History:

The idea of creating a Union of Young Refugees in Turkey came out in January 2010 during the new year party of the Congolese Community. We decided to create a Union for unaccompanied minor refugees in Turkey. At the beginning we were only Congolese. The first aim was to try to solve our problems and to find solutions regarding housing, food and health after we were obliged to quit the state shelter for minors when we turned 18 years old. We had our first meeting in Beyoğlu on January 6, 2010. We were 4 minors and one who had already turned 18. We had our second meeting on January 13, 2010 with the same people. During this meeting we decided to choose a name for our association and we started to think about how to elect the board. Then we decided to held a General Assembly and to invite all the minors we knew, from several nationalities. This General Assembly was held on January 31, 2010 in Yeldeğirmeni state shelter for unaccompanied minors. 12 members were present during this meeting.

We spoke about the following:

  • We decided about the name of our organisation: Union of the Youg Refugees in Turkey (UYRT)
  • The projects we planned to work on: housing, food, health care access
  • The creation of a status for the Association
  • The aim and purpose of the Association

We published the Statuses of the Association on March 14, 2010 and elected the board. René was elected as president. Then the UYRT started to function.