anonymous submission:
“The last weeks I have danced countless hours, intercepted by too little sleep and many hours sitting together with comrades, remembering those who have fallen on the way here.
March is a month of celebrations in Kurdistan, and Rojava. We celebrate the 8th of March as a day to dance to the victories working and socialist women have gained across the world. Remembering the long and rich tradition we are part of- here, we gathered for a picnic, with live music and dancing. In between we shared stories of resistance, silly anecdotes of the early days of the revolution and many hugs.
Although I have only been here a few weeks, I was welcomed by many as if they’d known me forever. “Our goodbyes are always so heavy”- I was told in Bakur (North Kurdistan, Eastern Turkey) and it shines through every interaction here, too. March is not only a month of celebration of victories and new beginnings, it is also a month where many anniversaries of internationalist sehids (martyrs) take place. For me, Anna Campbell, Lorenzo Orsetti and Alina Sanchez are all people who inspired me to travel here. Anna was killed by the fascist Turkish state in the Afrin Occupation March, 2018, Lorenzo was killed in one of the last battles against ISIS in Deir ez-Zor in March 2019 and Alina died in a car crash in 2018. With them hundreds of Kurdish friends died.
Tomorrow, we will get together to remember them, the day of the internationalist martyrs. There will be music, dances, speeches and theater performances. Many here, spent time with these friends and other martyrs and can tell funny, sad and heartwarming stories of their times here.
With this depth in mind, we also celebrated the Kurdish New Year- Newroz- some days ago on the 21st. As with every celebration, we started it with a minute of silence for our martyrs. Newroz has a long history of resistance in Kurdish culture, formerly a prohibited celebration in many parts of Kurdistan, people came together in secret to celebrate. And this is still a reality in the occupied parts of Kurdistan. Last year a family of four was murdered in Afrin by Turkish backed jihadists. Knowing what we fight against, and more importantly what we are fighting for, makes every step we take together all the more meaningful. “
