Through the efforts of Ukranian ballet teacher Tamara, the Al-Qattan Center for Children in Gaza opened the first ballet course in the country. Tamara’s ballet lessons became a beacon of hope to fifty children between the ages of five and eight and their families. Despite Gaza’s environment of continuous fear and violence that surrounds these children, they resist the destruction of war to take care of their bodies and souls.
Ayşe Çelik, a teacher in Diyarbakır, called in to a popular television show and drew attention to the fighting and rights violations in Turkey’s East, with the message, “Let people and children not die, let mothers not cry.” Subjected to interrogation because of her message, Çelik became a powerful voice for peace on the part of the people in Turkey’s eastern provinces.
Fatima Talep, a Muslim member of Parliament in Spain’s Badalona region, performed a wedding for a gay couple. Despite being subjected to labeling as “a disgrace to Muslims” as well as various attacks, she stressed the importance of living together and insisted that a world without prejudice, hate and fear was possible. A voice for the LGBTI movement as well, Talep continues her fight against racism and homophobia.
In Izmir, the Association of Bridging Peoples works to support refugees, protect their personal rights and freedoms, and inform public opinion about the conditions under which they live. Since 2014, the Association has supported tens of thousands of refugees in securing their most basic human rights, and especially healthcare. Through their joint efforts, Association members aim to achieve equality among peoples, and forge a common friendship founded in freedom and justice.
Women in Gambia launched a campaign to ban female genital mutilation (FGM). Proclaiming the practice illegal, President Yahya Jammeh noted that the powerful, decisive struggle of female FGM victims had played a direct role in the decision. The women continue their fight to hold this decision up as an example to other African countries.
Turkey’s “I am Walking toward Peace Initiative,” with its slogan “Life, not Death,” set off from Turkey’s westernmost toward its easternmost point. Composed predominantly of women, the group quickly reached a large number of people through the social media and brought its message of peace to several different cities. The walk brought hope to those desiring to raise the voice of peace against the trend of civilian-directed attacks.
In England, the Let Toys be Toys group strives to block gender-based toy marketing. Through their work, the organization has been effective in having the “Toys by Gender” category removed from the famous toy chain Toys “R” Us’ internet site in the UK. Declaring that toys should not limit psychological and sociological gender identities, the organization is also working to effect change in the area of children’s books.
Resistance by workers in Amasya’s Suluova province to a decision to close the Yeni Çeltek Mine, with the support of their families, paid off after more than a month’s effort. Following conferences with the mine owners, union representatives announced that the mine would reopen, and deficiencies in the mine would be eliminated. This determined resistance on the part of the miners brought one of the most important gains in the area of worker’s rights in Turkey in recent years.
In Iraq, husband and wife team Khalil Hasan and Ameena Saeed are working to rescue Ezidi women kidnapped by ISIS. Ameena records telephone calls for help coming from Ezidi women, and her husband Khalil goes to the Iraqi-Syrian border and helps these women gain their freedom. Having freed over one hundred women to date, the couple uses their own resources in their fight against the ongoing war and human rights abuses in the region.
Saadet Özkan, a teacher in Izmir’s Menderes province, reported the sexual abuse of six female students between the ages of six and eleven by the school’s principal. As a result of this information, the principal was arrested in 2014 but was released on grounds of insufficient evidence. However due to pressure from NGOs, bar representatives, MPs and women’s organizations, he was arrested again. As countless similar cases are covered up, Saadet Özkan, through his courage and persistence, has become a voice for abused children and their families.
When Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini left her country behind and set off for Greece, it was the beginning of an unprecedented story of hope and strength. When their boat began taking on water in the middle of the Aegean Sea, she and her sister, also a swimmer, jumped into the water and pulled the boat to the island of Lesbos. Swimming for four hours, the two sisters saved the lives of the twenty people in the boat. After this arduous journey, Yusra settled in Germany, and was selected to swim for the 2016 Olympic Refugee Team.
Mersin residents Salman Kalender, Ramazan Gedik and Turabi Fidan raised vegetables on around two acres of land opened for agriculture by the Municipality of Mezitli and donated their produce to the municipal soup kitchen. The food prepared there by volunteers was distributed to the needy with cars appointed by the municipality. Kalender, Gedi and Fidan’s solidarity, along with the pioneering efforts of Mezitli Municipality, could serve as an example for other municipalities.
In December, a unique protest was held on the border of Croatia and Slovenia. Athletes, educators and civil servants, opposing the wire fences erected by the state as a ‘solution’ to the refugee crisis, gathered on both sides of the fence and held a volleyball match, using the wire mesh as a net. Emphasizing the close historical ties between the two countries, they drew attention to the harm the wire fences cause to animals and people living along the border.
Sixty-eight journalists from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir met to support unbiased reporting on the fighting in Turkey’s eastern provinces and journalists working in this region, and began a ‘News Watch’ with the slogan, “We seek the truth and support our colleagues.” Meeting in the name of freedom of the press and the right to accurate information, team members used social media to share news stories and caricatures as well as interviews, reaching a wide audience around the country.
In Israel the Rana Choir, formed by ten Jewish and ten Arab women, work to show through song that coexistence is possible despite political differences, and to voice their call for peace. Singing in Arabic, Hebrew, Judaeo-Spanish, Persian and Greek, the Choir stress the importance of living and singing together.
A Turkish philanthropist identified only as ‘Aynebilim’ moved to Cambodia and opened a soup kitchen in the capitol Phnom Penh. Meeting the kitchen’s expenses through donations, Aynebilim helps provide regular meals for people living in huts. In addition, Aynebilim uses the funds gathered through their web site to provide the materials necessary to meet their village’s construction needs.
Sanela Ljumanović, a teacher living in Bosnia-Hercegovina, took the initiative in encouraging students and teachers to learn sign language so that her deaf student Zejd could attend school, take part in classes and socialize. Ljumanović’s influential effort has raised awareness of disabled rights in the country.
Turkish group ‘Academics for Peace’ published a petition calling for an end to the violence and human rights violations taking place in the eastern provinces. The petition drew as much attention for the reaction it received from the government and various members of the university system as it did for the support it received from hundreds of academicians from Turkey and the world. Some of the academicians who signed it were apprehended, others were fired from their jobs, and many were interrogated. With its courageous and effective call, Academicians for Peace once again stressed the importance of freedom of expression in Turkey.
While searching for his lost dog in 2012 Wang Yan, who lives in China, found himself in a slaughterhouse, surrounded by the tortured bodies of dogs. Unable to find his dog and horrified at what he had seen, Yan set out in search of a solution. Spending his entire fortune to transform the slaughterhouse into a dog shelter and rescue center, Yan saved the lives of 2,000 dogs in just three years.
In the face of Turkey’s coup attempt on July 15 Şerife Boz, together with her neighbor Sema Tutar, took her husband’s dump truck and pulled out in front of the tanks. In interviews with the women, they stressed that they did not want a coup, and that everyone needed to do their part for democracy.
As the Parliament Building and several other public buildings were being bombarded, thousands of people like Şerife Boz and Sema Tutar took to the streets in opposition to the army and, putting their lives in danger, resisted the coup. We salute everyone who acted and spoken against the coup in support of democracy as the inspirations of Turkey regardless of their political party, religion, language or gender.
