being cheap is more important than being healthy: For a 37-cents-priced chicken, they array in a line
ALİ BULUŞ
ADANA (DİHA) - while the sales of chicken shown a sharp decrease in Turkey generally, it is showing a sharp increase in the remote districts in Adana.
In the district of Seyhan, where a Bazaar is held on Wednesdays in the Barbaros Mahallesi, people are getting in lines in order to have the chance of buying chicken which comes from cities such as Konya, Niğde and Mersin because they are cheap, ranging between (0,50 YTL) which roughly equals ($0.37) and (2 YTL) which roughly equals ($ 1.48). "For us, health is not important, killing the hunger is more important; because it is cheap, we have to buy it" say the citizens.
After first being detected in Balıkesir, two children from the same family died because of being infected with Bird Flu in Van, Mehmet Ali Koçyiğit, 14 years old, and Fatma Koçyiğit, 15 years old.
And while the sale of chicken showed a sharp drop in Turkey in general and the admission and hunting of birds in cities like Van, Doğubayazıt, and Iğdır was prohibited, the sales in the Barbaros Mahallesi is increasing sharply in the Bazaar that is held on Wednesdays. The chicken that is coming from Niğde, Mersin and Konya to the area, and which price range between 0.5 to 2 YTL, are being consumed promptly.
Because of being poor, the people of the area are standing in long lines to have the chance to buy chicken for 0.5 YTL, without paying much attention to the possibility of being infected with Bird Flu.
Health Vs Cheapness
The veteran doctors warn that especially the interior organs are of great danger to the health because of Bird Flu, and they advise not to consume chicken; but neither the doctors' warnings, nor the danger of being infected with Bird Flu can stop the residence of Barbaros Mahallesi from buying the cheap chicken. In order to get the feather-fallen and exhausted chickens, they get up in the early morning and get in lines that include up to 100 persons, admitting that the most important rule of nutrition is the price of food.
Muhittin Yavuz, a resident of Barbaros Mahallesi, says that he has no choice but to buy this cheap chicken; " in the Bazaar that is held in the area every Wednesday, 4 big trucks of chicken were consumed so far, each truck containing as much as 2000 chickens, we buy these chickens and consume them, we know about the danger of being infected with Bird Flu, but heath hasn't got the priority in our diet, because the chicken sold in the markets is really expensive" says Mr. Yavuz.
"Until they take it home, the chickens die!"
Emphasizing that they are living on the verge of hunger, "you can't say that we are living now. We have no alternative to the cheap chicken, today chicken is cheaper than bread, if they don't want us to consume this chicken, they should provide us with healthy and cheap chicken" said Mr. Mr. Yavuz.
Aliye Kaya, who ensures that the chickens die before reaching home, " we buy the chickens because they are cheap, but usually, they die before we get home" Said Ms Aliye.
Some of the residences said that in order to stop the selling of these chickens, experts should explain to the people the dangers of being infected with Bird Flu.
(gm/zd/mç)
