Follow the star

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"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star"

Nietzsche

Izmir

Turkey, 2016

For hundreds of thousands of migrants coming from countries with widespread internal conflict such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the first country in which they try to rebuild their lives is Turkey. According to the UN's estimates there are about 3 million refugees currently in Turkey,
most of whom are Syrians.

  • Walking through the streets of Basmane...

  • playPlay

  • Basmane is the historical centre of Izmir. Thousands of Syrian families live here, running away from the war.

  • It's here that some of them plan to make a long and dangerous trip to Europe.

  • Most of them stop in Basmane hoping to build a new life there, as an alternative to going back to their homes in Syria.

  • The wait, day after day, turns into a daily struggle.

  • Because of the language barriers and the widespread prejudice towards migrants among the Turkish community, most of the migrant children and youth of Basmane cannot find their way into the school system; most people who need medical attention often do not receive the necessary care from the local health system; the Syrian workers are easily exposed to exploitation, forced to work illegally with minimum standards of safety, and in most cases, are underpaid.

    The situation got more complicated after the agreement the EU and Turkey signed on the 18th of March of 2016, which seeks to reduce the flow of migrants towards Europe, through pushbacks and deportations from the islands of the Aegean. Following the agreement, the number of migrants in Turkey keeps rising and their already difficult living conditions are at risk of deteriorating even further.

    One of the strongest solutions that presents itself in this situation of social instability is to build relationships in the community and, by doing so, explore the meaning of solidarity as a way to challenge stereotypes and prejudices.

  • Here in Basmane, in January 2016, a group of Turkish, Kurdish, Syrian and international activists and volunteers launched "Kapılar" (The Doors), the first community centre in Izmir.

  • Kapılar is an open space for the community that seeks to contrast the conditions of extreme vulnerability to which the people of Basmane are exposed, whether they are locals or migrants.

  • A new community has developed in Basmane, self-organised and pro-active. It is a space for all, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability or age.

  • In Kapılar we met Hasan, Alì, Nour and all those people who are trying to build their own future, staying together and connecting to each other. Their struggle is our struggle and their hope is our hope.

  • Chasing the Stars

    Chasing the Stars is a web documentary on the stories of those people migrating from Middle-East to Europe.
    We are filmmakers from CROMA cultural association (Rome, Italy), and we want to tell you about the life of people who, despite the wait, the fear, the organisation of the trip, the hope or the improbability of leaving, try to organise, to meet and plan new possible itineraries beyond those drawn on the maps.
    We want as many of us as possible to be aware of the reality of forced migrants, to put ourselves in their shoes only to remember that we are all drops in the same sea and that we CAN do something about it – at least tell their story without prejudice.
    It is here that our story begins.
    Two more episodes are waiting upon funds in order to be filmed. They depend on your participation too.

    Support our project and help us to transform your participation into an act of freedom.

    Because Chasing the Stars depends on us, all of us, and on those who transform participation into an act of freedom.

    Get updated

    If you want to be updated on the making of the documentary, please leave us your contacts:

    Produced by

    • croma

    Supported by

    • aamod
    • Young Researchs of Serbia