A DEVELOPMENT TALE OF TWO SOUTHEASTERN CITIES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 002870 SIPDIS TREASURY FOR PLANTIER SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID SOCI PHUM KWMN TU SUBJECT: A DEVELOPMENT TALE OF TWO SOUTHEASTERN CITIES ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Adiyaman and Sanliurfa provinces, located in Turkey's southeastern region, are home to some of the country's most notable tourist attractions, yet both provinces suffer from poverty and underdevelopment. Seasonal migration, gender inequality, and a lack of economic opportunity plague the region, leaving the provinces near the bottom of a ranking of social development in Turkey's 81 provinces. The European Union (EU),the United National Development Program (UNDP),and the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) Administration have poured funds into projects in the region, primarily focused on women's development, youth and education, agriculture projects, and business development. Nevertheless, these two provinces have a very long way to go to catch up with their counterparts in western Turkey. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) In a recent visit to the southeastern cities of Adiyaman and Sanliurfa, we found two provinces grappling with poverty and the lack of social and economic development. Adiyaman, located 766 kilometers east of Ankara and home to a population of nearly 700,000, generates nearly 70 percent of Turkey's very modest production of crude oil. It is home to Mt. Nemrut, one of Turkey's most famous tourist attractions, known for the large stone heads that grace the mountain's peak. While not a traditional industrial hub, several sources told us that the Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ) in Adiyaman is filled to capacity, and the province's leadership is lobbying Ankara to fund another OIZ in the near future. One week before our visit, Prime Minister Erdogan visited Adiyaman to open 33 new textile and food processing factories. ¶3. (SBU) Known as "the City of Prophets," Sanliurfa, located 820 kilometers southeast of Ankara and approximately 80 kilometers from the Syrian border, is the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham and was home to Prophet Job. Because of its significance in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, Sanliurfa (often called "Urfa") attracts hundreds of tourists per year. As we walked through the city, we saw several tourist groups from other Middle Eastern countries, and our police escorts commented that they receive many religious pilgrims from Iran. The city is notably more religiously conservative than western Turkey, and we observed that an overwhelming majority of women wore the Muslim headscarf. In addition to tourism, Urfa generates much of its revenue from agriculture. Like Adiyaman, Urfa's OIZ is currently filled to capacity. -------------- TOURIST ATTRACTIONS DO NOT EQUAL PROSPERITY -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Despite their tourist attractions and bustling OIZs, both Adiyaman and Urfa are part of the traditionally underdeveloped southeastern region. In a 2003 State Planning Organization (SPO) ranking of Turkey's 81 provinces according to socioeconomic development, Adiyaman came in 65th and Urfa ranked 68th. Unemployment is a significant problem in both provinces, as is a lack of social development for women. Seasonal migration has plagued both provinces, with a lack ofeconomic opportunity driving families to pack up and leave for months at a time to work in larger cities. As a result, their children often miss lengthy periods of school, leaving them far behind their peers in the larger cities in western Turkey. ¶5. (SBU) Contacts in both Adiyaman and Urfa told us that while the situation is better in the provincial capitals, those living in the rural areas of their provinces are still suffering because of lack of economic opportunity. Urfa Chamber of Commerce General Secretary Hasan Hayarli painted a grim picture of the SIPDIS economic situation in the region, saying that businesses are suffering because of the high value of the lira. He noted that while economic aid has poured into the region, they need much more in order to be on par with western Turkey. -------------- CATOMS: FOCUS ON WOMEN'S DEVELOPMENT ANKARA 00002870 002 OF 004 -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In an effort to improve women's development in both Adiyaman and Urfa, the GAP Administration began funding Multi-Purpose Community Centers (CATOMs) in ¶1995. CATOMs offer free or low-cost classes for girls and women, teaching them skills such as sewing, word processing, and literacy. We visited the Adiyaman CATOM, established in 1997, where Director Hacer Demirtas told us that most of her students initially encountered resistance from their husbands and families. Demirtas told us that many husbands did not want to send their wives or daughters to classes at CATOM, as the men were afraid they would become too successful andwould want to leave their homes. ¶7. (SBU) Demirtas told us that the center also runs an informal job bank, setting up prospective employers with recent CATOM course graduates. On our visit we spoke with two middle-aged women who were learning to sew clothing - they told us that they planned to sell the clothing in the neighborhood. We also met with the literacy class, which was filled with women in their 40s and 50s learning to read and write for the first time. Demirtas told us that two women who graduated from a CATOM hairdressing class in 2005 opened their own salon in Adiyaman this year. She explained that when the center opened in 1997, they had a hard time attracting students; now they have too many students, with 124 women and girls receiving instruction at the Adiyaman CATOM. (Comment: Regional critics note that CATOMs disproportionately enroll spouses and family of government-linked paramilitary "village guards." While this may be so, the state's influence with these groups through its employment link has helped bring at least a portion of the province's women in contact with opportunities to improve their skills. End