NÛPELDA DENÎZ

Makhmour- Kurdish people have been resisting the war policies of the Turkish state for many years. Their resistance continue in camps where they had to take refuge. The 30-year of the Martyr Rustem Cudi Camp (Makhmour Refugee Camp) are full of stories of resistance.

The people of Botan, who were forcibly displaced from their village to Iraq due to the oppression and persecution of the Turkish state in 1994, settled in seven camps named Bihêrê, Şeraniş, Bêrsîvê, Geliyê Qiyametê, Etrûş, Nineveh and Nehdaran. In 1998, they settled in the Martyr Rustem Cudi Camp (Makhmour Refugee Camp), which is recognized by the UNHCR. Despite dust, storms, scorpions and snakes, the residents of the camp built a new life in the camp. Despite the ongoing attacks of the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), they are determined to resist.

The symbol of the resistance

Since the early morning of May 20, 2023, the Iraqi army has tried to surround the camp wire fences and concrete blocks. The residents of the camp has been resisting the Iraqi army for 16 days. 95-year-old Xanê Îzer has become a symbol of the resistance in the camp. NuJINHA spoke to her about her 30-year resistance.

 ‘When we went to the camps, we were hungry and had nothing to wear’

Xanê Îzer is from the village of Gundikremo located at the foot of Mount Cudi. She had to leave her village in 1994 when the village was burned down by the Turkish soldiers.

“Before settling in the Makhmour camp, we stayed in the Etrûş and Geliyê Qiyametê camps. When we went to the camps, we were hungry and had nothing to wear. We faced many difficulties in the tents. Our situation worsened in the Nineveh and Nehdaran camps. In these camps, Arabs hated on us. They killed our people by beheading them. We had many difficulties in our refugee journey. One day, we were told that the KDP would attack us at midnight, so we left the camps without taking anything. We slept on the streets for days. Our children used to go to the surrounding villages and bring something to eat. When we settled in Mahkmour, it was a desert; we had to go to the surrounding villages to bring drinking water.”

‘We built a new life and we were happy’

Despite all the difficulties faced by them in their refugee journey, they never gave up and resisted. “While we were still in Northern Kurdistan, the Turkish state always attacked us but we resisted,” Xanê Îzer said, “We waged a great resistance against our enemies; we protected our children. Our children grew up in resistance and learned how to resist.”

She also spoke about their lives in the Makhmour refugee camp, saying, “After we settled in the Makhmour refugee camp, we built a new life and we were happy. However, the Turkish state and the KDP forces keep attacking us. Now, the Iraqi army tries to surround our camp. The Iraqi government must know that we will resist to the end. We are ready for everything.”