Evren, Necmiye Alpay, Erol Ercan, Saime Tuğrul have shared their experiences, comments and objections against the restrictions imposed on the aged in Turkey.

'This ban needs to be lifted completely'

Şadiye Atmaca is a 71-year-old retired civil servant who lives in the Aegean city of İzmir. She says that she normally takes 10 thousand steps a day. But, now, she can take only 200 steps at home. She adds that their public transportation cards have also been cancelled in this process:

"There are those who are happy that the ones aged 65 and over are allowed to go out after three months, but there is supposed to be no restrictions. We start the day early in İzmir, because it is very hot. We go out early, 10 a.m. is too late. Hour restriction is so ridiculous, will adults go inside at 8 p.m. like children? Moreover, does the virus come up after these allowed hours?

"This ban is against human rights. In terms of health, we have gained weight at this age as we are constantly at home. We cannot do any work. I am distressed to such a degree that I have eczema on my head now. I had to go to see a private doctor in a cab. We are of an awareness and age when we can take measures. It is unacceptable that we are held captives at home.

"They need to show some respect. They have now started to humiliate the ones aged 65 and over. The young are not careful at all, streets are packed with people. I think that this ban needs to be lifted completely. Are we convicted or what? There is no sense in keeping the ones aged 65 and over at home. While everyone is normalizing, do they regard us as abnormal?"

'It is what was supposed to happen'

"Better than nothing," says Akın Evren in reference to the easing of restrictions. Evren used to work as an executive in the computer sector, then, he has retired. He says that the easing of measures has come thanks to the constant complaints raised on social media by his own age group as well as all others who find the curfew wrong:

"I think, the pressure groups have been very effective in this decision. I will not thank anyone for this, it is what was supposed to happen in the first place. But an hour restriction is as ridiculous as the previous restriction. They naturally proceed with small details as they cannot take huge steps all at once. It is very important to form a public opinion. All power holders fear in the face of such reactions. We will, of course, keep on being careful."

"Our temperament has changed in three months," says Evren and adds that he has seen the negative impacts of the curfew:

"There is muscle loss in arms and legs. I have tried not to put on weight, but I have got depressive. Especially if you live alone like me, it becomes all the more difficult. Our temperament has changed in three months. We have become more pessimistic. One also has a weakened work discipline. After three months, I now work and read less. I have started to procrastinate. And these are the bad products of being confined at home. People like us have the mind and will to protect themselves."

"They create a sense of custody'

"You are constantly reminded how close you are to death, especially by the television," says 74-year-old linguist and writer Necmiye Alpay.

"This permission is a plausible formula, but the real problem is the discrimination based on age and the discourses going on about it. This custodial, discriminating discourses will continue. This hour restriction does not entail it, but it makes it possible.

"Everything is normalizing, but we have not taken a step forward for the ones aged 65 and over. They have just set plausible hours.

"Physically, I had some problems with my heart, I drink less coffee now. I called a close physician friend of mine. I normally do not like to talk about my health, but s/he told me that s/he also had the same problem. I have this sense of being subjected to injustice, rather than physical problems.

"With this ban, they are creating a sense of protectionism and custody. Like 'you are always in need of others...' Or 'you cannot think or decide by yourselves...' They call it 'under legal disability' in the law. If an old person is under legal disability to leave a legacy, he or she cannot do it by herself, for instance. They are treating the 65+ as if they were under legal disability. What is ironic is that they do not call it a curfew, but 'restriction'."

'What about the regular health checks?'

75-year-old Erol Ercan, a retired professional chemical engineer, has another question about the ones aged 65 and over, who are in the risk group:

"The right thing to do for the risk group is to make sure that they can have their medical checks properly and they can walk in open air safely, rather than confining them for long periods of time. What I wonder is this: How will the regular health checks of the ones aged 65 and over be done? What is recommended for this? A safe environment needs to be created."

Ercan says that he now feels more tired when he walks:

"We have been demoralized, we have sunk into desperation. This ban has been affecting our life quality quite adversely.

"This age group is also more knowledgeable about health. We are people who have their medical checks done, are aware of their chronic diseases and have the awareness to follow the recommendations of the doctors. Moreover, we also need to maintain a good psychological state and a joy of life. If this joy is no more, then our immune system might also collapse."

'Only Turkey has such a ban'

Saime Tuğrul, a faculty member at a university, is 66 years old. She says that the ones aged 65 and older are more careful.Whoever she sees in that age group, they wear their masks, Tuğrul says.

Tuğrul finds the recent hour restriction irrational:

"Why are we supposed to return home at 8? Are restaurants forbidden for us as well? Isn't it odd? The ban needs to be lifted completely. What bothers me is that they treat us as if we were under custody. It is as if the state told the ones over 65 years of age, 'We are watching you, we are following you.'

"Only our country has such a practice. We might be a society obeying the authority, but there are still several violations. For that reason, the ones aged 65 and over were the ones that they could control most easily.

"It has been more or less three months that we cannot go out. The Health Ministry announced the statistics the other day. They say that the average age of the fatalities in the last month is around 74.5. As the ones aged over 65 do not go out for long periods of time, then, they are not supposed to be the ones who transmit the disease. The young ones outside must have transmitted it. It also shows how meaningless their measures are. It shows that they cannot control it. They could not control even civilian behavior." (AÖ/SD)