Say Yes, Winter 2005: Protection

Salim Buzluca: Children’s rights should be taught as a subject in schools.
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Salim Buzluca,15, Gaziantep

Children need freedom and well-being for healthy development. Children’s rights should be taught as a subject in schools. This is the best way for us to be informed. We all share the same problems. There are street children -- children living outdoors. I don’t think it is right for them to be living on the streets. We need to give them a good home.

Halil İbrahim Kuruluş, 14, Osmaniye

We talk about the rules that should be observed to protect children as children’s rights. Each person should be educated about these rights and the general level of awareness on the issue should be raised. Children should be protected at all times and they shouldn’t be the target of violence. I would like to start a good safe house for street children and work to give them better nutrition, a better life. These days, children aren’t taken seriously enough and something should be done to change this. Taking part in this forum, I learned about children’s rights and I will come as a trainer next year and teach others about these rights.

Ebru Kırmızıtaş: Sometimes children are abused and subjected to violence -- families need to be informed about these issues.
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Ebru Kırmızıtaş, 16, Erzincan

Children up to the age of 18 have some special rights. These are protection, development, the right to live and the right to participate. Sometimes children are abused and subjected to violence -- families need to be informed about these issues. This is the first time I attended the Forum -- the first time I’ve learned about these rights. We understand better here that children are children and that we need our rights.

Mehmet Ekin, 9, Sivas

For me children’s rights means that children are important and protected. I would like to stop the wars and make peace.

Gülşen Karahan, 15, Artvin

We should keep children away from violence and protect them. Children can’t express themselves because they are not listened to. If children were close to love, it wouldn’t be like that. I know where to go if ever I meet any injustice or violence. I know this because I am 15 years old but a five-year old wouldn’t know it. Because of this, we need to teach children’s rights to people in order to make sure children are protected.

Neşe Uslu, 15, Zonguldak

Before now I thought very narrowly that children’s rights were about things like going to school but I learned at this forum that children have many rights -- I learned that we have the right to live a healthy life, protection, participation, security, education and equality. I believe that I can teach what I have learned to other children and that I can change them because grown-ups want to put themselves first and they often ignore us. This is bad.

At this forum, I learned to express my feelings; I learned to respect differences; I learned that we shouldn’t discriminate; there shouldn’t be gender bias; I learned how to respond to violence; I learned how others can solve problems in their life and I learned how to communicate this to others.

Yunus Eyüp Koca: I would like to change things to ensure that every child gets a better education …
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Yunus Eyüp Koca, 10, Erzurum

It’s the first time that I have taken part in this forum and it’s the first time I learned that children have rights. Children have their rights just as grown-ups have theirs. Protection, education and healthy development are the most important of these rights. I would like to change things to ensure that every child gets a better education and I’d like to help children on the streets who try to make a living selling things or begging.

Yağmur Karadeniz, 16, Eskişehir

Children have their rights but we are not often aware of them until we learn about them in forums like this. There are children selling paper handkerchiefs on streets. I ask them why are you doing this? and they tell me they have to do it because their mother isn’t working or their father isn’t looking after them. We should take responsibility for these children. We need to help them because they’re very young. They don’t know what to do. We should show them.

Fendiye Öztop: I think that childrens’ right to protection is very important.
Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2005

Fendiye Öztop, 11, Yozgat

I think that childrens’ right to protection is very important, and then come the rights to safety, education, health and equality. Families and society need to be taught about these for the protection of children.

After -- you know they make children work on the street -- I want to change that too.

Fatma Havsut, 17, Kırşehir

Children’s rights means that we have basic needs such as shelter, a healthy life, protection and so forth. But only a very few people know about them. I want all children to grow up more healthily. But not just physically healthy but mentally and emotionally healthy as well -- more of an effort should be made to prepare us for our future responsibilities.

We face domestic violence in daily life -- even as little as being shouted at. I don’t see much myself but it affects some of my friends.

Sena Ercan, 11, Muğla

For me, children’s rights reminds me that children need help when they are threatened by violence. I would do everything I can to make sure that children live their childhood to the full for at least one day a year.