POVERTY IN THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF TÜRKİYE
The number of free funeral ceremonies is increasing
The economic bottleneck experienced by a portion of the Armenian community maintains its place on the agenda. The Patriarchal Social Aid Commission (PSYK), church poor relief branches, and the Mer Hayer (Our Armenians) Association are implementing various steps to combat poverty within the community during this process. While food aid is the first thing that comes to mind when poverty is mentioned, the needs of community members such as health, housing, utility expenses, or funerals never come to mind and therefore never reach the agenda. Considering that a normal funeral ceremony in the Armenian community currently costs a minimum of 180,000 TL, it is obvious that this cannot be met by every family. This very poverty and economic bottleneck has been manifesting itself in the funeral ceremonies of the Armenian community for some time. Some families are forced to turn to funeral ceremonies held in cemetery chapels because they struggle to cover church and other funeral expenses. When this path is preferred, a significant decrease in funeral ceremony fees occurs. However, this decrease of approximately 50% still constitutes a high amount for poor families in mourning and puts them in a difficult situation.
