0:00:09.778,0:00:11.548
Thinking about how it all started [br]

0:00:11.548,0:00:13.838
and the beginnings[br]of what brought me here today,

0:00:13.918,0:00:16.533
I realised it happened [br]because of my biggest fault:

0:00:16.543,0:00:18.728
I never plan anything in my life.

0:00:19.398,0:00:22.379
I am walking chaos

0:00:22.379,0:00:25.609
which my husband Luka is trying[br]to put in some sort of order.

0:00:26.059,0:00:28.692
So, this was the chaos,

0:00:28.692,0:00:30.693
and this is my husband Luka.

0:00:31.143,0:00:34.104
There are moments in life [br]when you need to make plans,

0:00:34.104,0:00:37.271
just as at one point we had to start[br]planning in Are You Syrious,

0:00:37.271,0:00:39.445
or we would have fallen apart.

0:00:39.505,0:00:41.560
But there are times, and this was one,

0:00:41.580,0:00:43.922
when you have to react[br]immediately from the heart.

0:00:43.922,0:00:46.861
What is there to think about[br]when you need to feed the hungry,

0:00:46.861,0:00:49.187
put clothes on their back,[br]give them information,

0:00:49.187,0:00:51.350
and, most importantly, love.

0:00:51.350,0:00:53.984
What prompted me to start doing something

0:00:53.984,0:00:57.091
was when in mid-August last year

0:00:57.221,0:01:00.687
my father suggested[br]we host a Syrian family

0:01:00.687,0:01:03.826
in a vacant property we had.

0:01:04.226,0:01:08.365
I started asking around,[br]but got no reply.

0:01:08.365,0:01:11.142
Everyone was just writing [br]sad posts, posting sad statuses,

0:01:11.142,0:01:14.740
but no one was taking any action.

0:01:15.180,0:01:17.856
At that time, the route [br]did not pass through Croatia,

0:01:17.856,0:01:20.254
but I couldn't bear to watch[br]what was happening.

0:01:20.254,0:01:22.094
I told Luka we had to do something,

0:01:22.214,0:01:26.024
we couldn't just sit and watch[br]what was going on around us.

0:01:26.024,0:01:30.050
I posted on Facebook that we [br]were collecting donations in our garage

0:01:31.590,0:01:34.744
and a few days later,[br]our garage was full of donations

0:01:34.744,0:01:37.018
and they were spilling over into our flat.

0:01:37.018,0:01:39.902
People we had never seen before[br]started arriving,

0:01:39.902,0:01:43.220
and our friends spent hours[br]in front of our garage,

0:01:43.220,0:01:45.691
sorting and packing clothes for the field.

0:01:46.411,0:01:48.893
I often say "we"

0:01:48.893,0:01:51.085
because none of this would have happened

0:01:51.175,0:01:53.132
if it had not been for us: Luka, myself,

0:01:53.232,0:01:56.861
and all the wonderful people who decided[br]to do something just as we had done.

0:01:56.861,0:01:59.743
I borrowed our first van[br]from my company,

0:01:59.743,0:02:01.771
filled it with donations

0:02:01.771,0:02:05.259
and set out with my dear friend Selma.

0:02:05.739,0:02:09.339
Our first encounter with refugees [br]was at the Serbian-Hungarian border

0:02:09.339,0:02:14.015
where we met[br]thousands of people in a field

0:02:14.015,0:02:16.744
with no electricity, water, [br]

0:02:16.744,0:02:21.731
or any official organised help

0:02:21.731,0:02:24.773
and with only a handful [br]of volunteers to help them.

0:02:24.773,0:02:27.362
The scene was truly horrendous.

0:02:27.362,0:02:30.601
We did what we could to help, [br]but it amounted to almost nothing.

0:02:31.661,0:02:33.766
On the way back,[br]we stopped at a gas staton

0:02:33.766,0:02:36.720
and looking in the direction[br]of the forest near the motorway,

0:02:36.750,0:02:40.932
we saw a family of eight,[br]with a baby in their arms,

0:02:40.932,0:02:42.811
frantically running around.

