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This article is one year old:
On Saturday morning, those who went to Ãstiklal Street or Galata came face to face with ads of people who “are looking for their relatives” on the walls or columns.
The project “I am looking for my relative”, the first of which was organized by Aris Nalcý in 2006 within the framework of the Galata Visibility Project, has been further developed this year, expanding over the streets of Paris, Karlsruhe, Berlin, Cologne and Beirut. All the 66 different types of ads, with a total of 2000 copies were stuck on the walls on the streets of Galata and Alfortville, Bastille Square, Cologne Cathedral, and Kreuzberg in Berlin. The project, aiming at revealing the fact that all the Armenians who spread over different countries and continents are looking for their lost relatives, has also included the Hadig Group (consisting of the volunteering reporters of Agos), the Nor Zartonk Platform and many other volunteers from Paris and Beirut.
Beginning from the first issues of the newspaper, Agos newspaper has always supported the search for lost relatives. Many people are not aware of the fact that they have relatives from “different” ethnic communities in their extended families. The project is based on the idea that there might be a grandma, a grandpa or an uncle in Anatolia who might be a relative of yours but whose ethnic identity has not been discovered. In our country where social memory is weak and where many people prefer to hide, or even forget about some crucial facts, people who begin to search for their relatives after learning about them over a long period face many difficulties, the principle one being lack of information.
Since all the people seeking their relatives had already lost other relatives who might provide them with the necessary information, they have to begin their search solely with the name of a village or family. At this point, what is vitally important is to provide a platform for them to voice their call.
The main difference of the project of this year when compared to that of last year is the addition of the web site, which brings a new type of function to the search. The web site includes not only the details of the project but also pages where you can look through the other ads or place your own ad.
The site, which is now only in Turkish, will soon be prepared in English, French, and German.
It all started with a “dream”… Although it seemed a bit impossible, people began to search for their relatives with the limited amount of information they have … Some dreams have already turned into reality… Some others are waiting for the day to come true…
For further information: www.akrabamiariyorum.com
http://www.norzartonk.org/en/
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