TNT Coronavirus Edition: Turks Flee USA - "God Forbid You Need the Emergency Room!" ...But Can't Flee the 'Donetsk Peoples Republic'

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 26 August 2020)

Istanbul Airport, masked-up.

Turkish actress Didem Uzel began living in Miami after marrying

Selim Sarı, a Turk who works in the U.S. finance sector, in 2012.

Uzel has returned to Turkey with her family because of the woeful 

state of medical care in the USA.  

Uzel explained that "the USA has become the pandemic's center.

Since June our friends have been returning to Turkey.  We were afraid

to make the trip but it is very difficult to survive in America right now.

We didn't leave our house in Miami for five months. Based on what I've

experienced there, I think Turkey has done a much better job handling

the pandemic.  America didn't set up separate coronavirus hospitals 

like we have in Turkey."

  Miami beach memories, masked-down.

Continuing, Uzel said that "I didn't feel confident there when my son

got sick.  Three years ago, even before the pandemic, I waited in pain

for 12 hours in the emergency room for an appendicitis operation.  

God forbid anyone should have to go to the emergency room in an

American hospital! You have to wait hours for the slightest injury or

illness.  Consequently, it's easy to see why the USA health system is

collapsing."

As for Sarı, who has lived in the States for 20 years, he noted that 

"hospital capacities weren't increased and measures against COVID

weren't taken.  I think the reason for this is political. The USA is very

weak in making its people aware of health and health measures. It's

expected that the health system will break down in the Fall.  

He added that "I don't plan on living in the USA for the next five years. 

There's no place worse than America when it comes to COVID. People 

didn't take the pandemic seriously and Miami turned into a disaster. 

It's only going to get worse in America."

 

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türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 26 August 2020)

             The Donetsk Peoples Republic.

Four Turkish architects are stuck in the 'Donetsk Peoples Republic',

an enclave that seceded from Ukraine six years ago but which is

recognized by no other nation, because of COVID.  The four came

to Donetsk for business in March.

One of them, Onur Altınay, explained that "we came in connection

with a youth center project but when COVID began we got stuck.

They won't give us permission to go to any other country and neither

of our embassies in Kiev and Moscow are helping us.  We're nervous

and losing hope."

Altınay added that "we came to Donetsk on 1 March.  When we 

realized we wouldn't land the project we decided to leave and we 

went to Rostov on 20 March but transit was closed.  Our Kiev

embassy says that our Moscow embassy looks after Dontesk and

our Moscow embassy says the reverse! So we're stuck here."