ROJAVA – Just as the Rojava Revolution gave hope to the people of Kurdistan, it continues to be hope to the peoples of the Middle East and the world. Tens of thousands of internationalist female and male fighters took their places in the revolution, in which tens of thousands of fighters fought against ISIS gangs and won at great cost. Internationalist fighters coming from all over the world and participating in this revolution say that their hope lies in the Rojava revolution, which developed within the framework of Peoples’ Leader Abdulla Öcalan’s paradigm.
YPJ International fighter Ronahi, who gave an interview to our agency, mentioned the women’s leadership that developed with the Rojava Revolution: “We are walking in the footsteps of Martyr Ivanna, Helin, and Martyr Arin Mirkan, who blew himself up and sacrificed himself in the heart of fascism in Kobanê, in the heart of the enemy.” she said.
The full interview is as follows:
First, would you like to let us know who you are… what is your name in Rojava, where are you from, what are your experiences so far?
My name is Ronahî, I have been here in Rojava for three years and of course I have experienced a lot in those years, learned a lot, experienced a lot. I think in the beginning I learned to live communally, to live collectively, especially among women, which was a big change, because at home you live more for yourself. Of course, I received military training, but I have to say that it’s not what you might imagine in a state army. Of course, we learn how to handle weapons, but above all we learn values and see a lot of political education and therefore everything we learn in terms of technical skills is always linked to these values.
I think this is very important, because it means that our combat is always based on the principle of self-defense and is not just a simple empty technical handling of weapons. In addition, I have also completely re-evaluated some concepts for myself. For example, I have always rejected discipline in Germany very strongly, that was for me such an authoritarian concept it meant you have to obey the state, obey the school, obey the work, but here I got to know that discipline actually means to be able to stand up for yourself, but also for others, to have clear values and then to go your way and to pursue it consistently.
And above all I got to know that with my own willpower I can develop an incredible strength and really create a lot. What I would not have thought before, I have overcome many limits that I would never have thought possible.
The YPJ has become a symbol of hope for all women around the world who know the true face and brutality of patriarchy. How does the YPJ International approach this quest for freedom by women from different parts of the world and different realities, but still familiar with oppression?
Of course, there are always friends coming from different cultures, backgrounds, with different experiences, but I think what unites us all here is that as women we know this exploitation, the cruelty, the degradation of the system. We have all experienced it on our own bodies and I think that on this basis we come together here and form our own power. Of course, this should not only be understood as we have a history of resistance in us, we are not only victims, but at the same time we are following in the footsteps of women who have always developed their own strength because they have also experienced this suffering and have therefore always fought against the system. Thus, the YPJ is not only the heritage of the Kurdish women’s movement, but also of the women’s movement worldwide. Whether it is the Mujeres Libres from Spain, the Zapatistas in South America, or the partisans in the Second World War, these are all traces on which we continue to move today.
Maybe you can tell a little bit about the history of YPJ International, when they were founded and with what background, goals, ideas.
The internationalists have actually been from the beginning, from the beginning of the revolution always part of the struggle and have taken their place such as Sehid Ivana Hofmann, who fell in 2015 in Til Temir and by the way exactly where now Turkey continues bloody terror and especially after the resistance of Kobanê very many women have come to Rojava to join the defense unit. In 2017, the YPJ Enternasyonal was founded simply to create a place where women can first arrive, learn the language, learn the culture, learn about the movement, receive basic education, and then take their place here in the revolution, in the defense units.
How many women from which countries have actually joined together so far and how is the wanted of women worldwide going to come about?
I can’t say exactly how many women have come here over the years, but there have always been many women from very different places in the world who have found their way here. From Argentina, to various European countries, to Indonesia, and even today, women are still coming to Rojava to take their place in the struggle. However, I also believe that many more women are enthusiastic about our values, about this idea of a women’s defense unit, but simply do not dare to do so. On the one hand, this is because the state, but also friends, family who say “You can not do this, you are not strong enough, this is not your task, others are much better suited for it”, but we have also anchored this in ourselves. I think a lot of women here see these strong women taking up arms and fighting for their future and defending themselves, but they don’t see that we can also be those women ourselves.
And I have to say, when I came here to Rojava, it was like waking up from a deep sleep. I realized for the first time somehow, I can be strong myself, I can stand up for my future myself, stand up for the people next to me and be part of this hope for a world that I want to live in myself.
And that’s why I can just say that all the friends and all the women around the world who are interested in this revolution and who are convinced of this concept, come here and join us. Because there is a place for everyone here and everyone can develop their own power here.
Since the foundation of YPJ International, the friends had played their role in the resistance against Daesh and now against the fascist Turkish state. There are martyrs among the friends who came and joined the fight, how does the organization evaluate this moment and the differences between the moment in the fight against Daesh and now?
Yes every Sehid every friend who is fallen is for us a symbol of our struggle, our resistance and a way that was passed on to us. Because now it is our obligation to fulfill their wishes, their dreams. This is a promise that we have made to them and also for the movement every fallen friend is sacred and many internationalists who have fallen here like Ivanna, sehid Helin, sehid Legerin have had very great influence on the whole world. Many friends have come here because of these women, to follow their footsteps and have partly also taken their names here, just to continue exactly their way.
