Hello, my name is Clément and İ will work for Pi as an intern until the 31st of July 2021. I study social work and therefore will post monthly blogs about civil society. İ hope that you will enjoy it.
I was positively surprised to see how wild animals are treated in İzmir. Indeed, there are many cats and dogs that have no owners. Those wild animals stay mostly in the same areas and survive because people feed them. I saw even small houses in streets that were built from people for dogs and cats. I saw people feeding seagulls as well.
I was positively surprised as well to notice that people avoided to waste bread by sharing. Indeed, there are big containers where people can put and take bread. I was also surprised that there are no locks on those containers. It shows that people trust each other.
Before coming to İzmir, İ lived in different cities, from different countries (France, Germany, Ireland) but that is the first time that İ saw things like that. İ could see people sharing clothes in charity shops and containers. I could also experience associations such as Food Sharing that collect food from supermarkets and small shops before sellers throw it away. Yet, that is the first time that İ saw food and clothes packed in bags and left on the road.
Sadly, I was negatively surprised as well, especially as İ took a Turkish breakfast and saw the amount of food got wasted. I observed the other tables and could notice that almost all customers couldn´t achieve to eat more than the half of the breakfast. Indeed, what was not eaten was thrown away. In Western Europe, I am used that customers take with them what they couldn´t finish in the restaurants. I asked friends from İzmir and it seems to be something uncommon in İzmir. I hope, that it will become an habit soon. Therefore, İ invite you to ask the sellers if you can take with you what you couldn´t eat in the restaurants.
Another thing that makes me sad is the amount of plastic used. İn Western Europe people should pay to use plastic bags. That is why alternatives were created. One really common alternative is to buy bags that you can reuse.
Dear readers, İ hope that you will not only read this text but will reflect your behavior as well. İ hope that you will try to more respectful of the environment and influence your entourage as well. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying stones”. İ also hope that İ will be so respectful with animals than the people in İzmir. Kenine iyi bak!
Clément Lamy
Erasmus Intern (Pi Youth Association)