Speaking at the TRT World Citizen Humanitarian Film Festival held at the Ataturk Cultural Center, Altun said he found the festival, which draws attention to millions of people suffering from pain and despair with the power of art, very valuable.
Recalling that immediately after World War II, Western politicians and sociologists declared that the 21st century would be a period of prosperity and peace for humanity, Alton said his interest was largely in exporting military conflicts, economic crises, social explosions and human tragedies. To non-Western regions, he stated that we soon realized that this was the case.
Reminding that peace and prosperity are not preached to all of humanity, but to communities and groups that fit the Western-centric definition of “humanity,” Alton said: “Today, millions of people are still losing their lives or being forced to leave the places where they live.” United Nations (UN) “Data shared by UNHCR until the middle of this year shows that today, nearly 110 million people in the world have been forcibly displaced for various reasons.” He said.
Emphasizing that the United Nations data reveal a picture that undermines the sense of justice, Alton said: “76% of all refugees in the world and those people who seek international protection for various reasons are hosted by low- and middle-income countries. Developed countries.” These human communities, most of whom are illegal immigrants from Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar, unfortunately reveal only part of humanity’s suffering. “Climate change and global recession today constitute the largest crisis in modern history. “In our world of food crisis, it is estimated that approximately 222 million people from 53 different countries suffer from insecure access to food,” he said.
Alton pointed out that even in the most developed countries in the world, hundreds of thousands of people are trying to live without shelter and thus crime rates are increasing rapidly in many places, and he stressed that the effects of this situation may cause social rifts that will last for a long time. Decades of time and causing the loss of generations.
Noting that according to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the number of homeless people living in the United States alone is about 600,000, Alton said: “The growing anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States” is “some Western countries, which are seen as the cradle of democracy and where it is claimed that there is no interference with freedom of expression and way of life.” “Attacks against terrorists are one concrete example of this. Their arrival on the front lines of the conflicts of terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and ISIS, as well as children being employed as workers in big companies for more profits, is another tragedy that exposes the current humanitarian situation. He said.
“The real name of the problem expressed as the Palestinian problem is the Israeli problem.”
Referring to the Israeli attacks on Gaza, Alton continued:
“There is no doubt that the heaviest of these humanitarian tragedies is taking place in Gaza today. There is a great deal of barbarism, cruelty and great oppression happening to all of humanity. The inhumane actions of Israel, which does not recognize any law, bring great cruelty and systematic massacre. Today we are at a stage where we can To shout out to the world the real name of the problem that some in this world have been expressing for years as “the Palestinian problem,” and the name of this problem is “the Israeli problem.” Years ago, a problem called the “Palestinian problem” was mentioned. No, the name of the problem is the Israeli problem. The only mediator is “not only the East, not only our region, not only our geography, but the whole world.” “The whole world is facing this problem.”
Alton pointed out that some countries have the courage to confront the Israeli problem, and said: “As long as the Israeli problem continues to be ignored, this historically growing crisis will worsen and continue to threaten humanity.” He said.
Pointing out that many international organizations publish statistics on tragedies around the world, Alton said: “There is no doubt that the numbers, graphs and pages of reports prepared for understanding are very important. But on the other hand, no matter how written these reports are, these statistics remain the same.” . The deprived, the oppressed, the millions in need.” It is not enough to alleviate human suffering. More than the numbers that appeal to our minds, what it means to feel pain and need can be told through the narratives created by art. “They will touch our hearts, like the works of art competing here, like the films of cinema . The main thing that will rally us against humanitarian crises is a reduction in numbers. “It’s not about classified tragedies, it’s about understanding this pain and the lives of these people. Who suffer this pain one by one, and they must be able to put real human stories before all of humanity.” He said.
Alton pointed out that since 2018, the TRT World Citizen Humanitarian Film Festival has responsibly towards this goal and united film artists who produce works that will help us understand the oppressed, the needy and those in pain around the world, around the same goal. .
He added, “Turkey was one of the first countries to bear responsibility and send aid to the region with concrete offers.”
Noting that the efforts Turkey has made so far in different geographical regions through its humanitarian foreign policy approach have gone down in history as extremely valuable initiatives to establish peace, justice, stability and security at the regional and global levels, Altun said:
“Under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it leads the search for global justice and can boldly say ‘The world is bigger than five’ and ‘A more just world is possible.’” Anatolia is the first to rush to help wherever it is found. It sees the oppressed or the needy, for whom sharing what it has is the greatest. It is a virtue, and it addresses injustice. It is the homeland of people who believe that silence in the face of conflict is one of the greatest evils, and we have seen and continue to see the latest example of this in the inhumane Israeli attacks on Gaza. In order to end the conflicts and human tragedy in Gaza as quickly as possible, Turkey It is the guarantor of the ceasefire. It was one of the first countries to take responsibility and send aid to the region with concrete offers such as playing an Israeli role. While Western countries are trying to legitimize Israel’s attacks, which are clearly committing war crimes, Turkey is fighting Israel’s systematic oppression in Gaza and various parts of Palestine, and with the great Palestinian gathering, they stood together and sent a message to the world. He added: “With the unity of the state and the nation, Turkey stands against this oppression and stands with the oppressed.”
Noting that President Erdogan continues to scream truth against the hypocrisy and cowardice shown by so-called civilized and democratic countries, Altun said: “We in Turkey support always giving priority to the humanitarian approach in solving global and regional problems and solving problems.” “Keeping diplomatic channels always open. In this regard, public diplomacy is that we pay maximum attention to the effective use of modern means of interaction between states and the development of proactive and preventive mechanisms regarding crises and tragedies. In this context, our country’s understanding is to never shirk the ‘bear Responsibility for global peace and stability and its sensitivities on this issue, our public broadcaster TRT, and our own activities. It is extremely gratifying for us that she has succeeded in bringing this to her field. The TRT World Citizen Humanitarian Film Festival should also be read as one of the institutional manifestations of Turkey’s sensitivity to this issue.” He made a statement.
Altun noted that it was very important that hundreds of films from all over the world applied to participate in the festival, and thanked those who contributed to the festival, especially TRT General Director Mehmet Zahid Subaji.
(Tags for translation) Fakhr al-Din Altoun