Turkish Alevi federation opens cemevis for accommodation of students in need

Duvar English

The head of the Federation of Alevi Foundations in Turkey, Haydar Baki Doğan, said on Sept. 23 that the organization has allocated 73 cemevis (Alevi houses of worship) for the use of university students who are in need of accommodation amid a housing crisis across the country.

Doğan said that the cemevis under the federation's umbrella have a capacity of providing accommodation for between 400 and 700 students in total. The cemevis will also serve food for the students free of charge.

Doğan called on every institution to show sensitivity to the housing problem faced by students, saying: “We wish that our students continue their university lives without being victimized.”

Organized under the “We can't find shelter” movement, Turkish university students have been sleeping on streets across the country in protest of the state's failure to provide them with enough public dormitories.

The problem was exacerbated by extravagant prices for private dormitories and astronomical rent prices nationwide. Some students even had to quit their studies and go back to their hometown as they have not been able to cover the soaring rental costs.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Mahmut Tanal joined in with the protests of students in Istanbul and called on Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop to take a step to allocate the empty residential houses of parliament for the use of students.

“Many governors and mayors have started to take an action for students who have not been placed in a dormitory. The Turkish Parliamentary Speaker's Office should also assume responsibility. Parliament has empty public housings. Mr. Mustafa Şentop should take the lead and parliament's empty public housings should be allocated to the students,” Tanal said on Twitter.

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