… by Union of young refugee in Turkey from 2010 to 2011
For the startup of our/UNION and NGO, we contacted the following organizations and persons:
On February 26, 2010 we wrote a letter to the Episcopal Cohttp://uyrt.jogspace.net/wp-admin/post.php?post=30&action=edit&message=6nference in Turkey to solicit help from Caritas. Mr. Padovese, the president of Caritas Turkey and the president of the Episcopal Conference in Turkey took note of our letter and then contacted Mr René Pangulu Ngangambi on Saturday 27 march 2011 at 11 am to thank him. He promised to help us and he sent an email on Sunday 28 march to reiterate that he would help us.
On 7th July, 2010 the organization « Kimse Yok Mu » gave us some food via UNHCR.
. Meeting with Caritas
On March 25 2010 we had our first meeting with Caritas. As a conclusion, Mr. Marmara the director of Caritas asked us to write a project so he can try to find funding for us.
On April 08, 2010, we presented a project to Caritas to find a house and the project was accepted. We then found a house. The rent was 700 TL. We have two rooms, one living room, a kitchen and a bathroom for 7 people. We moved there on June 25, 2010. Since that day, Caritas and IIMP paid the rent for 6 months, full rent for 4 months and half the rent for 2 months.
On July 23, 2010 we contacted the UNHCR General Inspector in Geneva. The request was to make a collective call for the amelioration of the living conditions of refugees in Turkey. We wrote about the following points:
The delay of the finalization of our cases vis a vis the UNHCR is too long (between one to two years, sometimes even more)
The financial assistance that should be given to refugees following the recognition of a case are not always given in same situations, for some reasons that we cannot understand (around 100 TL)
After the recognition as a refugee, the waiting period for resettlement can go up to two years.
The interviews organized by UNHCR BO Ankara are planned in a very short delay, for example one day for the other, which makes difficult the organization of a travel to Ankara, especially for people who have to ask a travel authorization from the police to leave their satellite city and also for organizing the payment of the transport.
We understood that our letter had been taken into consideration as there have been some little changes.
In April 2010, the Association contacted Father Jacquie, the Doyen, in order to welcome the members of UYTR to the Don Bosco Cultural Center for Turkish, English and computer courses.
On September 25, 2010 we met Mr. Jean Michel Tricart to discuss with him about a project of computer training. He agreed to help us and made a donation of two computers and one printer so we can learn how to use them. We also discussed with him the problem of our rent and Caritas told us that the Brother of Saint Joseph high school had accepted to help us by paying half of our rent for 6 months, starting from November 2010.
On October 30, 2010 we organized a solidarity party with the Migrant Solidarity Network (Göçmen Dayanışma Ağı). The entrance was about 5 TL and the money earned was given to the UYRT. We gathered 1000TL.
We also participate now to the monthly NGO meetings of Istanbul thanks to Rachel Levitan of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly. We meet there with several NGOs coordinators to whom we present our organization and our difficulties.
During the month of November we decided to help 5 of our members to pay for their Ikamet. The UYRT assisted them and took in charge the defter parası fees that amounted to 138 TL.
During the month of December 2010, IOM assisted us to buy mugs, key rings and t-shirts that we printed with the logo of UYRT and that we sell. The assistance of IOM amounted to 500 dollars.
In the month of December 2010 we started a workshop of serigraphy. Göçmen Dayanışma GDA assisted us in buying the materials as well as a printer machine. We learned how to use it and we printed 26 T-shirt for the UYRT that we could sell after. We are planning to continue this workshop in a more organized way.
On December 17, the UNHCR finally answered our request for a meeting and we met with a protection officer from Ankara BO and a protection officer from Istanbul. We were 12 people from the UYRT attending the meeting. We principally discussed resettlement issues.
During the month of February and March we hosted 6 minors referring by UNHCR before they registered to the police and before the police transfer them to the state shelter in kadiköy.
In December 18, 2010, we organized together with Göçmen Dayanışma GDA a conference on the situation and life condition of young refugees in Turkey. The conference took place in Mimar Sinan University. All the speakers were young refugees and around 150 persons attended the conference. People from NGOs, the UNHCR as well as academics and other people attended.
After the conference we had another solidarity party organized together with GDA (and we collected 710 TL
On 18 February we organized together with GDA a concert to collect money and we collected 800TL
Many NGO and goodwill personal support our activities during our mandate on 2010-2012, IOM, Caritas, IIMP, ASAM, Catholic church in Moda, Dabatem, Father Jacquie, Helsinki, GDA, etc…
On 20 May René met with the Deputy Governor Mustafa to inform him about the Union of young refugees and they talked also about the project and the situation of ex-minors. The governor appreciates this initiative to create the Union and tell René to write a project.
On July 2011 we had a meeting with Mr. Atilla, is the one of the director to the ministry of interior to talk about the satellite cities and how to legalese the Union of young refugee to the Turkish authorities, they appreciates our request and take it in consideration.
On July 2011 we organize a party to change the new committee of the UYRT for 2011-2012. René is going to find the house to host the 13 ex-minors who got transfer to these cities because there is no place for them to stay.