2020 started with different plans, goals and expectations for each of us. At the beginning of the year, the Covid-19 virus, which spread rapidly all over the world, adversely affected almost every part of the society, while youth work also got its share from it. We had to stop the short-term European Solidarity Corps – ESC project (formerly European Voluntary Service – EVS) we carried out in Bodrum in March due to all these adverse conditions. But what did we live through?
The implementation phase of the youth projects written after long efforts is the process that excites us the most. The organizing team makes all the preparations and tries to avoid any deficiency. It is February 2020 and as the Bodrum Youth team, we are in preparation again.
A project that will be organized by Bodrum Dance, Youth and Sports Club in March and whose content is land art is shared on the pages of youth organizations. Subsequently, 16 volunteers from 10 different countries are selected at the end of this process. The volunteers are leaving their homes to be in Bodrum on the last day of February. Meanwhile some countries of the world are grappling with a dangerous virus called Covid-19. Everything is fine in Bodrum, for now…
Land Art ESC Project: Here We Go!
The team of the volunteers is completed on March 1 and the organizing team is excited to host a new group after some time. The team is ready for the opening ceremony on Monday, March 2. In this short term ESC project, I take my place in the circle as both the mentor of the volunteers and one of the organizing team member.
Our volunteers from Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Hungary, Slovakia, Portugal, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania who will spend 30 days in Bodrum are waiting in the working room. Obviously they are as excited as they are curious…
On the same date, our long-term ESC project named “Boost Your Visibility” is starting; therefore we have been in contact with our two volunteers. Ale was able to leave Armenia and arrive in Bodrum; but Raffaele’s flight, prepared to depart from Italy, was canceled after the Covid-19 virus took hold of Italy. Turkey declared some restrictions on the entry of citizens coming from Italy. We decided to change the country that Rafa will come to Turkey.
At first a ticket to Greece was bought, we thought that maybe this way would be easy to get through the islands. Then we learned that citizens from Greece to Turkey should do the 14 days of quarantine. Rafa’s sister who lives in Brussels invited him there. Having changed his route at the last minute, Rafa went to Brussels with his stuff he had prepared for Bodrum. We were not aware that this was the first negativity that happened to us yet.
While we were officially opening the project in the working room of the hotel we stayed in Bodrum, our mind was also busy with this ticket issue.
First Week: ESC On-Arrival Training
In short-term ESC projects, on-arrival training is done in the first week of the project. Since Berat, the project coordinator, had a minor injury and had to rest most of the time, we namely Arina, Ezgi and I have a bigger responsibility now. Of course, we do not complain about this situation; we plan our sessions and work in a great solidarity among each other. And Ale is there to support us. We think that she can help the volunteers and the organizing team as she did her short term ESC project in Bodrum the previous spring.
Following the activities of meeting, mingling, breaking the ice; we organize an “intercultural night” so that we can have some idea about each other’s culture. As in almost every cultural night, we end the presentations by dancing.
The days pass with such joy while the first week is behind, the volunteer team of 16 people is coming to the end of the arrival training. Now is the time for them to work, produce and share… Among us there are artists who stand out with their skills and creativity. They distribute the tasks among themselves and we enable them to create their own work plans.
By the way at the end of the first week, I have to leave to go to Istanbul. As you know, I have master classes to take and training that I should deliver. Nevertheless, I am always following all the works and progress in Bodrum.
Second Week: Coronavirus is in Turkey
While following the news anxiously rapidly escalating the number of cases in Europe, we are entering the second week of March, and we are getting information that the virus detected in Turkey. A huge panic is starting to occur. Food stocks in the markets are quickly running out, the use of masks and gloves is starting, and we find ourselves in a life that turns into a science fiction scene.
In the statement made by the World Health Organization on March 11, we learn that the coronavirus has been declared as a global pandemic. We receive a message from Istanbul Municipality that the theater tickets I bought for the evening of March 12 are suspended because the theaters are closed for a certain period of time. The situation is getting serious.