0:02:43.361,0:02:46.303
We approached them [br]and asked if we could help.

0:02:46.303,0:02:49.745
They said a man had taken 1500 Euros

0:02:49.745,0:02:52.185
to take them from Szeged to Budapest,

0:02:52.185,0:02:54.899
which is a distance[br]of around 170 kilometres.

0:02:54.899,0:02:58.145
He told them to hide in the bushes[br]while he was at the gas station,

0:02:58.175,0:02:59.975
but he didn't come back.

0:03:00.575,0:03:03.355
Our logical reaction [br]was to tell them to get in

0:03:03.635,0:03:05.660
and we would take them to Budapest,

0:03:05.720,0:03:07.790
where they could take a train to Austria.

0:03:08.550,0:03:11.210
Five minutes after we set out,

0:03:11.210,0:03:14.292
there was a deathly silence.

0:03:14.292,0:03:16.849
We were terrified [br]that they had suffocated.

0:03:16.849,0:03:20.213
But they were so exhausted,[br]they had fallen asleep.

0:03:20.213,0:03:23.681
The lovely little baby, [br]Rahaf, had also fallen asleep.

0:03:24.221,0:03:27.500
That was certainly the longest[br]100 kilometres in my life.

0:03:28.910,0:03:32.344
We reached a place outside Budapest

0:03:32.344,0:03:35.384
and stopped at a hotel [br]because they just wanted to rest,

0:03:35.384,0:03:38.182
but as soon as they [br]saw us they threw us out,

0:03:38.182,0:03:40.655
shouting they didn't want any refugees.

0:03:40.655,0:03:42.697
Along the way, we met other families

0:03:42.697,0:03:44.431
sitting outdoors drinking tea

0:03:44.431,0:03:46.974
because they were not allowed[br]inside the restaurant

0:03:46.974,0:03:48.789
to drink their tea there

0:03:48.819,0:03:51.331
even though they had paid[br]for it just as we had done.

0:03:51.751,0:03:54.924
We managed somehow[br]to reach Budapest, avoiding the police.

0:03:56.064,0:04:00.292
This is the tarpaulin they hid under.

0:04:01.172,0:04:04.253
We reached the train station[br]and got them on the train.

0:04:04.253,0:04:09.254
That was when I realised[br]we could do more to help.

0:04:09.254,0:04:13.053
It was a feeling I simply couldn't ignore.

0:04:14.013,0:04:17.421
The trigger that marked[br]the transformation from a single action

0:04:17.421,0:04:20.530
into a movement[br]we called "Are You Syrious?"

0:04:20.530,0:04:22.346
It was a humanitarian concert

0:04:22.346,0:04:24.065
which we organised, as it happened,

0:04:24.105,0:04:26.377
on the day that Hungary[br]closed its borders.

0:04:26.457,0:04:28.690
We got a call from[br]the wonderful Denis Katanec

0:04:28.690,0:04:32.196
who said he wanted to sing, and that[br]there were others who wanted to help.

0:04:32.196,0:04:34.465
In only ten days,[br]Luka organised a concert

0:04:34.465,0:04:36.465
and Vid Jeraj gave it its name.

0:04:37.055,0:04:39.175
Everyone who worked on the concert:

0:04:39.175,0:04:41.648
the people receiving donations,

0:04:41.808,0:04:43.963
the security personnel,[br]cloakroom attendants,

0:04:43.963,0:04:46.608
sound technicians, musicians,[br]they were all volunteers,

0:04:46.608,0:04:49.664
and some of them [br]are still in Are You Syrious?

0:04:50.644,0:04:53.594
We realised this had outgrown our garage

0:04:53.594,0:04:57.982
and started organising shifts[br]for receiving and sorting donations.

