Category: Gizem

UNHCR Office Spotlight: Gizem

 Gizem Bekaroglu was working as Resettlement Assistant at the Case Management Building Ankara. She practices Yoga, attends drawing classes and is interested in the history of arts. Gizem began working with UNHCR in 2010 with a four-month internship with the Public Information team, headed at the time by Metin Corabatir. This experience led her to study further in the field of asylum and migration and she got an MA in the field of European Migration and Asylum Policies in 2012. The same year, she joined UNHCR’s Resettlement Unit.

Gizem’s encounter with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) also dates back to 2012, when she was convinced by her partner Mert who is a brown belt in BJJ, to attend training. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport and self-defense system. It is based on the concept that a smaller, weaker, person can successfully defend against a larger stronger assailant. Gizem admits that during her first year attending BJJ trainings she was a bit lost. It all changed when she witnessed her current teacher Deger decorate one of his female students with a blue belt during a seminar. Gizem remembers “That was impressive. I was thinking to myself about my goal. I thought I can be a role model or represent women in Ankara”. In September 2013, Gizem was also decorated with a blue belt. She competed in her first match in November 2013. Eight months ago, she earned the purple belt and is one of only four women holding a purple belt in Turkey.

Gizem trains four days a week (sometimes six days a week) for three months prior to matches. She tries to take part in an international competition at least once a year. Despite all the time and effort, she puts into BJJ, Gizem considers herself as a semi-professional. Professionals in the area of BJJ usually have sponsors, which enables them to concentrate full time on their training.

Gizem admits that it is sometimes difficult to remain in the competition due to her workload and missions. “I mostly sacrifice my social life. I cannot attend most events as I prefer to rest to either go to work on the next day or to train” says Gizem with a smile and that is how she manages work, sports and other hobbies.  Investing time and effort in BJJ helps her to achieve a healthy work life balance. According to Gizem, BJJ is a bit like therapy, especially when faced with tough, complex cases or after missions. “The work, the cases and the complexities are there but BJJ helps me to focus when I get back to my desk” she says.

Her father had some reservations at first about her involvement in BJJ. But with her success and after meeting her team mates, he is more at ease.  “He is still asking me occasionally why BJJ but not Salsa” says Gizem laughing.

For Gizem, BJJ is more than a sport she performs at the gym. BJJ is hard, there are several levels you have to reach and it takes time and effort to progress. “It is a journey during which I can observe the progress towards the goal I set for myself. The black belts in BJJ are also called as “professor.” At first, I didn’t appreciate the meaning associated with this title. To me the title only applied to academia. Later on, you realize that these people reached certain wisdom throughout this journey and deserved this title”.

 

By: Yasemin Nun

January 2016

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ankara Turkey Newsletter

Gizem Moves Outdoors!

I always have been an “indoors” girl! It is a bit related with the culture that I was brought up in. Unfortunately, Ankara, the city that I grew up, did not have enough opportunities to go outdoors. Of course, there are dedicated Turks who go out cycle, hike or camp in various places in Turkey. But let’s be honest, it is a minority who are passionate about outdoors in Turkey!

Individuals develop their interests by looking up to their parents and usually follow their footsteps. My twin Doga and I are crazy about travelling. Because of our parents’ lifestyle, we lived and travelled in different countries. We were more driven to discover new destinations and cultures.  However, when I was travelling, I tend to stay indoors. We would dine in, stick mostly in the city centre and visit museums. Even our travel activities are mostly indoor!

I am not complaining but when I shifted my perspective, I realized that I was not connecting enough with the nature. I was mostly enjoying my studies, friendships and visiting various countries until I was 30!

In 2012, I met my partner Mert. When I met him, I started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), one of the most popular martial arts in the world—though it was not as popular in Turkey back then. I fell in love with the intensity of the mental and physical activity in BJJ. The belt system, on the other hand, captured my interest quite a bit—establishing milestones towards the journey to blackbelt! Last but not the least, the physical and mental challenge definitely pays off.

After work, I was hitting the gym and spending at least two hours per day. Since I was very into the sport, I was enough to forget the world. Sweating and grappling! I have been training BJJ for almost seven years. Thanks to the art, I have built physical strength, endurance, and stamina during these years. Addition to my personal development, I made super nice friends in the jiu-jitsu community all over the world. So, what is the complaint, right?

When you add up, I was working in an office then getting into a car, rushing to my gym to grapple and coming home, taking a shower and crushing into my bed. This was my daily routine for almost every day. I was training at least 5 days a week including the weekends. When I make the calculation, I literally did not spend ANY quality time outside. Well some can say who cares just go out and sit in a park!? Yeah that’s an option of course which I did once a month or less… But I needed more love from the Mother Nature!

In April 2017, I moved to Sydney Australia. It was a drastic change for me and a little depressing, because I had to start all over again. I started from scratch! Anyways, I settled into our new apartment, tried to figure out what I want to do with my life in Australia. I took couple of months off from life. I did not even do my routine exercise.

In order to train jiu-jitsu, you need to sign up to a gym and find a new team. Instead I got a bike to explore Sydney on wheels. Sweet little streets, narrow roads and unexpectedly cute restaurants were popping up. More interestingly, I was amazed with the number of parks and sports fields in central Sydney. I came across with numerous green areas while I was discovering my new hometown. I parked my bike and enjoyed beautiful samples of the Aussie nature. I could feel the vibe of fresh grass, blowing leaves and tick trees. I realized how important to just pause our lives, minds and try to connect with the nature! But this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Couple of weeks later, I got a job in the North Face Sydney as a sales associate. I was quite confident with my athletic background. I told my future manager that I’m a semi-professional athlete. Addition to my grappling skills, I was also practising yoga, doing some skiing in the winter, cycling and windsurfing in the coastal areas. I thought that I had enough of outdoor skills.

But then I was exposed to all kind of information on jackets, shoes, equipment and gears. I was loaded with a lot of information of course. I realised that there was a whole new world when it came to outdoors! I was fascinated with the science behind the technical gear.

More importantly, I was driven by the outdoor culture. The more I learned the insight of the products, the more I was dragged into the lifestyle. I started t climb thanks to the peer pressure and went camping with my work mates. They were the sweetest getaways I have ever had.

Then my partner and I went for a car camping. The meaning, you can load as much as item/food/equipment into your car so you do not have to calculate the space and the weight of items. We hit the roads and arrived Killalea State Park – South Sydney. We put up our tent, laid our sleeping bags and mats. It was such a joy to prepare our food on the BBQ and dine right next to our tent. The feeling was almost indescribable.

First of all, camping was so much fun and a chance for us to discover and explore. In camping you get out of your usual daily routines. It’s relaxing but at the same time presents a lot of challenges. Last but not the least you are connecting with the nature. Either you hear the sound of a bird which is right on top of your tent or you fall asleep while listening the sound of the waves. Beautiful beach and exciting hiking trails were right next to our camp site. I was definitely spoiled with nature. Not having concrete accommodation or services enables you to appreciate the basics of living.

It is just a new era for me to explore what is out there! Thanks to Australian culture and the place I work, I have been exposed to outdoorsy culture. I had to slow down my grappling carrier to focus more to my new interests. I was hoping to enjoy outdoor activities definitely not assuming the fact that I would be right in the centre of exploration. Since mid-2017 I have been developing my climbing, camping and hiking skills. I won’t stop and can’t stop! I already receive positive feedback from my Turkish friends saying that my outdoorsy photos are an inspiration for them to explore too! Stay tune for more J