comment.) -------------- -------------- LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: AN EYE ON YOUTH AND EDUCATION -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) With seasonal migration taking hundreds of children out of school for months at a time, youth and education are key issues in the region. We met with the Adiyaman Development Projects Academy, a newly founded organization focusing on curbing the effects of seasonal migration on education. According to Ahmet Gunaydin, the organization's founder, they are focusing on development "in place." In conjunction with the SPO, the Adiyaman municipal government, and local schools, Gunaydin and his staff created a database of families who were repeatedly taking their children out of school because of seasonal migration. Gunaydin then dispatched his staff to speak with these families about the importance of continuous school attendance for the future of the children and the region. They have also paired with UNICEF's "Haydi Kizlar Okula!" (Come on, girls, let's go to school!) program, going door-to-door to speak with parents of girls to encourage them to send their daughters to school. ¶9. (SBU) We also met with Yesim Suzer, director of the Adiyaman Youth for Habitat, whose organization focuses on social development and education for older students, aged 15-25. Youth for Habitat provides leadership, project drafting, and internet training courses for the students, and promotes both social and vocational development. The organization recently launched an "e- Coach" program on the internet through which students are matched with a mentor in their chosen career field. Approximately 10 students in Adiyaman have taken advantage of the program, using the computers in the Youth for Habitat office to communicate with their mentors, mostly located in Istanbul. Suzer told us that since the organization's founding in 2002, over 9000 students throughout the GAP region have participated. ¶10. (SBU) While seasonal migration has caused lengthy absences from school, there also has been an increase in the number of street children. GAP Assistant Regional Director Mehmet Acikgoz told us that the GAP Administration has paired up with UNDP to combat the increase in the number of street children, with approximately 500 children in Urfa alone. GAP brought ANKARA 00002870 003 OF 004 together a task force of members from the provincial governors' offices, the municipal government offices, universities, and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Acikgoz said that the task force identifies street children, speaks with their families, encourages the children to attend school, provides food aid, and tries to find employment for the child's parents. GAP also established a program called "Would you be my parent?" to find foster homes for orphaned children living on the streets. -------------- -------------- CONTROVERSIAL IRRIGATION POLICY INCREASES PROFITS -------------- -------------- ¶11. (SBU) With its arid climate and hundreds of thousands of hectares of arable land, Mehmet Acikgoz told us that Urfa province has been the principal beneficiary of GAP's irrigation projects. He explained that when the projects began in 1999, only 30,000 hectares of land were irrigated. As of April 2006, 180,000 hectares had been irrigated, leading to an enormous increase in profits for the province's farmers. Acikgoz explained that under the dry farming system, farmers earned between USD 500-600 per hectare; under the irrigation system, farmers earn nearly USD 1500 per hectare. The irrigation system has also diversified the types of crops farmers produce. Before irrigation, they were primarily producing wheat, barley, and lentils; on the newly irrigated land, they can produce cotton and corn, both of which generate more profit. Acikgoz explained that the increased profit margins for farmers have led to a decrease in seasonal migration. (Comment: Acikgoz did not address some of the criticisms of the irrigation policy. Providing irrigation at low cost leads to the high rate of salinization caused by the prevalent use of surface irrigation, as opposed to trickle technology. Acikgoz also neglected to discuss the disproportionate focus on damaging crops like cotton, both of which are creating devastating future liabilities for Urfa's agriculture. End comment.) ¶12. (SBU) American NGO HasNa has taken an interest in the GAP region, offering training courses in the U.S. for agricultural engineers and officials from water cooperatives. The program allowed local officials to learn about new technology and see modern farming techniques. -------------- GAP, UNDP PROMOTE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT -------------- ¶13. (SBU) To promote and support small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in Adiyaman and Urfa, the European Union paired with UNDP and GAP to fund Entrepreneur Support and Guidance Centers (GIDEMs) in both cities in 1997. The GIDEMs provide market research for interested entrepreneurs, identify feasible investment areas, and offer training seminars on SME development. We met with Mehmet Gunes, a field officer at the Adiyaman branch, who told us that since 2002, his office has performed a business diagnosis of 40 businesses, has supported 20 new businesses, and has performed market research for five entrepreneurs. He added that his branch brings in sector experts from Istanbul and Ankara to assist SME owners with improving managerial skills, brand creation and management, and communication skills. Gunes said that he has noted a great increase in investment interest in Adiyaman since he started in 2002. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Despite Turkey's strong GDP growth since 2001, there are few visible signs of improvement in southeastern provinces like Adiyaman and Urfa, especially in rural areas. Conditions in the urban centers of Adiyaman and Urfa have improved in recent years, yet both provinces are well behind their counterparts in western Turkey. The tourism potential in both provinces is significant, but ongoing PKK violence in the region largely keeps tourists and ANKARA 00002870 004 OF 004 investors at bay. WILSON