NEWS CENTER – Dilsoz Bahar (Kevin Joachim) was martyred on July 6, 2015 in a village 30 km south of Til Abyad during an early morning surprise attack by the enemy, along with five other comrades. Before he fell, Dilsoz had started to write a book about his life, the first written pages of which are available to our news agency. He did not manage to finish it.
His preface of the unfinished book that he wanted to call, among others, “The desire for freedom – From student to Kurdish guerrilla fighter in PKK and YPG” he wrote the following:
“From educator trainee to guerrilla fighter on the mountains and YPG member in northern Syria. This is my resume. Certainly, not a normal curriculum vitae for an 18-year-old German from a southern German town who, compared to many people from the Third World, had the chance to lead a normal, simple and quiet life, as so many Germans aspire to. But I decided to take this path. From November 2012 to May 2014, I was in territory of PKK guerrillas in Southern Kurdistan (Northern Iraq). From June 2014 to summer 2015, I was a member of YPG forces in ‘Rojava’ (Western Kurdistan- Northern Syria) and fought in fronts such as Til Hemis, Til Berak, Til temir, Til Koçer, Cezaa, Hesekeh, Serekani and Kobani. For almost 3 years I gained cultural, political, ideological and military experience. I saw positive and negative things in these three years, but most of all I saw the reality of the Middle East and the reality of the Kurdish people, a people that has been forbidden to be itself for more than 100 years. The history of one of the oldest peoples in the Middle East denied and forgotten. To regain lost rights. This was the goal of PKK and YPG. And to help these two organizations was also my goal, no matter how terrorist the PKK is classified. Moreover, I wanted to see this with my own eyes. How terrorist is the PKK really? How democratic is Turkey really? If one listens to the opinions of the European states and compares them with opinions of the Kurdish people from the region, doubts and contradictions arise. In my 3 years of experience I could answer many of my personal questions, clarify doubts and contradictions.
It was 3 adventurous and exciting years in Kurdistan and the Middle East, with highs and lows, many emotions, the pursuit of justice and moments that I will never forget. From walking for 10 hours in 8 meters of snow in the deepest winter, dragging 40 kg generators up a 3500m high mountain, marching for days and nights in valleys and on mountains, the feeling of being bombed by F16 fighter jets, being exposed in the wilderness for days and nights without food and drink, without orientation without anything, only attack helicopters sweeping over your head and firing rockets and soldiers searching the country. From fighting the little personal things like sex, love and alcohol that are forbidden in both the PKK and the YPG. Bishin to the hard war fronts of Serekani, Kobani, Til Hemis and Til Temir in sneak attack, lying on the ground at night 50 meters from the IS terrorists. Yes, in moments like these I often thought “What am I doing here? This is sick what I am doing here?” But, then I remembered what I had come for and calmed down a bit. In this book I will write about all my feelings, my personal history and the stories of other people. It also contains the history of a people, which I cannot leave out, because the PKK and the YPG with their revolution in northern Syria signify a new stage in Kurdish history and are perhaps an example for the entire Middle East, which is full of problems today.
For 3 years I fought with the Kurds in the same front. Not only with Kurds. I fight with Arabs, Turks, Persians, Turkmens, Germans, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, Romanians, Estonians, Australians, Italians, Canadians and Americans. And beside me, many valuable and wonderful people have fallen. I also took this risk with full awareness.”
In the course of the text Şehid Diloz explains how he grew up:
This customs village, where we are now, is a place near the border. A heavy battle took place in this place, and an incomparable resistance was made against it. In this place, the ISIS gangs had organized themselves in a young way, they had formed young fronts, but still they could not continue in front of the resistance of the YPG and YPJ fighters. When people talk about the moments of war in this place, they immediately remember friends who reached the level of martyrdom. The testimonies given here cannot be easily mentioned. Because the steps we take are thanks to their blood. There was a tree in this street, on that tree was an ISIS gang with Segman’s gun in his hand. However, no one paid attention to the fact that a gang was following friends with a Segman gun, as a result, many of our friends achieved martyrdom in this way. After that, the friends immediately found out about it and destroyed it there. The traces of resistance will never disappear in this place, because this place has always been a place of resistance. One of the commanders of this war was the martyr Gelhat. Comrade Gelhat fought with a self-sacrificing spirit, many ISIS mercenaries were killed by him, and those who could not stay gave up their weapons and fled to the borders of Turkey. Many people fled through that border, but later that border also fell into the hands of YPG and YPJ fighters. Finally, the martyr Abu Leyla’s resistance came forward here and became an example for everyone. All these resistances show that no one can break the will of YPG, YPJ and SDF fighters. Because they educate themselves on Leader Apo’s thoughts and ideas. The Turkish state and the invading mercenaries wanted to conquer Kobanê, this plan became a dream for them. It was a heavy blow to all the invading forces. We will never forget the resistance of our martyrs. They will always pass before our eyes as an unforgettable dream. We, as the Revolutionary Youth Movement and the Young Women’s Union, will always fight for the dreams and goals of those martyrs and their cause.
