Children and Women Advocates in Canada, Toronto

Volunteers including mothers and children gathered in front of City Hall, Toronto on the 4^th of November, Saturday afternoon to call attention and raise awareness on the 17,000 women and 668 babies, who have been arbitrarily jailed in Turkey following the failed coup attempt of July 2016.

As people walked nearby and asked questions about the event, volunteers set up a self-standing jail cell with different sizes of dolls in the position of crawling or holding bars in it. There was also a speaker system playing out the sound of a baby cry that captured the people’s attention more.

Volunteers were handing out fact sheets about “#SetThemFree”, in the reference to the “#668Babies” (under the age of 6) and “#17000Women” detained and jailed across Turkey as a result of being victims of “witch hunt” of the current rule of AKP government which violates human rights. The universal principle of presumption of innocence is being disregarded when alleged members of the Hizmet Movement, mothers, children and babies suffer in prisons for no legitimate reasons. Parents are being detained arbitrarily for months/years without accusation or indictment.

Another fact sheet was also given to the people was about the conditions of the prisons which even are not adequate, healthy and human for adults as child victims are forced to stay in. Such an unhealthy environment causes long-term personality disorders in children such as Anthropophobia and effective disharmony, among other cognitive developmental issues. Having no personal space while growing up can lead to problems in developing self-confidence as well as interrupting personal development.

The event continued in the late afternoon by handing black balloons along with the brochures and releasing some of the balloons in the air as demanding freedom for the 668 children and 17000 women in Turkey.