ISTANBUL // Irfan Toreci, a young shepherd with only one arm, who grew up in a two-room mud brick hovel that housed a family of 12 in Turkey's poor southeastern province of Hakkari, has become the hero of an unlikely success story after he beat the odds to win a place at a prestigious university. Donors are promising to provide him with grants to become a doctor.
"I am happy right now," Mr Toreci, 18, said in a telephone interview from Hakkari. "When I am a doctor, I will definitely return to my home to help people here."
Mr Toreci won his place at Hacettepe University in the capital, Ankara, one of the top universities in Turkey, in a nationwide test this summer. Since then, Mr Toreci has become something of a celebrity. "Shepherd from Hakkari goes to Hacettepe to study medicine," ran a typical newspaper headline. Mr Toreci said the media attention made him uneasy. "I did work as a shepherd, but I do not want the fuss," he said.
Still, he has used interviews with Turkish media to remind his fellow citizens that his situation throws a spotlight on the discrepancy in living conditions, medical facilities and chances for education between his poor Anatolian home region and the more affluent rest of the country.
"There is little investment here in any area," he said in a telephone interview. Held back by poverty and a low-intensity war between Kurdish guerrillas and the Turkish military, the predominantly Kurdish area in Turkey's south-east trails other regions in terms of wealth and social development. According to the latest available statistics, the average per-capita income in Turkey according to purchasing power is US$9,670 (Dh35,500) a year, but in southeastern Anatolia it is only $5,260.
A study completed in 2006 found that the 21 provinces in Turkey's east and south-east scored 0.631 points on the UN Human Development Index, which measures education, access to medical facilities and other factors of quality of life. Turkey in general was much more advanced with 0.750 points at the time; it stands at 0.775 presently, while the UAE scores 0.868 points. Even with Mr Toreci's success, Hakkari was one of two provinces that did especially poorly in the recent university entrance exam.
That inequality might be one of the reasons he is disabled today, Mr Toreci told Turkish reporters during a recent visit in Ankara. "If there had been a doctor around at the time, maybe I would not have lost my arm," he said.
In the telephone interview, Mr Toreci said he was not optimistic that things will improve in his home region in the near future. "I don't think that things will change a lot."
When he was five, Mr Toreci lost his right arm after he touched an electric cable that had fallen on a house during a fire in his village. He said his parents brought him into a local hospital, but there was no doctor there who could help him. The boy was sent to a bigger hospital in Van, the capital of a neighbouring province, but it was too late. "Until we got to Van, it was over," Mr Toreci told the Turkish news channel NTV. "Later, they cut it off," he said about his arm.
The son of a farmer and one of 10 children, Mr Toreci shone as a pupil in primary school, which enabled him to go on to Yuksekova Super Lisesi, a high school for talented youths, where he finished first in his class. In his summer breaks, he helped his family by tending his father's sheep while cramming for school.
With the support of teachers from his school and a dershane, a private school that helps youngsters prepare for the university entrance exam, and after studying 10 hours a day before the test, he scored well enough to win a place at Hacettepe. Sinav Dershaneleri, the company that helped Mr Toreci train for the exam, said he did not have to pay for the lessons because particularly bright students were supported by offering them free courses. Sinav Dershaneleri has started to use Mr Toreci's name in ads.
But while Mr Toreci's success was being celebrated by media across the country, it also meant new problems for his family. One of his brothers has been studying social services at Hacettepe, and although public universities such as Hacettepe offer a free education, the family is too poor to support two students. To raise money, Mr Toreci went public. "I want a grant for six to seven years," he told NTV. "You know that studying medicine is very expensive."
He did not have to wait long for pledges from potential donors. Sinav Deshaneleri announced the company would give him a grant of 500 lira (Dh1,480) a month for seven years. Welcoming Mr Toreci to Ankara, the company also presented him with a laptop.
At the same time, a foundation of one of Turkey's largest family-run companies, Sabanci, said it would support Mr Toreci with a second grant. A well-known professional football player, Umit Ozat, of the German first-league club Cologne, said he also would like to help the young man.
And the governor of Hakkari province, Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu, said he was trying to raise money to provide Mr Toreci with an artificial limb.
Mr Toreci sounded bitter about what he said were many empty promises of help.
"There has been a lot of talk," he said. "But nobody calls or anything. So far the only thing I have is the grant from Sinav."
Meanwhile, he has started to talk to university officials about what branch of medicine is possible for him, given that he has only one arm. "I haven't made a final decision yet, but I am thinking about psychiatry" after basic medical studies, he said.
He has also used his new celebrity status to draw attention to living conditions in south-eastern Anatolia. Doctors and teachers who are sent to the region by the state start looking for a way out immediately because they do not want to live in a poor and backward region, he said. "They try to go back [to western regions of Turkey] straightaway," he told Turkish media. "It is almost as if people there were not human."
Coming from a region where most people speak Kurdish at home and have to learn Turkish in school, Mr Toreci also called for Kurdish to be accepted as a language in the university entrance test. "We got used to it," Mr Toreci said about the Turkish language.
"But if it had been Kurdish [in the test], it would have been much easier and quicker. Instead of the 25 minutes I needed for the Turkish questions, I would have finished in 10 minutes."
tseibert@thenational.ae
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Dunki
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rajkumar%20Hirani%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Taapsee%20Pannu%2C%20Vikram%20Kochhar%20and%20Anil%20Grover%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Command%20Z
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Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
