ISTANBUL — Residents in the working-class district of Fatih, one of the hardest-hit areas in Turkey by the novel coronavirus, found some unexpected debt relief when they stopped at the corner shop to buy groceries.
Vefa Spor, an amateur soccer club, settled outstanding accounts at local shops last month to help its neighbors weather the economic fallout from the virus. The tradition of paying debts for food bought on credit has gained new momentum after Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the capital Ankara, appealed for the gesture, which “won’t hurt anyone’s feelings and can’t be impeded.”
