TitulaARTS project initiated in cooperation with the Mesopotamia Migration Monitoring and Research Association and the Association of Middle East Cinema Academy has held workshops for refugee women and children. Felek Fidan, the assistant of the project, stated that their aim is to heal the great marks left by the war on women with the workshops. “During the workshops, we saw the effects of war on women and children. Something should be done to stop wars,” Felek Fidan told us the associations will prepare a report after holding workshops for a year.

Amed - Mesopotamia Migration Monitoring and Research Association and Association of Middle East Cinema Academy started a project named TitulaARTS in Diyarbakır with the support of two NGOs in Barcelona. The objective of the project is to provide psycho-social support for women and children affected by the Syrian civil war. Until now, 91 Arab and Kurdish women attended the workshops in the eight months.

“Workshops change women”

The Association of Middle East Cinema Academy has organized workshops for children while the Mesopotamia Migration Monitoring and Research Association has organized workshops for women within the scope of the one-year project. Eight months have passed since the associations have held workshops for refugee women and children. “We have observed great changes in women and children attending the workshops in the last eight months. The women suffering from the trauma of war began to share their experiences with each other. We will keep holding the workshops for four months.”

“We saw the effects of war on women”

Stating that the TitulaARTS project was initiated in February, Felek Fidan said, “Eight months have passed since we launched the project. We have reached a total of 91 women until now. We had some problems during the workshops and these problems and troubles were a form of expression of the traumas caused by the negative effects of the war on women. Some women had crying jags while others wanted to talk a lot to express themselves. These women felt unsafe and alone.”

“Women become socialized”

After attending the workshops, women become socialized and feel better, Felek Fidan said, “We held activities to socialize women. After the first two months, we met these women again to see the healing process.”

Preventable solutions must be developed

Felek Fidan told us that they saw the effects of war on women better during the workshops, “Such events should be organized for refugee women and children. We aim to reach a total of 96 women after organizing one-year workshops. We will prepare a report. Women and children are seriously affected by wars. Works should be carried out to end wars. National and international organizations should develop preventable solutions. At the end of the year, we will conduct a survey with these women. We will collect the data in a report and share it with the public opinion.”