On 14 May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked for the “blessing” of people who have been financially struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This sparked protests on Twitter, with thousands of users gathering under the hashtag #HelalEtmiyorum (“I am not giving my blessing”).
Üç yaşındaki oğlu Muharrem'i yollar kapalı diye hastaneye yetiştiremeyen, oğlunun ölüsünü 16 km boyunca sırtında çuvalla taşıyan babaya, bu düzeni reva görenlere #HelalEtmiyorum pic.twitter.com/B69OS0ieoj
— Devrim Kökler (@devrimkokler) May 14, 2021
A user named Devrim Kökler said, “There was a father who could not bring his three-year-old son Muharrem to the hospital because the roads were closed, and he carried his son with a sack on his back for 16 km. I am not giving my blessing to those who see this order as good for that father.”
Evladımdan ve onunla birlikte öldürdüğünüz 24 insan için önce sebep olanlara sonra da sebep olanlara 3 yıldır hesap sormayalara hakkımı #helaletmiyorum #CorluTrenKatliamı pic.twitter.com/ejkMcCiCHo
— Mısra ÖZ (@misra_oz) May 14, 2021
Mısra Öz, who lost her son in a train accident in Corlu, wrote, “I am not giving my blessing for those who killed my son and another 24 people in Corlu and are still not charging anyone responsible for that accident.”
Beni ve benim gibi yüzlerce insanı hedef gösterip yaşamlarımıza kast ettiğiniz için hakkımı #HelalEtmiyorum pic.twitter.com/amngkinQOJ
— Ayşe ÇELİK (@aysederancelik) May 14, 2021
Teacher Ayşe Çelik, who was investigated and sentenced to imprisonment for saying “Children should not die” during Turkey’s military operations in Cizre in 2015, expressed her feelings by saying, “I am not giving my blessing because you targeted me and hundreds of people like me.”