In the afternoon I have a master class at the university. I can’t wait to see my friends and professor as soon as possible and talk about this situation in depth. I don’t know yet that this lesson will be my last face-to-face lesson in my master life. We decide to meet with my friend at the end of the lesson and do a small Istanbul tour after our canceled theater event. Seeing Istanbul so calm really worries us and we return home without joy.
As expected, various restrictions come that evening and universities are closing for a certain period of time. The institution where I deliver a training is also closed. Suddenly I’m unemployed. What if there will be a restriction on domestic travel… The fear surrounds me and I immediately get my ticket to Bodrum. On the other hand, my mind is in Bodrum and now time to concentrate on only this project.
Third Week: Feels Like Three Centuries
Berat calls, Ezgi texts and we talk about how we will proceed. Everyone is shocked by the situation we are in. We know that the end of these decisions taken after each other will affect us at some point. It does. The permissions we have from the municipality and similar relevant institutions for all the events we will do are canceled. As formal education is suspended, so are the Erasmus + promotional activities we plan to organize in schools. We’re suddenly upside down.
The family of our Lithuanian volunteer gets the return ticket for Leticija and they want their 17-year-old daughter to return as soon as possible. Berat has the idea to send everyone back; however this decision does not make sense to me. In a week or two, everything gets better and then we spend that time safely at the hotel. I say that we will not leave anyone on the road with the risk of catching the virus. What an optimistic and non-visionary decision, right? Fortunately, nobody is listening to me in this process.
The organizers are extremely anxious for a serious conversation with the volunteers. First of all, it is necessary to make them feel good and safe, not to worry. We tell them the advantage of being in Bodrum; however we underline that it is beneficial to act with caution. The events we planned for the whole month have been canceled, it is very difficult to share this demotivating news with them. It includes the open-air exhibition planned after the landart works by the volunteers. So how are we going to convey this? The part of sharing all these decisions steadfastly with the volunteers makes us very sad. They are also shocked by the information we have given them; but on the other hand it feels good that we are always together and in solidarity.
We Stop the Project: Everyone is Going Back Home
Using initiative and very reasonable language, first we say that they should not travel domestically. The next warning is that inter-district travel in Bodrum is not recommended. Then we say that even using public transport to go to any other town is a risk. The situation is getting more serious and some of the volunteers who do not watch much news are still trying to understand what happens. For instance, I am a newcomer from Istanbul and I am not hugging anyone. We frequently clean our hands and disinfect them with cologne. Although I do not want to create chaos by telling how Istanbul has become completely different in a few days, we evaluate this situation deeply among the team and make a decision that everyone should return while they have the opportunity.
In such a momentous decision making process, we are communicating with Turkish National Agency of course. While we are all in this obscurity, they give a neutral answer which means that we have all the responsibility. So we are interrupting the project and sending everyone home while still possible.
Meanwhile 14 days have already passed and Raffaele is still stranded there, as flights from Brussels to Turkey have also been canceled.
While everyone was upset that Leticija was leaving early; Clara returned with the next flight to Spain and Joana with the last flight from Istanbul to Portugal.
Organizing Team: Hides the Distress One Suffered
While our two volunteers decide to return and take action suddenly; this decision also breaks the morale of the team. At this point the organizing team, that is us, takes a big role. We remind them that everything’s still fine in Bodrum and they are in one of the safest places they could be. Fortunately, we are together and we say we can still have fun. We always try to make the volunteers feel that we can support them in any negativity. With a smile we put on our face while there is a storm inside… Because more than half of the team decided to go, then together with Ezgi, we started to spend the hours in front of the computer finding tickets.
Some countries have already closed their borders. So, we try to reach the embassies of those countries. Because we are in such an extraordinary situation that we try to think as logically as possible without taking the next step. While some embassies do not respond, some try to guide them and get in touch immediately.
