The process that started with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan's arrival in Kobanê in 1979 laid the foundations of the women-led revolution in Northern and Eastern Syria, marking the beginning of a new era in the entire Middle East. One of those who witnessed the beginning phase of the struggle and participated in the training activities was 63-year-old Esme Samî, known as Yâde Esme. Speaking to our agency on the 25th anniversary of the international conspiracy, Sami has been showing her individual reaction to the conspiracy by wearing only black clothes with her sister since 1999, when Abdullah Öcalan was brought to Turkey.

 

Samî, who met Abdullah Öcalan and Sakine Cansız in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1991, shared both her memories and the purpose of her action with us.

 

SHE HAS BEEN WEARING IN BLACK SINCE 1999

 

Samî, who lives in the Cizir Canton of Northern and Eastern Syria, was born in 1961 in the village of Tyseqan in the Hezex (İdil) district of Şirnex. Samî was immigrated to Cizîr with her family when she was only 10 years old, then met the PKK in 1985, when she was 24 years old. Samî, later started to take part in the struggle and subjected to oppression, torture and detentions by the Baath regime. Samî, who was held in Aleppo Prison for a period, did not step back from the struggle despite all the pressure.

 

Samî, who started dressing only with her sister as a reaction to Abdullah Öcalan's bringing to Turkey with an international conspiracy on February 15, 1999, was raided by regime soldiers in her house in Qamishlo, where she lived during this period, and was taken into custody. Samî, who was later taken to Damascus, was released after being held in there for 15 days.

 

 

THE PRESSURE DID NOT STOP HER

 

Samî earns her living with her family by doing seasonal agricultural work and has 8 children. Samî, who spent the money she earned for the struggle, emphasized her determination in the struggle by saying: "We had only one hunger, it is freedom." Saying that PKK also started a new era for women, Samî said: “We met a woman like Sakine Cansız. Thanks to pioneering women like her, women who were imprisoned at home for thousands of years and could not even go out in public can today become warriors and politicians. Women who cannot read or receive education are still fighting in the military with their weapons on their backs, even at the age of 70.”

 

MEETING WITH ABDULLAH ÖCALAN

 

Samî, who saw Abdullah Öcalan in Beirut, told the following about those days: “We turned to Beirut, Lebanon, with great excitement, with many mothers in 1991. We were going to see Mr. Öcalan here. Some women ran away from their homes and came with us. We all waited with great excitement. Mr. Öcalan came to us in his military uniform. At that time, Sakine Cansız had just been released from the dungeon and I had the chance to see her too. I went and hugged him. That moment was like a dream for all of us. None of us believed that we would be able to see Mr. Öcalan with our own eyes."

 

‘HE BECAME THE LEADER OF THE PEOPLE'

 

Samî later stated that her children were also affected by their struggle and said that they continued the difficult process with the belief that their struggle will be victorious. Stating that a new process started with the forcible removal of Abdullah Öcalan from Syria, Samî said: “When we first learned that Mr. Öcalan was arrested, we were very angry. Both my sister and I made a promise then; 'We will never step back from the struggle until he is free'. I've been wearing black ever since. At first, this action of ours was shamed because it was seen as passive, but we did not give up. Mr. Öcalan said that 'Women's studies are incomplete'. But we women did not stop working. We will continue until he is free. They tried him on the day Sheikh Said was executed. They tried to separate us from his ideas. But we held on to his ideas a little stronger every day. Today, not only Kurds, but also Arabs, Assyrians and Turkmens in Northern and Eastern Syria call him 'my leader'.”

 

MA / Ceylan Şahinli