0:04:57.982,0:05:02.610
The next day I called the Red Cross[br]and the Centre for Peace Studies

0:05:02.610,0:05:04.393
to offer our help

0:05:05.173,0:05:07.911
but they obviously [br]didn't take me seriously.

0:05:10.561,0:05:15.541
That was the first time I said [br]I was from Are You Syrious?

0:05:16.431,0:05:18.255
What was Are You Syrious?

0:05:18.255,0:05:21.672
I had unconsciously [br]given a name to an action,

0:05:21.672,0:05:24.661
an idea, an organisation, a movement.

0:05:25.061,0:05:27.808
Two days after the concert,

0:05:27.808,0:05:30.979
I loaded food into the car

0:05:30.979,0:05:32.612
and drove to Tovarnik

0:05:32.822,0:05:35.507
because at that point[br]the route had shifted to Croatia.

0:05:35.917,0:05:38.503
I arrived in Tovarnik, [br]said, "Hello," to the policemen

0:05:38.503,0:05:40.919
and at that point,[br]the four thousand people

0:05:40.919,0:05:43.132
who were standing nearby[br]surrounded by police

0:05:43.432,0:05:46.173
broke through the cordon[br]and started running towards us.

0:05:46.783,0:05:49.506
A policeman turned to me and said,

0:05:49.506,0:05:52.422
"Madam, they'll devour you,[br]but we will help you."

0:05:52.422,0:05:55.449
They made a circle around the car[br]

0:05:55.449,0:05:57.925
and helped me [br]distribute food and beverages.

0:05:57.925,0:06:00.542
The let me bring more.

0:06:00.542,0:06:02.696
What I saw then,

0:06:02.766,0:06:05.693
I saw throughout[br]the refugee crisis in Croatia:

0:06:05.693,0:06:08.588
The police showed[br]that they were not just officers,

0:06:08.588,0:06:10.999
but also human beings.

0:06:10.999,0:06:15.089
There was still no[br]organised official help in Tovarnik

0:06:15.089,0:06:19.253
and it became clear to me[br]we had to organise a serious campaign.

0:06:20.063,0:06:24.370
I went to Luka and said,[br]"You have to go to the field!

0:06:24.420,0:06:27.419
They need serious help[br]there and only you can do it."

0:06:28.639,0:06:30.939
He put a post on Facebook,[br]gathered a team,

0:06:30.939,0:06:33.916
and they were there in a jiffy.

0:06:35.186,0:06:38.175
Bapska, a village[br]on the Croatian-Serbian border,

0:06:38.285,0:06:41.195
has a special place[br]in the story of Are You Syrious?

0:06:41.395,0:06:44.454
This was the first place we had[br]a serious presence on the ground

0:06:44.474,0:06:47.496
where our volunteers stayed[br]in shifts, 24/7, for almost a month.

0:06:47.616,0:06:50.372
At that time all the refugees[br]passing through Croatia

0:06:51.342,0:06:56.169
passed through Bapska on their way[br]to the official camp in Opatovac.

0:06:58.939,0:07:01.554
We are talking about[br]5,000 - 7,000 people a day,

0:07:01.574,0:07:03.813
whom the volunteers clothed, fed,

0:07:03.813,0:07:07.371
comforted, and provided[br]with much-needed information.

0:07:09.091,0:07:13.916
The volunteers slept[br]in the field, all in one tent,

0:07:13.916,0:07:15.963
and some did not sleep for days on end.

0:07:15.963,0:07:19.076
They worked 48-hour shifts[br]without stopping.

0:07:19.076,0:07:24.255
Bapska taught us much about the stories[br]of the refugees and their truth,

0:07:25.085,0:07:30.293
much about ourselves [br]and about what was needed.

0:07:30.783,0:07:35.076
We became convinced we could do[br]everything others were doing, if not more.

0:07:35.776,0:07:39.124
That was when individual volunteers

0:07:39.124,0:07:42.394
from Croatia and abroad[br]started joining us.

