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Turkey’s emergency rule hits thousands of destitute Kurds

Like dozens of Kurdish media outlets, local administrations and civic groups, a charity helping some of Turkey’s poorest Kurds has fallen victim to Ankara’s post-coup crackdown.
People shop at an open air bazaar in Baglar neighborhood in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, September 5, 2016. Picture taken September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2OAM3
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DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Every day for the past 11 years, hundreds of people flock to a modest, one-story building in Diyarbakir’s Kayapinar district that bears the sign “Foodbank.” The poorest of the poor in this mainly Kurdish city wait in long lines and return home with food packages — their only means of survival.

Since late November, however, visitors have been returning empty-handed, like the two women who, on a recent morning, were shocked to find the gate of the premises locked. Their confusion grew as they noticed that the door of the building was sealed as well. As they left with tear-filled eyes, another woman arrived, only to hear the same explanation from an aid worker standing at the gate: The Sarmasik Association, which operated the foodbank, was shut down under the Turkish government’s latest legislative decree, issued Nov. 22 as part of the state of emergency since the July 15 coup attempt.

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