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In the fertile lands of Mesopotamia, a motif called the Tree of Life
is to be found on the doors of most houses and mosques.
This tree is both the source and the symbol of life,
according to the Shamanic faith.
If you come across one, just sit beside it and wait; so they say.
If you don't come across one, just keep looking for it;
it seems to be far away when it's right next to you
and it is actually nearby when it seems to be far far away.
They also say that if you manage to sit beside one,
your life is to change.
The mystic land of Southeastern Turkey has been home to
both the source and the symbol of life for centuries.
The same land, however, also hides a sneaky enemy of human beings,
which is created by human beings themselves.
Land mines planted during the civil war years are still under the soil,
like venomous snakes.
Those mines are both the source and the symbol of
innocent deaths and injuries, so they say.
A landmines seems to be far away when it's right next to you
and it is actually nearby when it seems to be far, far away.
And they also say that, if a landmine touches your life,
it causes a permanent change.
Landmines and other war leavings are considered to be the most cunning
and treacherous weapons of our times.
While significant efforts are being made in order to ban them worldwide,
there still are a great number of remaining landmines in Turkey.
According to a 2004 international landmine report of the Landmine Monitor,
936,663 landmines were planted in Turkey between 1957 and 1998.
The same report also mentions that 39,569 landmines were planted
only in Southeastern Turkey, during years of conflict between 1989 and 1992.
According to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty,
Turkey has to clean all landmines by March 2014.
Although Turkey has been working on this issue,
the actual cleaning process is yet to be launched.
Although these figures seem to be telling us a sad crime story from a far away land,
millions of locals and and hundreds of thousands of innocent children
are living in Southeastern Turkey, unaware of the danger
that awaits them just around the corner.
Landmines and bomb leavings sometimes
become the playmates of local children,
who are unknowing of the great threat they are facing.
Özlem Öztürk is a teacher.
While working in various schools in Southeastern Turkey,
she listened to such stories from her students.
She learned by experience the sneaky manner a landmine
approaches a child with, the unawareness of children
and the lack of concern by the government authorities.
And one day, instead of pointing fingers at others,
she decided to make a difference in children's lives
that are under the threat of landmines.
In order to make an impact, Özlem Öztürk established
the Duy-Der Association in 2008 and started raising awareness of
this issue at schools in the region.
She tells children about the malicious enemy
awaiting them in the fields. Through booklets and
a documentary on landmines, she raises awareness among students.
- We are working in the city of Hakkari at the moment.
Since 2008, we visited every village, every school in Hakkari
and offered workshops to children between the ages of 7-15
in order to teach them how to avoid landmines.
What truly matters to us is to save children's lives. Even saving one
child's life is important to us. We want to prevent landmines from hurting our children.
Between 2008 and 2010, not even one landmine explosion was caused
by children in districts of Hakkari
where we offered workshops.
Children who attended our workshops learn how to
protect themselves from landmines and no longer play with them.
This is the most important outcome of our project.
Özlem Öztürk is seeking for the Tree of Life right
where it first flourished.
Visiting every village and school in the region,
she educates children against the invisible danger that awaits them.
While making a significant difference in the lives of children and their
families, she also reminds us that through our indifference we are small
partners of this big crime and that we are the brothers, sisters,
mothers and fathers of Ceylan Önkol, who was killed by a landmine
at the age of 12 and left only this picture behind.