Suggestions of NGOs from Different Areas for Coronavirus Outbreak…

Campaigns and Communications Director of Amnesty International Tarık Beyhan, Private Security Service Members Association President Cengiz Kıvılcım, President of Turkish Journalists’ Union Gökhan Durmuş, Chairman of the Union of Public Employees of Transport and Aviation Yener Kardeş and Social Security Health Employees Association Chairman Doctor Fırat Eyidoğan have explained their opinions and suggestions on the COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey to Civil Pages. Non-governmental organizations pointed out that it is vital to maximize the measures and ensure that individuals comply with the rules.

Amnesty International Campaign and Communication Director Tarık Beyhan who says: “Unfortunately, in such crisis situations, an illusion can arise as if human rights can be ignored.”, states that as Amnesty International they’ve been working against human rights violations during the COVID-19 epidemic as much as the pre-epidemic time. Expressing that they call on governments all over the world to protect human rights and to support solidarity with each other as always, Beyhan says: “One of the most important issues during the pandemic process is respecting for the right to access information. Epidemic-related censorship is actually one of the things that led to the spread of the epidemic in China. Passing on any data that the authority did not share is very dangerous and is a violation of the right to receive information. In addition, urgent measures should be taken for groups that are more vulnerable to the epidemic. Refugees living in unhealthy environments in refugee camps, people with low income levels and who won’t be able to survive on unpaid leave, people living on the streets and especially people in prisons should be considered and it should be ensured that every person in the country can benefit from the right to health.”

 “The Ones In Prisons Should Be Released”

Noting that those in prisons are under health hazard in narrow spaces, Beyhan says: “We called for the necessary measures to be taken in prisons all over the world, and for the release of prisoners on forensic control or with probation as much as possible. However, especially in Turkey prisons, people stay in narrow spaces with people over capacity. In such an environment, people are in serious health hazard. As the regulation on the enforcement law to prevent overcapacity can be considered as a positive development, the ones who only exercised their basic rights such as freedom of expression, right of assembly and freedom of the press like human rights defenders and journalists and others should be released immediately.”

“Security Sector Employees Are Among The Main Risk Groups”

President of the Private Security Service Members Association and Private Security Risk Consultant Cengiz Kıvılcım stated that a new type of communication in the security sector has taken on dimension with the coronavirus. Kıvılcım, who states that panic state occurs as the effect area of COVID-19 virus expands said: “Countries resort to number of measures in an effort to take their own precautions most effectively. We can say that security sector was caught unprepared for a situation that it had not been used to as well. Because, in the light of past experiences, the security sector’s priority was theft, robbery, domestic abuse and terrorism and they had always taken their precautions within this framework. However, when the current situation started to get out of the current operations, the order of priorities has changed. In the midst of the current virus epidemic, communication between security managers, chiefs, supervisors and private security officers has taken on a new dimension. This means that everyone’s fears are the same. The whole society also expects the services such as health and safety from the security sector that they expect from other officials. Therefore, solidarity becomes prominent while performing duties. In addition to the regular and momentary task information of security officers, there may be new rules to be implemented within the scope of new threats and measures. The attitude can be determined according to the general course of the outbreak. As you know, the duty of welcoming the public in workplaces and social areas are private security officers’ job. In addition, private security officers are the most prominent in all health institutions. Therefore, we have colleagues in the main risk group. The simplest example was experienced at a bank recently. Although we could not confirm the accuracy from the official authorities, we lost a colleague at a bank. Therefore, the private security sector should become a more serious sector and should be valued to this extent.

President of Turkish Journalists’ Union: “The Right Method is That Journalists Should Work from Home”

President of Turkish Journalists’ Union Gökhan Durmuş, on the other hand, stated that in many workplaces where the union is organized, journalists switched to work from home. Durmuş stressed that the protection of journalists should also be on the agenda. Stating that only elderly individuals and health professionals are mentioned in Turkey in the corona epidemic, Durmuş said: “Of course, the healthcare providers deserve the biggest applause for their work, but we forget about something. We try to protect ourselves from this epidemic by staying at home, reading newspapers, watching the news on television. But who makes these news? How are journalists protecting themselves from the epidemic while these news are being prepared? These questions do not usually come to mind. Journalism is a public service. Protection of journalists working for the right to inform the public should also be on the agenda of the government and of the media bosses. CNN Türk not letting the reporters and cameramen into the building and keeping them in a container in the parking lot was an example of how the measure should not be taken. Upon the reactions of our union, CNN Türk gave up this decision and corrected this mistake by giving alternate leaves to reporters and cameramen. TGS has switched to working from home in the vast majority of its member workplaces. The right method for journalists is to work from home. The security measures of journalists who have to go out must be taken by the bosses. It is about time to use the developing technology and to transform in journalism. Making online connections instead of filling the studios with guests and connecting online with the scientists will also protect journalists in this process.”

Union of Public Employees of Transport and Aviation: “We Are As Strong As The Weakest Link”

President of the Union of Public Employees of Transport and Aviation Yener Kardeş pointed out that the workers of the profession as well as those associated with them in certain business lines must follow all rules. Kardeş also stated the importance of occupational health and safety rules.

Kardeş who stated that we are going through a process that could only result by the society following the rules and not only the authorities, said: “Here, we are not just talking about the current measures of the authorities, we are talking about general and occupational health and safety issues. We are as strong as the weakest link. If we consider the density of air transportation, it would be inevitable for the contagiousness to increase if the hygiene rules were not followed. Hygiene and other extraordinary measures are very important. If we look at it as only following the measures taken by the government, we will make a mistake. Paying attention to precautions as the society also means respecting the right to life. We think that this consciousness is not fully formed yet. Technically, employees are at risk but somehow public services also have to go on operating. Some measures have been begun to be followed as working distance and occupational safety. We should avoid saying “Nothing will happen to me” or “What can I do about it”. Besides, not only those who work within the profession are at risk. Subcontracting companies that support them and provide logistical support, etc. are all at risk. We think there is a deficiency in this regard. I would also like to point out that there should be a general awareness of occupational health and safety. We must ensure that occupational health and safety measures are being implemented in the public and society as well.”

Social Security Health Employees Association Chairman Eyidoğan: “We Must Absolutely Comply With Personal and Social Measures”

Reminding that the contact of a person from the family with the outside will disrupt the isolation, Social Security Health Employees Association Chairman Eyidoğan  Doctor Fırat Eyidogan repeated the call for compliance with the rules.

Stating that they are on duty to facilitate public access to healthcare as , Social Security Health Employees Association, Eyidogan said: “

“No one should doubt that we will all be on the field together with our colleagues if necessary, without thinking. As individuals we should avoid sharing information that would cause information pollution, and keep our immune system high by paying maximum attention to protecting the mental health of ourselves and the society without panicking by the information shared from unauthorized accounts. We must strictly follow personal and social measures. ‘Stay at home, stay healthy’ should be our primary option and we should all implement it. Since even a contact of one family member will cause social isolation to deteriorate, there is no doubt that necessary measures will be taken in this regard.” and called for staying home and staying healthy.