“Nizar Qabbani Order of Culture and Literature Global Justice Award Nizar Kabbani Award”, an honorary award given to non-Syrians who have contributed to Syrian public life was given to a Turkish writer Peren Birsaygılı Mut for the first time.
This year, writer Peren Birsaygılı Mut was deemed worthy of the award presented by the Global Justice Organization, which operates in the field of humanitarian aid in many regions of the world.
The award was given for the author’s contribution to the promotion of Syrian culture and literature and his fair view of the cause of the Syrian people.
Speaking at the award ceremony held at Taksim Mosque Cultural Center Taksim Kitap Kahve, Dr. Haitham Al Bazam, Founding President of Global Justice Organization, said that humanitarian aid is everyone’s responsibility and duty.
Al Bazam stated that as an organization, regardless of race, language, religion and color, they carry out aid activities for everyone in need in many parts of the world, from America to Africa, and said, “I have seen that our opportunities have not decreased with each passing year, on the contrary, they have increased.”
“This award is also Turkey’s”
Suriye kamusal yaşamına katkı sağlayan, Suriyeli olmayan kişilere verilen onursal bir ödül olan “Kültür ve Edebiyat Küresel Adalet Ödülü Nizar Kabbani Nişanı” ilk kez bir Türk yazara verildi. Dünyanın pek çok bölgesinde insani yardım alanında faaliyet gösteren Küresel Adalet Örgütü’nce (Global Justice Organization) takdim edilen ödüle, bu yıl yazar Peren Birsaygılı Mut değer görüldü. Törende Küresel Adalet Örgütü Başkanı Dr. Haitham Al Bazam konuşma yaptı. ( Erhan Elaldı – Anadolu Ajansı )
DR Haytham Al Bazam
Al Bazam also said the following about the award they gave to Peren Birsaygılı Mut: “The greatest of gifts is knowledge. From it science and morality are born. That is why today we are honoring Ms. Peren Birsaygılı Mut and her publishing house, Farabi Books, for choosing to translate the creative and intellectual production of Syrians into Turkish and other languages. We are honoring this Turkish intellectual for telling the story of the Assad regime and those who directly or indirectly serve its policies as it is, not as the world wants to present it. As the Global Justice Organization, we support his project so that his work is sustainable. The award is not only for him, but also for Turkey. The award is a great symbol for us to take care of our Syrian people and support them in political and humanitarian positions.”
Dr. Maysa Qabbani, founder of the Civilization Foundation and Vice President of the Global Justice Organization, said that they are working to make the voices of Syrians heard all over the world, noting that the Assad regime has been blackening Syria’s civilizational and cultural history for many years, and in this sense, it has tried to destroy the value and meaning of mosques and to instill hatred in them.
“In our culture, mosques are not places of violence and hate speech, but places that bring people together and strengthen the spirit of love and brotherhood,” Qabbani said, adding that this is why they decided to hold the award ceremony at the Taksim Mosque Cultural Center.
Mr. Qabbani said that they appreciate Turkey for hosting Syrians and its policy and thanked the Turkish people for their support in every sense.
“I would like to dedicate this decoration to Syrian children on behalf of all of us”
Writer Peren Birsaygılı Mut said that she met Nizar Qabbani’s poems during her high school years and said, “The reason why I admired Nizar Kabbani was not only his poems but also his honorable and dignified stance against injustice and oppression. I learned from his poems about the suffering of the Syrian people and this is what suits a poet best, to be the voice of his people. He was one of the poets who made me love poetry. Even though 25 years have passed since my high school years, it is very difficult to describe the emotion of receiving an award named after him.”
Pointing out that there are many poets and writers following in Nizar Qabbani’s footsteps, Mut continued his words as follows:
“There are poets like him who live for their dignity and honor, who live in exile away from their country. Our biggest goal was to enable the people of Turkey to get to know these honorable people whose only weapon is their pens more closely. During my work, I had the chance to meet many valuable Syrian poets and writers. All of them were kind enough to see me as a member of their family. They all supported me, we rejoiced and grieved together. They are among the most valuable people I have ever met. Being among them has always given me happiness. I have learned a lot from them. I have many Turkish friends who have supported me in all these endeavors. I could not have done anything on my own without their support. As Turks and Syrians, we have become a big family. We are still at the beginning of the road and we are very excited. With this big family, we will stand up against oppression, injustice and racism. Syrian writers are very strong personalities fighting on many fronts and we will continue to believe in the great storm that will be created by the fusion of this power with Turkish literature until the end of our lives. I would like to dedicate this decoration to Syrian children on behalf of all of us.”
