Turkey’s soaring costs are creating a ‘lost generation’ of kids forced to help their families get by

ISTANBUL (AP) — In a dim one-room apartment in one of Istanbul’s poorest neighborhoods, 11-year-old Atakan Sahin curls up on a threadbare sofa with his siblings to watch TV while their mother stirs a pot of pasta.

The simple meal is all the family of six can look forward to most evenings. Atakan, his two younger brothers and 5-year-old sister are among the one-third of Turkish children living in poverty.

“Look at the state of my children,” said Rukiye Sahin, 28. “I have four children.