Boy, 8, Falls Off Roof Trying To Get Internet For Class

Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Joe Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

A child who had gone up on the roof with his dad to try and connect the internet for online distance schooling tragically fell off and died.

The incident happened at their home in the Esenyurt Incirtepe district, in the city of Istanbul, in western Turkey.

According to national newspaper Duvar English, the eight-year-old boy, Cinar Mert, had followed his father on the roof, who had gone up to connect his neighbour’s internet cable, as they had not been able to afford to pay for their own connection.

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His father, Onder Mert, told national newspaper Haberler: “I went to the roof for a short time to get the internet from the neighbour because of the lack of our own internet. He came after me and fell into the ventilation gap while I was struggling with the cable.

“My son connected to EBA (online education system) for a few days, but we could not pay for the mobile internet. We squeezed everything we had and bought him a computer. It arrived that day. He could not even open his box.

“Nothing can bring my son back. How is education free and equal for all? They ruined it.

“He is dead now, but I do not want any children to die anymore. Please make internet free for education.”

The deputy of the left-wing opposition party CHP, Ali Seker, said: “We can say that a child died to access the internet. In this period, we once again see how the privatisation of the telecom in the internet age causes problems. Internet access companies made huge hikes in price during this period. If the state provided students with free internet, such a painful event would not have happened.”

The little boy is one of many children who no longer have access to education due to the strict COVID-19 measures, according to the head of the Education and Science Workers’ Union, Feray Aytekin Aydoqan.

Aydoqan, said: “The budget could have been used for students. The internet should be unlimited and free. The Education Minister doesn’t act on it even though he is aware of these problems.”

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