0:07:42.714,0:07:46.100
Then it went on - camps and especially[br]informal border crossings

0:07:46.100,0:07:50.471
through which hundreds of thousands [br]of people were passing: Mohovo, Bregana,

0:07:50.761,0:07:54.496
Šentilj, Ključ Brdovečki/Rigonce, [br]Dobova, Hamica...

0:07:55.586,0:07:59.494
Amid this chaos our 15-year-old son[br]packed a bag and went to the field.

0:07:59.494,0:08:02.328
He went to the[br]Serbian-Croatian border on his own

0:08:02.328,0:08:05.026
and came back so ill,[br]he ended up in hospital.

0:08:05.026,0:08:08.303
But this didn't stop him[br]and when he got out,

0:08:08.303,0:08:12.730
he spent his nights in the field,[br]even though he had school in the morning.

0:08:12.730,0:08:18.099
It seemed quite normal to see my husband[br]come home in the middle of the night

0:08:18.099,0:08:25.155
with a batch of razor wire in his hand,[br]the next morning go with him to a festival

0:08:25.305,0:08:29.157
we had organised to collect donations.

0:08:29.747,0:08:34.735
We were crazy enough[br]to gain access to no man's land

0:08:34.735,0:08:37.544
where no one else had gone before us.

0:08:37.544,0:08:40.980
After a week, we had to leave, [br]but the situation there improved

0:08:40.980,0:08:44.220
which showed us that sometimes[br]

0:08:44.220,0:08:47.990
it's enough to be there [br]for things to change.

0:08:47.990,0:08:52.239
For months after this,[br]hard-working AYS volunteers

0:08:52.239,0:08:56.592
were busy cleaning the camp in Dobova

0:08:56.592,0:09:00.492
where the conditions were unfit[br]for the people arriving there

0:09:00.492,0:09:03.658
who were often rejected.

0:09:03.658,0:09:07.020
We patrolled the roads and followed buses

0:09:07.020,0:09:10.242
because the authorities[br]often transported refugees

0:09:10.242,0:09:13.732
to informal border crossings [br]where no help was available.

0:09:13.732,0:09:17.182
In mid-winter, people[br]were arriving in flip-flops,

0:09:17.182,0:09:19.936
children without socks or only in socks,

0:09:19.936,0:09:22.214
babies in just bodysuits, and worse.

0:09:23.484,0:09:28.653
We learned that in the field[br]you can't plan anything

0:09:28.653,0:09:31.775
You make a plan[br]and two hours later, it's useless.

0:09:32.845,0:09:37.150
Field work has to be guerrilla work[br]and it doesn't bear plans

0:09:37.150,0:09:38.821
but requires flexible[br]and resourceful people

0:09:38.821,0:09:41.821
for whom nothing is too hard.

0:09:41.821,0:09:45.444
Who if you call them[br]in the middle of the night,

0:09:45.444,0:09:48.202
in winter, and say help is needed,[br]get up, get dressed,

0:09:48.202,0:09:50.564
go to the nearest open store,

0:09:50.684,0:09:53.848
buy 100 kg of bananas [br]or whatever else is needed,

0:09:54.148,0:09:55.670
and go to the field.

0:09:56.240,0:09:58.154
When you're doing something like this,

0:09:58.154,0:10:00.814
you realize that what[br]is happening in reality

0:10:00.814,0:10:05.931
and what is presented in the media[br]are two completely different stories.

0:10:05.931,0:10:12.087
Does the general public know why[br]there were initially more men than women?

0:10:12.087,0:10:14.150
Probably not.

0:10:14.150,0:10:17.319
Because the man of the family[br]went ahead on this difficult journey

0:10:17.449,0:10:19.751
so that when he was granted asylum,

0:10:19.751,0:10:22.710
he would have the right to bring[br]his family over to safety.

0:10:23.580,0:10:32.487
And another reason was that in the chaos[br]in Syria they didn't see who to fight for,

0:10:32.487,0:10:37.341
for which of the world powers playing[br]games with the fate of their country.

