Broad subject!! I wanted to start this thread to start the conversation. I want to see what is the public consciousness about human rights violations in Turkey, and if talking about it will be a shock and outrage for most people, or just reinstating what they already know. For a start I´d like to give a link to a Turkish human rights organization:

Human Rights Foundation of Turkey

As i saw the children are put to work in Turkey.. isnt this against the children´s rights ?

 International Labour Organization in 1973, have adopted minimum ages varying from 14 to 16...but it depends on the country and i bet in Turkey nobody wont say nothing for this situation...

Reyhan,

Different countries have different income. Turkey does not receive as much income as Americans and so forth do, so in this case children usually work to support their parents, families, and themselves. How they live is like reflecting upon Americas Great Depression back in 1940´s.

Or you can look at it this way. Kids want things, young-adults want things thus they get a job to buy what they want.  The allowed age for working is different in Turkey which falls under human rights. My Turkish friends on Facebook (which may I note are young-adults like me) have many freedoms such as internet, cell-phones, cars, even their own homes, est.) for they have jobs to get what they desire.

*And I thought I was living the high life! ;p *

It is also a fact that now majority of Turkey has middle-class income. Currently as you read this new airports, railroads, businesses are coming to Turkey. Let´s just hope that Turkey isn´t urbanized too much for the sake of the beauty of the land.

Talk to me ,

Amber Lonsinger

 This is not something uncommon worldwide. Compared to other countries with the same economical development, Turkey is doing very well with children´s rights. The problem is, what is "put to work" and what is just a nice bit of pocket money and some learning experience. If a child of 12 year old helps his father in a tea-house in the summer, this would be against children right laws. But I fully understand the decision. Summer holidays in Turkey are long, and you need to keep your kids busy to keep them out of trouble

By the way, the Turkish children-jails are considered amongst the top of the world, in rehabilitation.

Frankly speaking I don´t see anything wrong with child´s labour in Turkey if it is the result of willingness and support for the family or fulfilling own whims.Most of the families whose kids work are not in a good economic plight.Personally I doubt if any parent would love to send his/her child to work if he/she could afford to buy all the things they want or provide them with basic needs.Moreover what I frequently heard is the attitude towards work.Having it means financial independence,even for a child.In adition it teaches respect and responsibility.I think in case of Turkey children work as an example of human rights violation should not be exaggerated.It is the outcame of religious attitude and tradition.

What worries me is the number of "street children"without support but there is some light in this tunnel as well as both the State and private association are doing their best to improve situation.

There are other issues that are mentioned in the Human Rights Watch reports on Turkey, like

- police violence and police use of torture

- discrimination and violence against women

- there are 376,000 internally displaced Kurds after army forced them from their villages

- restrictions of freedom of speech

- harassment of Kurdish political parties (recently the Kurdish party was completely closed!!)

- impunity of state officials

 I agree to a point here.  For example; We have neighborhood kids who are willing to shovel snow for extra money, depending on there age I don´t have a problem with this.  What I do have a problem is children that are FORCED to work at a very young age.  I say let them be children foremost and when they get a little older say 14 they should have the opportunity to work part time to learn how to save money and responsibility.  I feel parents can begin to teach good work ethics and responsibilties at home, by having chores for them to do.  In return how about giving them a little allowance for spending money if they do their chores. 

I´m not familiar with Turkey´s labor laws for children.  However, my experience traveling to other countires and seeing parents making their kids selling trinkets etc...bother me a great deal.  I feel so sorry for these children.  But if it´s their only means of survival, I guess you do what you have to.

I have read and to the most parts concur with many issues on children and their rights after being a lawyer advocating children´s rights for the past 20 years I would be wrong not to: my issue is clear and very simple, probably almost child like ( excuse the pun ) Turkey is  a very large and to some extents a diverse country so where some areas may be somewhat ( lets put it niceley) questionable in their ethics there are other parts of this contry which would hang their heads in shame. In a nut sell: where I live the word orphanage doesn´t come up we all look after those wo are with us, yes children work, but only as they do everywhere else in the world for one of 2 reasons: it is the family business or secondly they want the newest Cd.

There will always be problems in respect of the vunerable no matter what nationality: England being the worst culparate. Turkey in my own opinion is no worse or no better than the rest of the world: and who are we to sit in judgment, rather than judge do something about it. It is not hard but yet again it is not easy but Oak trees do grow from acorns.

and what do you expect from us??? just discussing awful things? defending some aspects like with working children?