Video report from the South Africa delegation of the Youth of Kurdistan

SOUTH AFRICA – As it comes near to the end of the one-month delegation works form the  Kurdistan Youth Diplomacy Committee (Komîteya Diplomasi ya Ciwanên Kurdistan), people that were part of the delegation talked to us and shared what was the experience that they gained with this delegation and how important it is to the revolutionary internationalist line of the paradigm of Abdullah Ocalan, Rêber APO.

“In the last month, we as the Diplomacy Committee of the Youth of Kurdistan, have visited South Africa on a delegation, to meet organizations here in different cities of South Africa. We travelled most from the west to the east, we saw many reality, many different faces of this really diverse and rich country. Mostly we talked with these organizations, about what is going on in Kurdistan, because as you know the fascists turkish state is once more threatening the North Administration of North and East Syria with an invasion, with a war of aggression. At the same way that they are waging war on the free mountains of Kurdistan, where the guerrilla is heroically resisting this attacks. So for us, it is really important to raise awareness for this, find strategic allies in the struggle against statism, against the capitalist modernity and therefore we talked to a lot of people about the paradigm of Rêber APO, about the struggle of the Kurdish Liberation Movement. For this South Africa has an important historical – and for us a really important role, because as you know Rêber APO was supposed to come to South Africa. In 1999 he was supposed to come here on political asylum and continue his works for the search of political solutions to the conflict not only in Kurdistan, but also for the wider democratic struggle. So coming here, we always imagined what this country would have looked like if Rêber APO had had the chance to come here and continue his works, as it was intended.

By doing this, by coming here and talking to the people, going around the country we also learned a lot about not only the living conditions that are present now, but also the history, specially the post-apartheid history of South Africa. Because the last 30 years there was a time for the South African people where it should had being a Revolution, it should have being liberating, a time in harmony and equality for South Africa. But we have seeing and what our comrades have told us, is that South Africa has become the most unequal country in the world. Just coming here for a brief moment really makes it visible that this is not an exaggeration, the post-apartheid period in South Africa has nothing to do with harmony and liberation. This is a classic example that we can also to very much when we see the situation for example, in South Kurdistan. Where we see when gaining the state power by people, from the bourgeois elite taking over the power of the state (Barzani’s Family), what this is doing to the people. Also in South Africa now, a small elite is governing and exploiting 80% of the people, that live in poverty, that live in poor living conditions. Seeing the reality of South Africa comparing it also with what we have seeing in different parts of Kurdistan and the world we see the paradigm of Rêber APO, the philosophy of Rêber APO as the alternative. as an alternative to the state system.

As we see, the people of Kurdistan have made huge successes in organizing their life communally as we see the South African people as well, have started to organized this way we not only see that this is a very natural way of organizing but we see that the paradigm of Rêber APO is actually bringing people to the truth. It’s bringing humanity back to it’s own truth and identity. Coming here, the broader and wider aim of the Democratic Nation is, to bring together the struggling people, bring together those who are fighting to an alternative to the capitalist system. This is also what we could see here that there is not a big awareness of each other struggle yet. When we think of South Africa many people don’t know about the daily struggle of the people, the living conditions of the people, as well as if South Africans for example think about Syria or the Middle East, they don’t know about this alternative. The alternative that gives hope to people around the globe, so bringing this struggles together is really essential for us and in this sense working with the idea of internationalist solidarity. Of building up the internationalist struggle, because we see that unfortunately the global left, the global internationalism is on a really weak spot. It’s not strong enough to take up the responsibility that comes with fighting the capitalist system right now. The system that has struck down every revolutionary force in the last thousands of years, so is it clear that this internationalist struggle that we are trying to build, has to be stronger that this oppressive system and we made a lot of progress, specially in Rojava – North and East Syria, we have seeing a lot of valuable comrades coming to the liberated areas, taking their places in the Revolution, also falling martyrs for this Revolution. But to win this fight and take a decisive step we have to think bigger, we have to connect, specially with the global south to our struggle. Because in the western world and in Europe we have seeing that people, and specially the youth – the youth, that is meant to be the element of change, the revolutionary element in the struggle is totally disconnected and separated from it’s own society. It cannot fulfil it’s responsibilities, and of course, here the youth is struggling with big challenges.

You can also read the reports of the delegation as they were travelling in South Africa:

1. The journey of the Kurdish Youth Delegation to South Africa has begun;
2. Meeting in Cape Town with the Kurdish Youth in South African Youth discuss the Kurdish Revolution in their perspectives;
3. Report from the International Youth Delegation in South Africa;
4. The South Africa Youth Delegation Continues – Reports from Port Elizabeth, George and Petermaritzburg;
5. Report from the Youth Diplomacy Committee in Durban, South Africa;
6. South Africa delegation of the Youth of Kurdistan witnesses an illegal eviction in the township “Orange Farm”