On the subject of IS and Turkey, I can say that Turkey is continuing this bloody fight of the Islamic State, which for us is a continuity, that for us is not two fights. This is exactly the same mentality for us, exactly the same attack on us. You can also see that well in how especially misogynistic Turkey acts again and again. Turkey has not only left the Istanbul Convention, but in the occupied territories of Efrîn, Serêkaniyê women are kidnapped, raped, abused, killed every day and Turkey has been persecuting women revolutionaries all over the world for years. It kills them not only in Turkey, it kills them not only in Kurdistan but also in Europe such as Sehid Sara, Sehid Leyla and Sehid Fidan.
This year we congratulate 10 years of Rojava revolution. These 10 years have been full of struggles and hard fights to protect the revolution. What was the role of ypj international during this time? How will ypj enternasyonal play its role in the next 10 years? In the 10th year of the revolution in Rojava, what are the perspectives and reflections of ypj international for these 10 years until now and the coming years?
Yes in the last 10 years we can say that Internationalist Girlfriends have actually taken their place and played their role in every phase of the revolution and we have become a force, have developed into that and this is exactly the way we will continue. We have made it our task that the hope and the dreams of the people who live here, the hope for a life in peace and in freedom, that we will resist here for so long and fight here for so long until these dreams come true. The Kurdish people, the Izdian people, the Arab people, in short, the people who live here, have seen so much pain, so much suffering and therefore others may look away, may states around the world ally themselves with fascist Turkey, we know the suffering here, we see how people suffer, we see that again and again children are killed by drone attacks, that houses are destroyed, futures are destroyed and therefore there is no other way for us. We will be here, we will resist here and we will fight here until the areas are liberated again and we will not allow even one more meter to be occupied under the fascist yoke of Turkey.
This must not be seen as a simple military confrontation here, what Turkey is doing here is a genocide. A genocide of the Kurdish and the êzdish people.
I believe that the revolution here in Kurdistan will not only have an impact on Kurdistan, if the revolution in Kurdistan will be victorious, it will have an impact on the whole world, the whole world will see again the possibility that we can win, that we can win against the imperialist, capitalist powers and if this hope is tangible again, is there again, then people will stand up all over the world and fight again for their self-determination, for their freedom.
Don’t misunderstand, of course we are fighting for the liberation of the Kurdish people, but we are also fighting for our own future and I can say that before I came here I started to read Abdullah Ocalan and suddenly I found answers to questions that I had been asking myself for years. I suddenly saw for the first time a future in which I really want to live, in which I find myself. The ideology, the philosophy of Rêber Apo is a great hope for the whole world, not only for Kurdistan, not only for the Middle East, but for the whole world.
Turkey is threatening another large-scale invasion of northern and eastern Syria, what is the YPJ International’s assessment of their threats and the recent increase in bombardment of various regions of Rojava?
Yes this was actually not a big shock for us because we face bombings, other attacks every day here. We are prepared for it, we are trained for it. It may be that now a new offensive is coming, but we have trained for that and we know what kind of strength we have, we trust in our strength, we trust in the strength of the Hevals and friends next to us and that is why our answer will be resistance and we will fight here to the last. We will defend this people, this country, this revolution. We trust in our strength because we know what we are fighting for and because we know that we are walking in the footsteps of so many revolutionary women before us, be it Sehid Ivanna, be it Helin, be it Sehid Arin Mirkan who blew herself up in Kobanê in the heart of fascism, in the heart of the enemy, sacrificed herself. Or be it Avesta Xabur who also sacrificed her life in Efrîn so that the city would not be subjugated to terror, and I think that every person who is now in solidarity with the movement here, who sympathizes with the movement, should realize that this is a struggle of being and not being.
There is no other option for Erdogan than war and that means for us that we have to resist now and that means for every person that they should think carefully about what they do now, how they act, how they position themselves. Because whoever is silent now is supporting fascism with it. Our answer is to be here, our answer is to fight, our answer is to resist until the revolution wins.
Finally, is there anything you would like to say to the public?
When the friends here fought against the Islamic State, the whole world was grateful. Now the same friends are fighting against the Turkish state and giving their blood for it and the whole world is looking away. Don’t just look away. Turkey violates every human right, every international law and is supported by NATO and especially Germany supports Turkey with diplomatic relations, with chemicals for chemical weapons, with all weapon parts and also with a domestic policy that still recognizes Abdullah Öcalan as a “terrorist” and persecutes and bans all Kurdish associations and I think that we as anti-fascists who come from Germany should be well aware of this. May Germany and Turkey continue their fascist policies, but this means for us that we have to unite our resistance. We have to understand that our struggle is a struggle. The struggle in Kurdistan, the anti-fascist struggle in Germany – they belong together – we have to think together. I want to call every friend around the world, every woman to join this revolution here, it doesn’t have to be only the YPJ, there are many different works.
I think that this revolution can really provide a future, a world that can live in peace, a world that can live in freedom, here is the possibility and we should be aware of that and accordingly.
Bijî Serok Apo!
To Serkeftin, to Serkeftin! (Victory)”