0:10:38.451,0:10:40.738
In parallel with[br]all this work in the field,

0:10:40.738,0:10:43.337
I was going through a real drama[br]coordinating all this.

0:10:43.627,0:10:45.998
Luka was spending[br]more and more time in the field,

0:10:45.998,0:10:48.997
my life was getting more chaotic[br]with three children and my job

0:10:49.037,0:10:50.552
which I couldn't keep up with,

0:10:50.602,0:10:53.459
and I am grateful to my partners [br]for being so understanding.

0:10:53.459,0:10:56.086
I slept for only a few hours[br]a day, never in one stretch

0:10:56.106,0:10:58.724
as there was no difference[br]between day and night.

0:10:58.724,0:11:01.590
We realised that the only[br]possible response to this situation

0:11:01.600,0:11:02.781
was a 360° approach.

0:11:02.871,0:11:07.097
You can't go to the field[br]if you have nothing to distribute,

0:11:07.097,0:11:12.646
and you can't distribute things if[br]you don't know to whom, what, and where.

0:11:13.536,0:11:16.225
These are our warehouses.[br]

0:11:16.225,0:11:20.480
We changed warehouses[br]and we got them all for free.

0:11:20.480,0:11:25.342
We drove donated vans,[br]and bought only what we had to.

0:11:26.372,0:11:29.774
We received a donation[br]of 1,000 pairs of shoes

0:11:29.774,0:11:31.624
from a Croatian entrepreneur. [br]

0:11:31.624,0:11:33.703
The shoes were quite dressy,

0:11:33.703,0:11:37.566
not something you'd wear[br]for walking through muddy fields,

0:11:37.566,0:11:40.777
but the refugees [br]wore them with a big smile

0:11:40.777,0:11:44.230
because they were much better[br]than the flip-flops they had arrived in.

0:11:45.510,0:11:48.618
In this period I was probably[br]getting on the volunteers' nerves

0:11:48.618,0:11:51.972
because I kept badgering[br]them to send me information.

0:11:51.972,0:11:55.578
Our dear volunteer Vlasta once [br]said to me, "You're a pain in the butt.

0:11:55.578,0:11:58.688
Stop bothering me, I don't have time[br]for all this in the field."

0:11:58.688,0:12:02.183
But I didn't give up on[br]gathering and sharing information,

0:12:02.183,0:12:06.560
and all this time we continued networking,[br]which later proved to be very important.

0:12:06.560,0:12:10.811
Luka and I had terrible rows.

0:12:10.811,0:12:14.898
He would say to me, "Who do you think[br]you are? What do you imagine you can do?"

0:12:14.898,0:12:17.164
"We can't go on living like this."

0:12:17.814,0:12:21.471
After those two months, I told you about,

0:12:21.471,0:12:24.283
he said, "OK, sit down and tell me[br]the things you're doing

0:12:24.283,0:12:25.953
and I'll write it all down."

0:12:25.973,0:12:29.850
The result was 26 people, a minimum[br]of 26 people in the coordination team

0:12:29.850,0:12:32.723
for everything to function 24/7.

0:12:32.723,0:12:38.023
These are some of the groups[br]we set up, which are still with us today.

0:12:38.023,0:12:41.343
I advertised and I will never forget[br]the people who responded

0:12:41.343,0:12:45.055
when we were at breaking point and I was[br]deciding whether to go on or give up;

0:12:45.055,0:12:49.611
give up because I would[br]collapse, which actually happened.

0:12:49.611,0:12:53.417
I had a minor stroke but[br]I am all right now, as you can see.

0:12:53.417,0:12:58.261
I would like to mention all the people[br]who responded to my call: Asja, Magda,

0:12:58.261,0:13:01.388
Milena, Emir, Petar, Zvone,

0:13:01.388,0:13:06.700
the Jasnas, the Sanjas, Krešo...