“I was born on November 2, 1993 in a Protestant hospital in Karlsruhe/ Rüpurr. My mother Mavrine was at this time gerase times 17 years old, my father was not present with my birth like also in my most life time. Also I don’t know how old he is, what he was working at that time or how my parents became a couple. What I do know is that they went to the same Hauptschule, the Tullaschule in the Oststadt district of Karlsruhe, whose elementary school I was also to attend later. But we’ll get to that. So I was born in Karlsruhe, a southern German city founded in the 18th century by Margrave Karl Wilhelm. Karlsruhe, with its population of about 300,000, was located in the Upper Rhine lowlands directly on the Rhine. On the other side of the Rhine, crossing the large steel Rhine bridge at Karlsruhe/Maxau, was the town of Wörth, which was part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. South of the city, only half an hour by regional light rail you reach the Black Forest area and half an hour by RB north of the city you reach the Kraichgau. Karlsuhe was a colorful city and you could find many nationalities in it. Especially Turks, Italians, Russians, Greeks and also some Africans. There were Protestant and Catholic Christians, Orthodox, New Apostolic, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Yes, you could say my city had something cosmopolitan about it. Anyway. So I was born in this city in 1993 and grew up with my mother and father in Karlsruhe/ Mühlburg, a neighborhood on the western edge of the city. I can hardly remember it, but I know that my father and my mother had a lot of fights and they quickly separated.”
He talks about family problems, such as alcoholism, drug use, and violence; he talks about how he had trouble forming real friendly relationships around him; and how his environment changed with constant moves and changes in housing. What effect these things had on his psyche and analyzes the problems.
“Today I understand that most violent criminal offenders became such personalities in their childhood. It is a hard fact to grow up with domestic violence. It builds up a personality whose mentality thinks to solve problems with one’s own physique and, moreover, it builds up a kind of consciousness of power. When men hit women, it is only to show power and to feel powerful.
2. fear of women – my mother was beaten by my stepfather. He was on coke and hash, she was drunk. After many fights from them, when they sobered up and made up, they saw me as the culprit. I was condemned with house arrest and room arrest, yes I was tormented and also slapped. The pioneer and radical in this was my own mother, the one I had always protected. Yes, that was hard for me and sometimes brought me into deep frustration. Also my grandma Heike interfered at that time and I often asked her to help us. But she did nothing either. In our 2-way conversations she promised me to do this and that, but she couldn’t open her mouth in front of my mother and three times not in front of my stepfather. So my trust in women broke until I was even afraid of them and they were unpredictable to me.
3. self-confidence problems- In my family I was blamed for everything for years. My parents fought, Kevin was the guilty one. Something was lost. Kevin was the guilty one. That hurt- and no matter how psychologically strong a person might be, after psychological attacks like this, anyone would get doubts. I felt weak and often asked myself inside, “Am I really the guilty one?” When I write about these moments and the feelings that go with them, you can’t think of it as something that happened in one day. I am talking about a process of something 6-7 years, but the whole thing started in Bismark Street. On the other hand, other instincts were also built up in me. Resistance. When I later joined left-wing radical groups, it was mainly because of being able to resist. To show resistance to the state and the capitalist system. In addition, the will for justice developed in me. We ourselves were not a wealthy family and I saw many poor people in Karlsrhern’s outlying districts such as Weststadt, Oberreut and Mühlburg. I often asked myself, “Why are these people so poor?” Sure, some of them were to blame themselves. No, not really that either. Yes, many poor people waste their money on gambling, alcohol and drugs. But what made them do it? Where is the society? Why are there people in this society who have to live like this? Can’t anyone help them? And on the other side I saw rich bigwigs with fat cars and gold jewelry who were not interested in anything. These were 2 different worlds. These thoughts started early but primitively in me, but became broader and deeper over the years.”
His struggles with his life are representative of many people growing up in Germany with massive family problems and show a perspective of the reality of society. How he still managed to get out of this cycle will be found in the search he began for alternatives, for the solution to all these problems. His search that began, led him to the freedom movement of Kurdistan. Over the Internet he heard about actions and got involved, after he had been active in leftist circles for some time. He hardly knew the movement, but was immediately involved with high determination and dedication. The day he joined is described by his companion Heval Cihan as follows:
“The scent of revolution was in the air when Heval Dilsoz, then under the name Kato, made his pledge, and if I am not mistaken, he arrived in Kandil in November 2012, first at the Ciwanên camp. It was early December, I had just finished education with the Şervanên Nû and remained with the commanders when Heval Dilsoz arrived for basic training. Actually, it was only then, in the winter of 2012/2013, that we really got to know each other: two German working-class children in the heart of Kurdistan with the goal of becoming PKK militants, still without language skills or much knowledge of the country and culture, but with revolutionary ideals and determination to defy any difficulties that arose.”
The YPG drew attention to his important role in the heroic resistance against IS gangs in the “Commander Rubar Qamişlo” offensive to liberate the villages and settlements occupied by IS and stated that Heval Dilsoz was killed in a battle in Şergirat village, Silûk district, on July 6, 2015.
Şehid Diloz has become the symbol of the internationalist struggle today, symolizing the quest of the oppressed peoples for freedom and justice, willing not only to overcome the borders of the states, but also to overcome social and personal borders to fight for freedom.
Kevin, Dilsoz Bahar, fell in the fight for humanity. Bahar means spring, a spring that means new life, new awakening and new strength. Kevin, Dilsoz Bihar, will live on in the struggles for a new life.
Şehîd namirin!
