Ankara: As part of a project jointly funded by the Goethe Institute, Dutch Embassy, Swedish Consulate, French Cultural Center, Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation and Anadolu Culture Foundation, 40 Turkish and Syrians living in Turkey’s southeastern province Children Gaziantep collaborated to write and illustrate a book called “Gökse” (Sky in Turkish), alluding to the fact that people of all races, cultures and creeds live together under the same sky.
Gaziantep, which has a population of about two million, is home to half a million Syrian refugees. The city has the second largest population of Syrians after Istanbul. Currently, there are 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, including 1.6 million children.
The book – which has been published in Turkish and Arabic – is currently being distributed to the city’s libraries, schools and museums, including a mobile library for children that was set up after the earthquake in February, in which More than 50,000 people were killed in Turkey and Turkey. Syria. On the cover of the book are the fingerprints of all the children who helped make it.
“These children are the heroes of a common story,” Asli Gokgoz, a teacher and project coordinator, told Arab News. “They grew up with different stories, but showed that they can come together to produce a common narrative that embodies the cultural, ethnic and linguistic heterogeneity of Gaziantep province.”
The book opens with a famous sentence: Once upon a time. Then, the children unanimously began to develop the story together. It is about the adventures of a girl named Gökse, who lives with her lambs and family in a green field full of colorful flowers.
The children received creative-writing training and participated in interactive reading and drawing workshops to enable them to better express their feelings through words and drawings.
“These workshops helped them make their voices heard, as well as pay attention to what their peers were saying. We tried to contribute to their own journey of self-discovery and help them re-establish their confidence Ki,” said Gokgoz.
“They are aware of their differences but they are also aware that they enjoy the same child rights. A project like this allows them to establish a common story through a collective effort to blend these disparities around a common dream. helped,” Gokgoz continued.
Many of the Syrian children participating in the project came to Gaziantep to escape brutal war in their home country, and are still struggling to rebuild their lives, especially after February’s earthquake. One of them, 14-year-old Maryam Nasser, told Arab News: “Despite differences in age and cultural background, we can integrate our efforts to generate valuable results. Social cohesion is an important factor for healthy communities.
Nasser, who was born in Syria and came to Gaziantep several years ago as a refugee, said the project’s workshops have helped develop her imagination and writing abilities.
“I loved getting to know the Turkish kids and playing with them. I also felt that my confidence was increasing. Our shared projects also helped our families, as Turkish and Syrian families also built bridges and left behind many prejudices. “This book is a clear indication that children can achieve anything when they come together under one sky.”
Another participant from Türkiye feels the same way.
“After this project, I learned how to live together under the same sky,” 10-year-old Agee Mai, a resident of Gaziantep, told Arab News. “I understood that people can be different from each other, but we are all basically the same.”