A field survey was conducted for seasonal agricultural workers in Adana.

Teams affiliated with the Adana Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services conducted a field survey in the area where seasonal agricultural workers live, identifying children who do not attend school and warning families to send them to school.

Teams from the Adana Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services carried out a field survey targeting seasonal agricultural workers in the tent area of Karagöçer village in the Karataş district. In the region, where approximately 150 tents were identified, the problems faced by seasonal agricultural workers were determined by a team consisting of psychologists, social workers, and sociologists. The basic problems identified in the studies carried out to determine and solve the needs of the people living in the area, mainly in the fields of social services, education, and health, included inability to register addresses, resulting deprivation of some public services, children being kept away from school, and deficiencies in the infrastructure of the tent area.

In the conducted field survey, information was collected on issues such as the number of tents and families in the area, numbers of children, disabled individuals, elderly people, and adults, numbers of children with school absenteeism, as well as families’ income status and basic needs, and support, guidance, and coordination efforts began for the identified problem areas.

Activities to prevent children’s school absenteeism are being carried out as a priority

Mustafa Gökboğa, the Provincial Director of Family and Social Services, who provided information about the work in the region, stated, “Field surveys are being conducted for our seasonal agricultural workers. In these areas, activities aimed primarily at preventing children’s school absenteeism are being carried out, and the social service needs of families are being identified, and social service supports are being provided in accordance with our ministry’s social service policies. In the work conducted for our seasonal agricultural workers, necessary referrals are made to other public institutions and organizations if needed, and the follow-ups of these referrals are carried out by our Social Service Centers.”

Stating that seasonal agricultural workers are present in various regions of Adana, Gökboğa said, “A large part of them is in our Karataş district. Our work in the Karagöçer neighborhood, where we are located, is carried out as a field survey on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Today, we continue our work in the field with 11 professionals. First, the number of tents will be determined, then the number of families inside and the service models needed by families will be identified, and our work will be concluded.”

Gökboğa emphasized that they are making great efforts to ensure that children’s right to education is not taken away, stating, “First of all, of course, the child’s right to education should not be taken away. Therefore, the conditions that families live in should be arranged in favor of the child in terms of meeting their basic needs. For this reason, we are working to ensure that children continue their education.”

They start early in the morning and earn 500 TL a day

Fadıl Olgun, an agricultural worker who has been working in the region with his family for 4 months, said, “We came here as workers, we live in a tent. We struggle and work. Each of us earns 500 TL a day. We leave at 5 in the morning and return at 4 in the afternoon. We work for about 12-13 hours a day. During the day, the children pick peppers, they leave in the morning and come back in the evening. They work in the sun while we stay in the tent. Even though it’s hard, we have to work. Many people faint in the field; we struggle.”

Tahir Tilki, who stated that he has been working here for years and lives permanently in the region, said, “We leave at 6 and come back at 5. A daily wage is 500 TL. One meal allowance. Some people faint in the heat in the field. The only problem is that we live in a tent. There is no air conditioning, nothing. We live in a tent in this heat. We can’t sleep until morning because of the heat. We don’t sleep at all.”