NEWS CENTER – In Kobanê, the war that started after September 15, 2014 continued with difficulty, internationalists from all over the world came to Kobanê to join this historic resistance. One of these internationalists was American Keith Broomfield. He said, “I came here to be a part of the movement, to help. You know that after so many incidents, the right thing to do is, as it were” and joined the ranks of the struggle and resistance.
Keith Broomfield was born on August 3, 1979 in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America in the family of Tom and Donna Broomfield. Broomfield was a production manager at his family’s manufacturing company in Massachusetts. He stated that after the motorcycle accident, a new page was opened for him in his life and he wanted to continue his life with struggle, so he started searching for ways and means of struggle. He heard that a historical resistance is being made in Kobanê against the ISIS gangs that started from Mosul and occupied many areas in Iraq and Syria and internationalist fighters are also joining this resistance. He left America and arrived in Rojava on February 24 and crossed Kobanê. He joined the struggle and took the name Gelhat Rumet.
It looked like he was looking for a place
Since most of the people fighting on the resistance fronts of Kobanê were Kurds and Arabs, the participation of internationalist fighters like Keith Broomfield in the struggle for freedom had a great impact on the local people and other resistance fighters. They came from a very far place, their ethnicity and beliefs were different, but they learned the common language, gave and received, ate, slept, struggled and fought together… This spirit that was created in Kobanê and with the Rojava Revolution reached the highest level can not be described.
After coming to Rojava, Martyr Gelhat wanted to go to Kobanê, after training he went to the resistance fronts with his persistence. He acted as if he had found the place he had been looking for for years. His biggest wish was to learn Kurdish and immerse himself in the ideology and struggle of the People’s Protection Units (YPG). He joined the YPG with great faith and determination. He was remembered among his comrades in the streets of Kobanê with great morale and enthusiasm.
‘I’M HERE FOR A FREE LIFE FOR EVERYONE’
Martyr Gelhat, who started his life with great devotion to Christianity, after seeing the cruelty of ISIS on civilians based on religion and belief, became very angry and said, “There are people of all religions here. I am also a Christian.” I’m here, but I’m here with Sunni, Shia, Yezidi people. I’m here so that people can live freely. ISIS is the enemy of humanity. Whoever you are, I believe in what you believe. “You must stand up for unity, solidarity and freedom.”
IT WAS A COURAGEOUS AND SKILLFUL SEQUENCE
Martyr Gelhat had no military experience. Even though he came to Rojava in a short time, he became a skilled fighter and a skilled sniper. He joined the sniper unit in Kobanê. Within the unit, together with the German fighter Rustem Cudi, along with many internationalist fighters, he fought against the tyranny of ISIS. After the Cizîre Canton was cleared of ISIS gangs and on May 6, 2015, Martyr Rübar Qamishlo’s Campaign for the Liberation of Qamishlo began, he went to the front lines in the southeast of Kobanê with his unit. He fought towards Girê Spî (the city known as Til Abyad was occupied by the Turkish state on October 9, 2019).
HE WAS A MARTYR LIKE A HERO AND HE WAS READ IN THAT COLOR
Gelhat was martyred in the war against ISIS on June 3, 2015 in the village of Qentere in the west of Kobanê. The people of Kobanê and his companions held a ceremony to honor his sacrifice and life, and handed over his body to his family at Murşit Pinar Border Gate. Keith’s body was later buried in Massachusetts, USA. The participants of the ceremony said, “The only thing that is very valuable to people is their life. He sacrificed his life for my people and the territory of Kurdistan. We will see him as a hero until the end.”
His international friend from Germany, Rustem Cudi, spoke at the ceremony and said, “Keith was like a martyred hero. He was really a very good person. As far as I know, he had a hard life, he was a motorcyclist, but he changed and from He came to Kobane to fight for freedom. The last time I saw him, he said, ‘If I die, I want to die in war’. His goal has been fulfilled. Some Americans may ask if he died for a good cause, but I I can say that he died for something good.”
TOMORROW: The internationalist martyrs of the Rojava Revolution – V: Workers of Kobanê
International martyrs of the Rojava Revolution -I: Paramaz Kızılbaş
International Martyrs of the Rojava Revolution – II: Sarya Özgür
International martyrs of the Rojava Revolution – III: Emir Qubadi
