“Muhajirs: True Stories of Migration,” which presents the real-life stories of Syrian refugees, was analyzed at Bülbülzade Foundation by the Anatolian Students’ Association.
My Homeland, My Homeland
Splendor, beauty, dignity, and joy are upon your hills.
Life, salvation, happiness, and hope lie in your love, in your passion.
Will I see you safe and sound, prosperous, honorable, and exalted?
Will I see you secure, abundant, successful, magnificent?
Will I see you elevated?
Will I witness your ascent, your reaching that distant shining star?
One year has passed since the Syrian Revolution. We witnessed the liberation of a people live on televisions, radios, newspapers, streets, and squares. Throughout the 14-year war, the Syrian people endured immense suffering. Bülbülzade Foundation, which never left their side or abandoned them for a single moment, considered it a duty to remain on the ground from the very first day of the war. With great effort and dedication, it carried out projects, activities, and initiatives. Alongside these efforts, it also maintained an extensive publishing program, including the translation of Turkish books into Arabic, the publication of reference works, the transformation of workshops, seminars, and symposium outputs into written sources, and the preparation of social cohesion guides. It contributed to the production of films and prepared and broadcast documentaries.
HOPE ALWAYS EXISTS ALONGSIDE PAIN
One of the most significant of these efforts is undoubtedly “Muhajirs: True Stories of Migration,” published under the Tire Kitap label, which conveys the harrowing realities of migration through real-life stories. Also produced as a documentary and broadcast on TRT under the title “Muhajir,” Muhajirs was once again discussed today at a book analysis program organized by Gaziantep University’s Anatolian Students’ Association under the roof of our foundation. The stories of Syrians whose lives were scarred by deep, hard-to-heal wounds of war echoed once more in the foundation’s halls. A painful reckoning of 14 years was made, losses were commemorated, and prayers were offered for those who lost their lives in this war. Alongside pain, hope was always present. Seeds of hope were sown for the rebirth of a devastated country and its afflicted people.
41 PENS, 43 HEROES
There are no winners in war. Indeed, the Syrian war had no winner either. In its aftermath, millions of Syrians were forced into migration. Not knowing where to go, they sought only to save their lives, leaving behind the Syria they loved so dearly. While some were able to return to their homeland after the revolution, millions of Syrians today remain scattered across many parts of the world.
Muhajirs focuses on the true heroes of this forced migration. In this documentary-style work, we read 43 real-life stories penned by 41 writers. Stories that begin in Aleppo, Damascus, and Daraa, and continue in Gaziantep, Hatay, and Şanlıurfa… The book brings together the heart-wrenching stories of migrants striving to cling to life after enduring unbearable suffering. Some texts are written professionally, while others are written straight from the heart. During the analysis program, all these texts were re-evaluated from today’s perspective. How the book dispelled false perceptions about Syrian refugees, the criticism it received from literary circles, the current situations of the protagonists, and the fate of those who returned to Syria and those who remained were among the main topics discussed.
The analysis program examining the stories and heroes of the book concluded with wishes that such suffering will never again be experienced in human history, regardless of nationality, race, or belief.
To examine Muhajirs: True Stories of Migration in detail and obtain a copy, click here.
