Habibe Eren

 

ANKARA - Children, who live in dilapidated houses of Kale Neighborhood, cannot access right to education because they are forced to work.

 

Children living in dilapidated houses of Kale Neighborhood of Ankara, capital city of Turkey, work in the streets instead of playing in the streets like their peers. The children, who work in cold weather with thin blouses and don’t care about this, do not have any protection against the system that deprives them of the right to education by seeing them as cheap labor. The children, who are subjected to sexual abuse, torture and ill treatment and sometimes arrested, die due to prevented reasons and they are overwhelmed by heavy work load. One of these children living in Kale Neighborhood 13-year-old Azad Demirkıran has played drum in Kale for four years. Azad has seven siblings and his siblings also work like him. Azad said he had started to work after the death of his father and his mother also worked as house clearer.

 

‘All children in Kale are like this’

 

Azad said his name means ‘Freedom’ and he cannot go to school because he has to work. Stating that he wants to have music education, Azad said, “I would like to go to school instead of working in Kale.” Azad earns 20-30 TL each day. “There are difficulties and conveniences of living in Kale” Azad said, “I would like my conditions to be better. All children in Kale are like this. All of us work in the streets.”

 

‘I want to help the patients’

 

Azad said his biggest dream is to become a doctor and he added, “I want to help the patients and make them better.” 12-year-old Ali Turan goes to school in Kale Neighborhood. Ali has three siblings and he also plays drum in Kale Neighborhood. Ali’s biggest dream is to become ‘superman’ and he explained the reason as “To catch the bad people in the neighborhood.” 11-year-old Umut Demirkıran is in fifth grade and he said, “I would like to fly and rescue the people” just then Umut’s friend Ahmet said, “Being scientist is better”.

 

‘I have small dreams’

 

15-year-old Berkan Turan wants to be a musician when he grows up. “I have small dreams” Berkan said, “All I want is going to the conservatory.”