Tickets for Kiev, St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, Bratislava, Budapest are bought within a few hours. Meanwhile we follow the flights(with anxiety) that are canceled one by one on the flight info screens. We make a list and hang it on the wall showing who will go where by which plane… Putting marks on this list makes us even more sad.
Departures and Waitings
We are sending Daniel. He was in Bodrum last year as part of a different short-term project, so we have an ongoing friendship since then. As Slovakia closed its borders, the Bratislava flight was canceled and it was recommended to fly to Vienna. The ticket was bought and we sent Daniel from Bodrum to Istanbul that day.
Our eyes are on the flight information screen because almost all of them are canceled. That flight is not canceled. In fact the real problem starts now, because he has a long way to go home. As soon as he arrives in Vienna at night, he travels by train to a city close to the Slovakian border. However, there is no means of transportation from there to Slovakia. The only way is to walk this few kilometers. He walks to the border with a suitcase in his hand and a backpack on his shoulders in the darkness and frost of the night.
Meanwhile his mother and cousin are waiting for him in two different cars on the Slovakian side. However, they should not be in contact with Daniel, who is at risk of carrying a long-way virus, for 14 days. Waiting on the Slovakian side of the border, his mother throws the car key to his son, who is waiting on the Austrian side of the border, and they drive to their home in the other car. Daniel, who enters his country by walking, takes the car and drives to another house to stay in the quarantine for 2 weeks.
While he is having this “adventure”, on the other side we are sitting in the working room when our hearts are beating so fast and our eyes are on the phone, waiting for a message from him. After this adventurous and risky journey, when I learn that he has arrived, my tears float through my eyes. Even though I try to tidy up my face, another volunteer, who will leavethe next day, notices my sadness.
“Are you worried about us?” she asks. Well I guess I am, a little bit!
On March 21 Letcija, whose ticket was purchased first, is in the group that will go last. We go to the bus station early in the morning and send them all. We are trying to keep our morale high until the last moment, we hug our volunteers who are on such a sudden return. Everyone is unaware that those hugs will also be the last contacts… Covid-19 is knocking on the door.
Those Who Can’t Set Off: Volunteers Stranded
While some of our volunteers had to travel on different routes, there were also those who experienced greater disruptions than this. For example, Latvia closed its borders but we learned that there will be a final evacuation flight from Istanbul. Ramona did not get very hopeful when she learned that cause there were 2,000 other people on that list and the prices were quite high. It turns out that Istanbul was a gathering point for Latvians from Asian countries. That’s why there are so many passengers on the list. We say okay, we host you in our house. Unaware that this visit will last three months…
On the other hand, for Rafaelle, who is still staying in Belgium, all postponed tickets are repeatedly delayed or canceled. We are in a situation surrounded by Covid-19 and there is no choice but to surrender. Ramona stays in the house we rented for our long-term volunteers in Bodrum, while Raffaele stays at the house of her sister in Brussels.
As the BDK – Bodrum Youth organizing team, we are trying to act with the highest morale as possible with the awareness of our responsibility in this process where each of us is isolated and has different moods. Our conversations and trainings go online, our relationships are digitized.
The “New Normal” in 2020: Will Projects Normalise?
While flights start gradually in June 2020, Ramona succeeds in returning to Latvia through Germany and Rafa succeeds in coming to Bodrum from Brussels. Raffaele and Ale are ready to conduct different work for the long-term European Solidarity Corps – ESC project that has been ongoing online.
We see that the rate of cases and deaths decreased in the numbers given by the government. Many closed places and institutions open in a controlled manner, including Bodrum Dance Club. Although the work has been disrupted in many ways, we encourage volunteers to stay active in the digital platforms.
Actually, neither we can normalize nor projects can be normalized. We all act with this awareness and just adapt to the new process. This is how the Covid-19 pandemic, which left its mark on the year 2020, hits youth work and projects. What has happened since March has deeply affected us both physically and mentally. Let’s see if these young people will be able to see better sunny days…
P. S.: You can follow what our long-term ESC volunteer Raffaele went through during this whole process on our evsdiaries.com page.
