Say Yes, Winter 2005: Life

Rıfat Cankat: We need a set of rights to live by -- it’s difficult to carry on without these.
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Rıfat Cankat, 15, İstanbul

We need a set of rights to live by -- it’s difficult to carry on without these, so I think we have to defend them. The most important are the rights to live and to have an education. It’s not possible to be a proper individual without these.

There are many children living or working in the streets. They have many problems to deal with. We need to protect these children and educate both them and their families.

Children’s lives are under threat from war, lack of education, poverty, health problems and the difficulties of life in big towns -- such as traffic, for instance -- we need to deal with these factors.

Adem Çavuşoğlu, 16, Manisa

I think children are important. First of all we have the right to a healthy life and after that basic rights to participation, education and development. I would like to change things to ensure that each child can have a better environment in terms of protection and education. I am more convinced now, after taking part in this forum, that we can change many things for the better for children. By listening to others and developing problem-solving skills, we have learned to take a broader view of life. Every child taking part will be able to train others and let them know about what we have learned.

Ceylan Çoban: How would society know about the right to participate without education?
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Ceylan Çoban, 11, Şanlıurfa

Education is the most important right for children. The other rights come after. But not just education at school. Education in the family and in society are also very important. They’re all connected. When the right to education is recognised, people understand the other rights. For example, how would society know about the right to participate without education?

Hüseyin Altun, 11, Van

For me, the first right is the right to a healthy life then there’s the right to an education. I want all children and their families to be aware of these. No one should be left in ignorance. For example, there are families in villages who aren’t sending their children to school, they leave their sick children to recover without taking them to a doctor. I think there should be a system to educate people and families should make use of it.

There are boundaries to our rights also -- I mean my rights end where another’s rights begin. Here in this forum we learned about the importance of childrens’ rights to life and to education. I learned that we can go to some agencies about this.

Nurcan Beytaş: If a child cannot express himself, or make himself understood, it means that child is not living out his childhood.
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Nurcan Beytaş, 16, Kocaeli

To my mind, children’s rights mean that children need to live every aspect of their childhood in comfort.

If a child cannot express himself, or make himself understood, it means that child is not living out his childhood.

No child should be made to work. No child should be made to sell hankies, to shine shoes, to clean car windscreens, to beg on the streets. I understand that the most important right is the right to live. When a child is forced to do these things, he or she isn’t really living.

I would like to see more information in the papers and on web sites in Turkey about how many of these children are not working on the streets anymore or how many girls have started school.

Ahmet Şimşek, 15, Kırıkkale

I think of children’s rights as a set of rules that children can rely on in difficult situations and they’re necessary for all children. At the Forum we have seen that participation, development, education, a healthy life and the right to a future are necessary for all children. We know that in Eastern Turkey, for example, girls especially are not being sent to school. So the children’s right to education needs to be prioritised: all children should go to school and get an education. Everyone has the right to contribute to our Turkey, to our future.

In our daily life, people can offend our feelings with sharp words or even get violent, because we’re small. Children’s rights can be helpful to children in these situations -- even within the family -- and children need to be aware of this. I have learned what to do when situations get violent, for example. In such cases, I try talking to the other person. I let him know that it’s better to settle a problem by talking. If he’s still angry and he wants to carry on that way, there are non-governmental organisations, there’s the Social Services and Child Protection Agency (SHÇEK) and there’s UNICEF -- there are also the police or the nearest adult around who can help me.

Murat Doğru: I would like to see all the children who are out-of-school going to school.
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Murat Doğru, 15, Karabük

Childrens’ rights to live, to have an education and to develop need to be protected. If these rights were recognised and respected, children would be able to protect themselves.

I would like to see all the children who are out-of-school start going to school.

Ergün Alkaş, 14, Muş

The most important thing starts with the family. Families need to be educated first about child rights. Because we learn everything about life, protection and participation from the family as we grow.