For some of them wearing women’s clothing, using make up and
going out in public this way is part of their job. And they also enjoy looking
like a woman. Some of them do not want to make permanent physical changes to
their bodies while others dream of having sex change operations and completely
altering their sexual identities. Many of them are forced into prostitution
because of the limited options they have for earning a living. Most see being a
transvestite as their profession. They go out every night and look for clients
on the street or in bars they are allowed into. They pass the days asleep and
wake near evening to eat, dress, drink, apply their make-up, fix their hair and
begin the same story all over again. Many resort to alcohol and drugs as
refuges from this life style because it is impossible to live this life sober.
Each night is long, dangerous and cold. They return in the mornings and go to
bed completely spent.
While part of society shuns them another segment of the
population desires them. They also become guides for young men as they embark
on their first sexual experiences. One important factor in their lives is
having atleast one male friend they call their husband. But even these
relationships which could be normal are strained by the difficult conditions in
which they live.
Coskun Asar / Children in Darkness
A lot of abandoned children live on the streets of Istanbul.
In most cases poverty, immigration, parental violence and
divorce push those children to run away from home or are abandoned by their
families.
The government does not support most of those kids and
social services have limited resources to help them.
The streets become their home and they find shelter in empty
buildings, ATM units, hotels and restaurants ventilation holes.
Their quality of life is so low that they beg of people,
they become drug addict –usually sniffing thinner and glue and smoking.
They create their own rules and violence is part of their
lives. They quickly learn to live within a world of gang hierarchies, random
violence and bullying.
The violence they inflict to each other is so harsh that it
leaves scars and wounds on their bodies.
The number of children living on the street increases every
year and is a serious problem in the big cities of Turkey.
