Painted fingers in the tents…

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The most impressive thing in this process was that a Syrian family was familiar with these tents.

Dilek Durgun, a volunteer educator in tents

The Children’s Rights Crisis Management Network of Diyarbakir is setting up games and activities workshops for children affected by the earthquake at the place of the tents in Adiyaman. They help willingly children overcome their traumas.

Dilek, who is one of the volunteer trainers in the tents, told to Botan Times.

The first thing we pay attention to is whether the children get along or not. Because in the tents, Kurdish, Turkish, and Arabic children are together. We have problems with the language. When children speak Arabic, we get help from our friends who know Arabic.

Photo: Esra Gayretli / Adiyaman

Children love finger painting more. Because they freely use the colors they want and paint their fingers. We don’t set any limits, and they like that too.

Photo: Esra Gayretli / Adiyaman

There are plastic bottles in the tent area. We pick up them with the children to transform those bottles and prepare them into multiple toys.

Photo: Esra Gayretli / Adiyaman

We also play football and volleyball with the children in the parking area according to their age. In this way, their families try to motivate the children.

When families see that their children are happy, their fear of earthquakes moves away a little. The parents come and thank us. They say you do a good job. In this way, our children don’t have to stay at the tens. Of course, this also makes us very happy.

Photo: Esra Gayretli / Adiyaman

I talked to a Syrian mother and she said, ‘After coming from Syria, we joined the camps. In February we were taken to the tents and this year in February my house was destroyed and we are in the tents again. Therefore, February is a very hard month for me and my children. And they think that if February finished, everything will be better after this month.’

This news was translated by Yonca Sarsilmaz

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Beril Caymaz
Edîtor û nûçegihana Botan Timesê ye. Li Zanîngeha Selçûkê beşa rojnamegeriyê xwendiye. Ji bo Journo, Gazete MLSA, Botan International, PodcastKurdî, Rojnameya 9 Eylulê, Rojnameya 24 Saatê wek rojnamegera serbixwe kar kiriye.

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