The unbearable easiness of getting killed in Turkey

Turkey is geographically situated in the middle of a circle of fire. Violent clashes are going on in our Middle Eastern neighbors in the name of religion and politics; our northeastern neighbor Armenia is in a war with Azerbaijan; Ukraine across the Black Sea is partly under occupation and has lost a significant portion of its land to Russia. In addition, there are armed groups inside Turkey from all across the political spectrum, which sometimes target civilians in acts of terrorism.

In such a dangerous environment, an accident yesterday showed once again that daily life in this country is no safer than being involved in clashes: A tanker truck hit an overpass on one of the main highways in Istanbul, killing one person and injuring several others.

Imagine you wake up one morning, hit the road to get to your workplace; then suddenly bam, a steel overpass collapses on you after it was hit by a truck and you are dead. It’s that easy…

Or imagine you are a 25-year-old groom, who is going to a party with your newly-wed wife on your wedding day. You enjoy one of the best days of your life until uninvited local groups interrupt your convoy’s journey to the wedding venue in order to demand money from the couple. When the situation turns ugly, your head is forced and stuck in the window of a moving car that carried the group of trouble-making money-seekers, the car hits another car and you are killed. This is how Aziz Baş was killed on Sept. 1.

Meanwhile, six people were killed in the eastern province of Siirt when they were having a picnic near a hydroelectric power plant. When the plant started production without prior warning, floods killed the six, including one child, on Aug. 24.

Also, if you are a small child...