0:13:06.700,0:13:09.976
I'll probably forget someone,[br]but they know very well who they are,

0:13:09.976,0:13:13.255
because they hold a special place[br]in the story of Are You Syrious?

0:13:13.255,0:13:16.316
But all the volunteers who came later

0:13:16.316,0:13:20.096
also contributed to the evolving story[br]of Are You Syrious? and where we are now.

0:13:20.096,0:13:24.265
My gathering and sharing[br]of information finally came into its own

0:13:24.265,0:13:28.934
when Milka arrived with her team[br]and developed it to perfection.

0:13:28.934,0:13:35.453
The Daiy Digest grew into the now[br]famous Are You Syrious Daily News Digest

0:13:35.453,0:13:42.133
the only uncensored daily news covering[br]the refugee route from Syria to Norway

0:13:42.523,0:13:46.314
which is quoted by well-known world media[br]such as the Washington Post, the BBC,

0:13:46.334,0:13:48.772
Le Monde, and many others,

0:13:48.772,0:13:52.975
and is read by refugees,[br]volunteers, and everyone on the route

0:13:52.975,0:13:56.221
because they consider it the only[br]reliable source of information.

0:13:56.221,0:14:00.615
Along with the volunteers in the field,[br]who perform the so-called "sexy" jobs,

0:14:01.965,0:14:06.330
a great strength of AYS are the people[br]working in dark warehouses,

0:14:06.330,0:14:10.183
doing night shifts at their computers[br]

0:14:10.183,0:14:13.523
gathering and sharing information[br]which will be of use to others.

0:14:14.173,0:14:16.904
Imagine what it's like when[br]a message arrives in the inbox

0:14:16.904,0:14:20.129
saying that smugglers[br]are holding refugees hostage

0:14:20.129,0:14:24.215
or that a boat full of people[br]is sinking and they need urgent help.

0:14:24.215,0:14:29.216
Imagine the stress volunteers[br]face every day in their lives.

0:14:29.216,0:14:32.055
But they don't give up. They go on.

0:14:32.055,0:14:38.738
And when all the people are saved,[br]imagine the joy of the whole AYS family.

0:14:39.368,0:14:44.105
However much we plan, we have had[br]some unforeseeable situations.

0:14:44.105,0:14:49.498
For example when Luka, after one of those[br]rows when he said we couldn't go on

0:14:50.048,0:14:52.960
came home one evening[br]with Samuel from Nigeria,

0:14:52.960,0:14:56.194
who hadn't been allowed[br]across the Slovenian border

0:14:56.194,0:14:58.044
because he was black.

0:14:58.044,0:15:01.299
Samuel is still with us,[br]a little more than a year later.

0:15:01.299,0:15:05.720
He has become part of our family.[br]Our children adore him.

0:15:06.110,0:15:10.422
Samuel plays soccer[br]and is desperate to stay in Croatia,

0:15:10.422,0:15:14.730
which he has come to love[br]with all his big, naive, childlike heart.

0:15:14.730,0:15:18.819
Sadly, this state does not want Samuel,[br]but we are still fighting to keep him.

0:15:19.759,0:15:22.375
Samuel is not the only one.

0:15:22.375,0:15:26.134
Right now there are[br]almost 1,000 people in Croatia

0:15:26.134,0:15:29.207
who, like a million others, come[br]from war-torn areas of the world

0:15:29.207,0:15:31.430
seeking international protection.

0:15:31.640,0:15:34.935
Did you know that the[br]full name of Are You Syrious

0:15:34.935,0:15:37.487
is Zemljani (Earthlings)[br]- Are You Syrious?

0:15:37.487,0:15:41.570
As earthlings we wanted to show what it is[br]we believe in and what we're fighting for,

0:15:41.640,0:15:44.651
which is life without[br]borders and false divisions

0:15:44.651,0:15:48.048
because all of us are just[br]ordinary, commonplace, wonderful,

0:15:48.048,0:15:51.012
insignificant, magnificent people.

