Dyarbakir is a city and region in the South-East of Turkye. It has more then 1.4 million inhabitants;

27% of them live in extreme poverty. In the 90-ties many families moved with thousands out of

the mountains to the city of Dyarbakir,and settled down there. The ones who could find a job,

moved into a flat in the suburbs. Others ended in poor card-board houses and still live there.

There were, and still, are not enough jobs for all of them, that’s why so many don’t have any money.

Its obvious that many children end as street kids. More then 20.000 of these children, don’t go to school

and live and sleep on the streets. They try to earn some money for food, by selling tissues , shine shoes

or just by begging. There are some boarding schools , but the environment is very bad and the teachers

cant handle the problems over there. Many children leave these boarding schools with severe behaviour

problems.

In Turkye children join school from their 7^th until their 15^th. In the  South-East it mostly stops here: the boys go

to work on the fields, some  leave for the coasts to work in tourism , some work in shops ,and many others stay

at home unemployed. Only a few get a chance to study, but even on the universities they quit, because

they need to earn money as quick as possible. Girls stay at home after primary school and help their mothers.

Most of them get married between their 17th and 23 th and then live in the house of their husbands parents.