Say Yes, Spring 2005: Mahmut Oral

In his work as a journalist and broadcaster, Mahmut Oral has done a great deal to bring children’s issues to the attention of the Turkish public. He has worked extensively with UNICEF, covering the progress of campaigns such as Haydi Kızlar Okula! in his home territory of Diyarbakır. Here he speaks about the phenomenal rise in the numbers of street children in Turkey and asks what members of his profession can do about it.

The problem of street children, in which the media and the general public seem to have recently developed a deeper interest, is actually a long-standing issue in Turkey.

The issue established a permanent place on the agenda following the wave of internal migration more or less a decade ago which saw millions of people settling in larger towns and cities -- especially in the western parts of the country. These newcomers started living in the gecekondular with a new type of ‘sub-culture’ they created.

It’s interesting to note that the term for shanty towns in Turkish is gecekondu, which literally means ‘arrived overnight’ -- although the problem of street children certainly didn’t develop overnight. It gained publicity more recently after it became clear that there were cases of drug addiction amongst the children of these migrant families who had taken to the streets.

Radical Solutions

Taking the case of Diyarbakır as an example, we see that although the numbers of children living on the street could be counted in the hundreds as recently as 1995, these children now make up a group of as many as 20,000 in this city today. This is the official figure, I should stress, and the presence of 20,000 such children in a city like Diyarbakır presents quite a daunting picture.

There are cases of substance or drug abuse among these children. Of course there are efforts to rehabilitate and re-integrate them into society but, speaking boldly, these efforts are as yet far from promising any radical solution -- they are drops in the ocean.

Although there are sincere efforts by many including the Municipality, the Governorate, NGOs and individuals, they fall short of pulling children out of this vortex they have been drawn into. In my opinion the issue requires a more holistic response.

While many potential stakeholders are aware of the problem, a fully developed service model of a solution does not exist.

Put bluntly, not enough concern is shown. Concern only seems to emerge when people are personally hurt by the phenomenon or when it’s covered by the media.

These children are not a threat but they themselves are under threat or at grave risk.

The Correct Media Position

The media is somewhat prejudiced towards street children, which of course leads to hasty judgements on the part of the general public. I think the media should focus on them not as a source of threat but as human beings who are vulnerable -- who are themselves under threat.

The media is not in the right place at this point in time, in my opinion, to focus on the fact that these children are at risk and that they should therefore be defended.

In other words, both print and visual media have to take the correct position in news coverage of children. Perhaps it is necessary for the media to train special correspondents for children’s affairs.

A child who is coerced or forced to commit a crime is actually at risk, yet he or she is presented as a criminal by today’s media standards. There should be a consensus on this point to begin with and there is an urgent need to bring all sections of the media together on a joint declaration or some form of commitment.

This could be a significant step in preventing any abuse of children by the media, ensuring an effective defence mechanism for them.

Speaking from Experience

In our profession, people can find themselves out of work at any time. On one of those occasions when I was out work myself, I took a temporary job running a cafeteria. There was a small child in the neighbourhood selling breadrolls or sweets. He started work very early each morning. He was working to cover his school expenses. I tried to help him out with the offer of a job in my cafeteria, but when I went back to work as a journalist, the child also went back onto the streets selling breadrolls again.

That was when I became convinced that no individual initiative or act of charity could solve this problem entirely.

NGOs launch worthy initiatives in their respective fields all the time, but these also fall short of what is actually needed.

So I try to do my best by taking part in and supporting UNICEF activities.

Education and the Media

Of course, individual initiatives are not completely devoid of value or meaning. However, unless there is a comprehensive attempt to solve the problem at its root, the issue of street children will not go away. Furthermore it is likely to grow exponentially: where there are two children working on a given street today, there will be four next week and so on.

There should be a coordinating agency -- such as UNICEF for example -- to focus all of the stakeholders on achieving a resolution. All sections of the media would have an important part to play in such a thorough all-embracing programme that, of necessity, would touch every level of society.

An academic survey of television viewership found that the rate of television viewing in Turkey is as much as 97.6%. This fact points to the critical role of the visual media -- even when you take passive viewing into account because that in itself can be an influence for the better -- or worse -- as the case may be. Television channels can produce educative programmes for both parents and children and do much good for the country and our future if such programmes are aired at prime time.

Education is the best solution of course -- it’s the most important mechanism in the hands of the Government. With the help of NGOs and the media, our educators should be able to penetrate deeply into the problem. Families need education because, although the reasons why our children take to the streets are as many and varied as the personalities of the children themselves, it is clear that the crux of the problem and the solution itself both lie within the family.

The children need more support from the educational system -- because they need the advantages that an education has to offer and, perhaps just as importantly, they shouldn’t feel excluded in the way that so many street childern do.

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