0:15:51.012,0:15:55.043
From early September last year to today

0:15:55.043,0:15:58.987
AYS volunteers have helped in[br]many countries on the refugee route.

0:15:58.987,0:16:03.613
We have gained the confidence[br]of people everywhere in the world.

0:16:03.613,0:16:06.794
We've had donors and volunteers[br]from all over the world.

0:16:06.794,0:16:10.491
We've delivered tons of aid[br]to various countries on the refugee route.

0:16:11.841,0:16:16.038
We've organised humanitarian drives,[br]concerts, created a brand.

0:16:16.038,0:16:22.503
We've been supported by many artists[br]who organised humanitarian events

0:16:22.503,0:16:25.095
on their own initiative[br]in order to help us.

0:16:25.095,0:16:27.749
We rebuilt a camp in Syria[br]which was destroyed by shelling

0:16:27.749,0:16:30.300
which houses mostly[br]women, children, and the elderly

0:16:30.300,0:16:32.781
who lack even the means[br]to cross the border.

0:16:33.041,0:16:39.824
AYS volunteers help[br]asylum seekers to integrate.

0:16:39.824,0:16:43.736
We left our comfort zone and got[br]to know people from all parts of the world

0:16:43.736,0:16:46.012
with different[br]occupations and life stories,

0:16:46.012,0:16:50.409
but the most important experience[br]was being united around an idea

0:16:50.409,0:16:55.697
and being able to value and embrace[br]someone completely, totally different.

0:16:56.477,0:16:58.892
They told us we were[br]neglecting our children,

0:16:58.892,0:17:00.572
that this was no way to live,

0:17:00.572,0:17:04.663
but our children have experienced[br]what they wouldn't have in a million years

0:17:04.663,0:17:08.952
living in this insular[br]and conservative society.

0:17:08.952,0:17:12.285
Each volunteer brought[br]something of their own into this story

0:17:12.285,0:17:16.458
There are now about 50 volunteers[br]working in the organization.

0:17:17.358,0:17:20.898
We see what we are doing[br]as supremely patriotic,

0:17:20.898,0:17:24.140
because we are presenting[br]our country as a country of good people

0:17:24.140,0:17:28.058
which it was before it became[br]a land of "great warriors."

0:17:28.058,0:17:33.177
It used to be a land of good people[br]and good hosts who help those in trouble.

0:17:33.177,0:17:39.009
We once got a message saying their people[br]would remember what we did for them

0:17:39.009,0:17:41.748
for as long as their children were alive.

0:17:41.748,0:17:45.729
What we did and what we are doing,[br]and what we feel while we are doing it,

0:17:45.729,0:17:48.367
that's what it means to be Syrious.

0:17:48.367,0:17:52.495
To be Syrious means to help, with the will[br]and without fear, anyone who needs help,

0:17:52.495,0:17:56.982
whether it be refugees in a park,[br]in a field, or in a camp,

0:17:56.982,0:18:02.240
asylum seekers or people not seeking[br]asylum and everyone passing through.

0:18:02.700,0:18:08.622
We'll go on for as long as we are needed,[br]

0:18:08.702,0:18:12.051
and our main goal is not to be needed[br]any more and to cease to exist.

0:18:12.781,0:18:16.573
Looking back on everything[br]I've told you about today

0:18:16.573,0:18:19.254
I don't think I've done[br]anything spectacular,

0:18:19.254,0:18:22.284
anything that any one of us couldn't do

0:18:22.284,0:18:25.788
if we only make the decision and have[br]the courage to carry it through.

0:18:25.788,0:18:28.732
This is proven by all the AYS volunteers

0:18:28.732,0:18:34.220
to whom I send hugs, and to all volunteers[br]and refugees, displaced people,

0:18:34.790,0:18:40.060
migrants, people without a home, [br]without freedom, without peace.

0:18:40.060,0:18:43.617
Earthlings, let's be Syrious!

0:18:43.617,0:18:45.257
(Applause)