Below is an article that will be published in the next edition of Land of Lights, Fethiye Times and also, once translated, in the local Turkish newspapers.
The next 3C’s Çalış car boot sale was due to take place on Sunday 25 January. However the 3C’s committee, after much deliberation, have taken the decision to cancel the January sale.
There are several reasons for this decision. Firstly, committee members who organise and marshal the sales have recently been subject to increased verbal abuse from a small but increasing minority of Turkish stallholders who disregard their requests as to where to set up at the sale and who then refuse to keep within the allocated pitch areas, often taking up 2 or 3 stall spaces. Secondly, a small minority of these stallholders are repeatedly refusing to pay the stall fee of 20 TL, saying they have not taken enough money to pay for the stall (even though they have been seen to be trading). Thirdly, there are an increasing number of stallholders who have businesses elsewhere which have closed for the winter, who turn up selling new goods which is against the conditions of the car boot sale. This minority of disruptive stallholders have realised that the organisers do not have any formal authority to eject them and therefore take no notice when asked to leave the sale.
The 3C’s have been asked by the majority of bona fide fee-paying stallholders to do something about these people who are flouting the conditions and spoiling the car boots for others. As a consequence, they have decided to cancel the January sale whilst they have talks with the Director of Fethiye Zabita and also try to establish a method of pre-registration and advance payment for stalls for future boot sales , much like Fethiye Belediye have for their monthly second-hand markets.
The 3C’s apologise for the inconvenience that this will cause to their regular, loyal and rule abiding stallholders.
Said 3C’s Chair Peter Clark “Our charity has now been successfully running these car boot sales for 8 years, with very few problems. However, there have been a few issues over the last few sales and I as Chairman, will not tolerate our committee members, who are all hard-working volunteers, being verbally abused and shown scant respect by these few troublesome individuals. We have, therefore, decided to cancel the car boot sale for January. Should the situation not be resolved in time for the following car boot sale on 22 February and we then decide not to hold any future car boot sales, it will mean the tragic loss of 15 bursaries a year for students who would not otherwise be able to afford to go to university. This is something that we would wish to avoid. Surely, after eight years of our charity running these sales, people who attend the sales should have now realised that ALL the money raised by the 3C’s goes to help underprivileged Turkish students and that through their actions they are spoiling things for their own youngsters?”
The charity has permission from Fethiye Belediye to hold the sales, which were the first to be held in the Mugla area. Since they started in 2007, money from the car boot sales has funded 100 bursaries for local students.
Please read the local press, forums and social media sites for announcements about the February sale.
If you know anyone who either has a stall at the car boot sale or just enjoys a Sunday morning browsing the stalls, please can you pass this information on and the reason why it has been cancelled. Thank you.
