Haunting poem with important message

The rhythm drives the poem forward, lending to a feeling of frenzy and frantic emotion. The actors, standing in black on a black stage, have little emotion in their voices. This is instrumental in conveying the sense of shock that people who decide to be refugees must feel when fleeing their home.

Here in Turkey we are fortunate. We are safe.

But on the night of 15 July, as people ran to the shops to stock up on goods they thought would be in short supply, as people ran out on the streets to defend their country, before they knew who was trying to usurp their democracy, there was one thought in the back of everyone's mind ... "Is Turkey going to end up like Syria? Will we have to leave our home?" And on the edge of that thought came the question "And what will I take with me?"

The night of July 15, as the F-16s screamed overhead, many thoughts passed through the minds of the people in Istanbul and Ankara. Will we survive? If we do, will life be safe? Will Turkey go the way of Syria? Where did I put that passport? What else should I take with me if I have to go?

It was questions like this, in my opinion, that spurred people out the door. It was the idea of "if I have to go" that urged the Turkish nation to answer in one voice, "We will not go!"

Turkey extricated herself from this predicament. We are fortunate. We do not have to look at our things and decide what to take and what to leave.

I have met many Syrians. They have not been so fortunate. Many had to leave, taking only their passports. Some could secure their university diplomas. But for many they had to leave home with no documents at all. We forget that passports are only applied for if you go abroad. People who have never traveled abroad do not need or have passports.

We forget that many people had to flee because their homes were being bombed. They could not get their documents; in fact, their documents probably no longer exist. Of course, they can apply to the Syrian embassy in the country they find themselves in. However, let's be realistic. If you are fleeing a terrorist state, would you really want to apply to the representatives of that state to ask for official documentation?

The inability to have documents which prove that we exist, which make us "people" or allow us to "count" poses a great problem for many Syrians. How can you prove that you have trained as a teacher or as an accountant if you don't have the right documents? How can you prove that you really even exist?

If you had to leave your home now, in 10 minutes, what would you take with you? Learning from our Syrian brothers and sisters, I know that I would take any documentation of my identity and my skills. Anything else would be extra. Photographs, sentimental mementos... all these would have to be set aside if your life depended on it.

As mentioned above the assumption that people always have the time to sit and think what to take with them is not realistic. Many refugees do not plan to become refugees. They find themselves homeless and stateless.

I have a good friend. She told me how she left her home town of Homs to visit her sister in Dubai for two weeks. The most normal of events. But while in Dubai her family came to the sad and difficult decision that they could not return home. After a few months in Dubai the officials told them they had to leave. The family had no choice but to come to Turkey.

Once in Turkey it took my friend 18 months to unpack her bag. She took out what she needed and replaced what she did not need. The cupboard stood bare in the corner of her room. She could not bring herself to unpack. Her holiday clothes bore no meaning for her anymore. If she unpacked, she was saying "I'm here to stay," but she had not made the decision to leave her home. Her refugee status was entirely accidental. She became a refugee because while she was gone her home was stolen from her.

She did not have the chance to say "I will take this" or "I will take that." It is hard to imagine being torn from one's roots so absolutely.

Cate Blanchett and the UNHCR are trying to raise awareness of the difficult condition for refugees. This is a noble cause. The campaign #WithRefugees is important. The petition is important. I have signed it. The petition will be delivered to the U.N. Headquarters before the U.N. General Assembly summit on refugees on Sept. 19.

The petition demands that governments ensure every refugee child gets an education, that every refugee family has somewhere safe to live and that every refugee can work or learn new skills to make a positive contribution to their community.

I have signed it. I hope it has an effect. Turkey stands alone in trying to do the three above measures (plus free health care and so much more). The contributions by other groups when compared to the amount Turkey has spent on the Syrian and Iraqi refugee populations are merely a drop in the ocean.

I have signed. I hope it will make a difference.

But a voice inside says enough.

It is time to stop raising awareness, of signing petitions. It should be a given that every refugee child gets and education, that every refugee family has somewhere safe to live and that they can work and learn new skills. Awareness is important; pressure from icons of popular culture might have an effect on certain governments to do what they can. Visits by Angelina Jolie or poems read by Cate Blanchett these must be important. They must be... but the question remains - is this what refugees want?

The raising of awareness affects us, the non-refugees. The signing of petitions affects us, the non-refugees. What do the refugees want? That's easy. They want to go home.

If you ask them what they want, they could perhaps say a job, a house, citizenship. These are temporary desires. But if you ask them what they really want, the answer is "to go home." The answer is "Peace so we can return and rebuild the country."

Enough of raising awareness. Enough of signing petitions to appease our conscience, to make ourselves feel that we are doing all we can. What is being done is not enough.

The wars have to stop. The killing has to stop. Rather than pouring billions and billions of dollars into the IDF, why not pour a fraction of that amount into creating a no-fly area, a buffer zone? A place where the Syrian refugees can at least return to their country and be safe. Of course, this still leaves the bigger problem of putting an end to Assad's cruel regime and of rebuilding Syria. And then there are all the refugees from other countries who are waiting for help. The inhumanity of mankind means that there will always be refugees, people fleeing from one place to another. But there is a chance to solve the problems in Syria. This so-called cease-fire, in which "aggression has been reduced greatly" (surely a cease-fire means there is no aggression?) is not a solution. A true, honorable agreement needs to be reached. Turkey has proven that parts of Syria can be restored to peace. Syrians have started to say "Next year we will have eid in Syria and invite our Turkish friends." Let's take this as a starting point and make sure that the Syrians can go home.

Only after this can we focus on making sure that no one need ever think "What should I take with me?"