HESNA MIHEMED

Aleppo- On February 16, 2016, armed groups started attacking Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods. For eight months, the people in the neighborhoods resisted and fought the armed groups. The Aleppo Culture and Art Movement shot a music video named “The resistance of Sheikh Maqsoud” telling the resistance that took place in the neighborhood. The members of the movement first shot the video in Afrin and then in Aleppo after the resistance in the neighborhood. In an interview with NuJINHA, Yesmîn Koşan, member of the movement, talked about the movement’s cultural activities and the role of women in the resistance.

 ‘We stood by our fighters’

Yesmîn Koşan first talked about the cultural activities carried out by the movement. “Since 2013, I have been involved in cultural activities, especially in music. A great resistance took place in Sheikh Maqsoud. The neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud was in the middle of war and attacks since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. However, the battle intensified in 2016, the attacks were very brutal. Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh are small neighborhoods of Aleppo but a great resistance took place in both neighborhoods. When armed groups began to attack the neighborhoods, the people united and resisted. We stood by our fighters. We did not leave our neighborhoods but defended them to the end.”

They kept carrying out cultural activities

Despite the intensified attacks on the neighborhoods, the members of the movement never stopped working. “We could not carry out our activities in our headquarters due to the intensified attacks but we carried out our cultural activities at home. We were shooting videos telling the resistance in the neighborhoods. Following the victory of the resistance in Sheikh Maqsoud, we shot a music video named, ‘The resistance of Sheikh Maqsoud’ in Aleppo. The music video was recorded in Afrin.”

‘Women never stopped’

Speaking about the role of the women in the resistance, she said, “Women played an important role in the resistance. They never stopped resisting; they cooked for the fighters and they were on the frontline of the battle. Despite the attacks, we preserved our art and culture. Our culture is our identity and we will always preserve our culture.”

They will not allow the resistance to be forgotten

The aim of the movement is to tell how people fought and what they experienced in the neighborhood by shooting music videos and composing songs about the resistance. “Culture is the memory of every society. It tells the resistances, struggles and sufferings of people with art. Despite the limited opportunities, we shot our video. Our songs will always tell the resistance that took place in Sheikh Maqsoud.”