Slovak volunteer Martin Pavelka, after a year of working with internally displaced people in Georgia, moved to Turkey this time. There he is involved in activities that aim to help the refugee (mainly Syrian) community integrate into society. In nationalist Turkey there are as many as four million refugees and asylum seekers, yet the number of organisations working with them is pitiably low and their effectiveness is in question. Martin’s host organisation, Small projects Istanbul, is a bright exception. As a result of the corona crisis, however, he has to convert educational activities into online form, while facing several challenges.
Even while serving in the Georgian settlement of Tserovani, Slovak volunteer Martin Pavelka understood that he still wants to work in the field of international development. The ‘EU Aid Volunteers’ programme allows people to spend a year in a humanitarian context, which was a major opportunity and a new experience for him. He was sent as the senior coordinator of male and female volunteers to the organisation ‘Small projects Istanbul’ (SPI).
Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) tries to help refugee families from the Middle East and North Africa by creating a safe place for education and opportunities for earning a living. It is not only about working with children and youth, but also with women. Forty Syrian women refugees work in the affiliated social enterprise Muhra, where, after completing trainings (sewing, 3D printing, or computer skills), they make jewellery and clothing, thereby securing sustainable earnings.
The driving force of SPI is both local and foreign volunteers. Martin manages their operations, and on top of that he manages to implement and monitor twenty activities for the community on a weekly basis.
Martin Pavelka was in daily contact with refugee children and youth who “do not live in tents or overcrowded camps. Our community is already settled in Istanbul, parents work, and children go to school. Their biggest problems are: social stigma, unemployment, specifically employability, and lack of money,” the Slovak volunteer explains his clients.
Overall, over two hundred and fifty families are registered in SPI projects, and each has an average of four children. They come from Iraq, Egypt, Morocco and Palestine, but roughly two hundred families come directly from Syria. These refugees and asylum seekers, however, have the status of ‘Refugee with a temporary residence permit.’ This means that the Turkish state can send them back to Syria at any time, which, according to Martin, is something that does happen.
Refugees’ and Asylum Seekers’ Stories as Fragments from an Action Film
Members of the Syrian community have survived a difficult path of escape from their homeland due to war and persecution. And now they again struggle with integration into Turkish society. They are reluctant to talk about their past because it is still alive within them. “When friends from Syria occasionally describe their stories to me, they sound almost like fragments from an action film, even though it was a cruel reality. Yet they can still enjoy small things, which we from ‘Western civilization’ often forget. Clients invite me to their homes, offer their traditional food and tea, and enjoy interacting and showing interest,” describes the relationships Martin Pavelka has built.
Often isolated refugees and asylum seekers without contacts and especially without language skills have trouble accessing relevant information. They do not know where to turn in case of need, what their rights are, or where to seek help. “Turkish bureaucracy is incredible. Obtaining one residence certificate, or registering a foreign mobile phone, can take up to six months. That of course means high expenses and searching across offices that are several hours apart,” describes the administrative barriers, according to the Slovak volunteer. One of SPI’s goals is therefore counselling and mediating relevant information for this community.
They have enormous potential in themselves, but religious, cultural, or gender norms do not allow them to use it fully. These norms prevent interaction between boys and girls from early childhood. That then means they are not able to communicate with each other, which only deepens differences between them.
The Impacts and Reach of the Corona Crisis on Human Lives
Despite the exceptional situation, Martin Pavelka decided to stay in Istanbul, which “is currently my post and also my home. Overall, life in the metropolis has quieted down, but it has not completely stopped,” explains the Slovak volunteer. Non-profit organisations often function due to grants from Western donors. How the whole sphere of development aid, or cooperation, will function during the pandemic (and especially after it ends) is open to a long debate with an unclear conclusion.
The coronavirus affected not only his host organisation but also the recipients of aid, that is, the refugee community. “Many families lost work and income. As an organization, we therefore try to find ways to channel at least some financial support to them from the state or private donors. At the same time, we started distributing emergency food parcels to our community,” describes SPI’s current activities, says Martin Pavelka.
He is currently responsible for launching online activities for children and youth. SPI helps with teaching Turkish, with homework, and with creative activities. “Online communication does have limitations and limits, but we are not giving up. I can see that even this is a huge help to parents and relieves families of significant stress during home learning,” says the determined Slovak in Istanbul.
Volunteering Enriches a Person Professionally and Personally
Martin Pavelka works in a very diverse, international team. He therefore tries to explain his ideas clearly and not to follow established norms and convictions. He prefers to always fully listen to what people tell him, without trying to convince them of ‘his truth.’ “Thanks to intercultural sensitivity and communication, I can build relationships—both professional and personal. In addition to resilience and inner strength, I have also discovered ingenuity and the ability to work with limited resources,” summarizes the skills he has gained as an EU Aid volunteer.
Working with people who have completely different ways of thinking is always a big challenge. “Living in the context of other cultures is a great way to realize how much we still do not know, how many cultures there are in the world, and that we are all interconnected,” Martin Pavelka explains the benefits of global volunteering in low-income countries. He also warns that “one needs to learn to step out of the comfort zone and not want to save the whole world in a short time. Illusions and exaggerated expectations about a volunteer stay must be set aside. Otherwise, profound disappointment can come.”
Even a Slovak Volunteer as the Face of Migration
Terms such as migrant, asylum seeker, or refugee are heard from every direction without us understanding them correctly. A migrant usually voluntarily crosses the borders of their own country for work, study, or volunteering (as Martin does now). Refugees and asylum seekers flee their home to escape war, loss of freedom; otherwise, death, torture, or imprisonment would threaten them (as with his clients).
“The media and educational institutions should bear responsibility for providing unbiased information about migration. Unfortunately, all too often the opposite is true, and only very extreme situations get space in tabloid headlines,” warns the Slovak volunteer. He also notes that the phenomenon of climate change is having an ever greater impact on how we function. “Precisely that, at some point, will also contribute to migration of people from Slovakia within the country or to other states. Then we may understand migration (firsthand),” adds Martin Pavelka, who could well be one of the faces of migration in the campaign of the Development Organisations Platform Ambrela. Through the campaign ‘Faces of Migration’, it is trying to explain the topic of migration to the Slovak public through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“When you personally meet a few refugees and asylum seekers who came to Europe, for example from the Middle East, you will understand for yourself that at a human level, we are equal. Yet prejudices are deeply rooted in all of us,” reminds Martin Pavelka. If civil society, media, and local self-governments do not start promoting education and enlightenment toward breaking myths, according to him, change will not happen.
In recent years, due to travel, study stays, and globalization, even in our region a lot has changed. “For example, grandparents are gradually becoming familiar, through the experiences of their grandchildren, with the topic of diversity, difference, sensitivity to other cultures. I sincerely hope that the global coronavirus pandemic will not slow down this well-started transformation,” he adds optimistically at the end, the Slovak worker with Syrian youth in Turkey.
Text: Boba Markovič Baluchová, Foto: Martin Pavelka a Small projects Istanbul The article was created within the project SDGs and Migration – Multipliers and Journalists Addressing Decision Makers and Citizens in the EU’, financed by the European Union programme for education and awareness-raising (DEAR). Ambrela bears sole responsibility for the content of the article, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of the EU.