RÛBARÎN BEKIR

Shahba- The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck the Gulf of Gemlik on December 4 raised concerns about Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has not been allowed to see his lawyers and family members for 33 months. In an interview with NuJINHA, displaced women of Afrin, who have been living in Shahba, and the women of Shahba expressed their concerns about Abdullah Öcalan.

 ‘Our concerns have raised after the earthquake’

 Lamia Abbas compared their lives before and after learning the philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan. “As women, we used to be oppressed due to traditions, customs and the patriarchal mindset. We were deprived of our rights and confined to home. Thanks to the philosophy and ideology of Abdullah Öcalan, we broke the chains of slavery and stood against injustice.”

Expressing their rising concerns about Abdullah Öcalan since the December 4 earthquake, she called on the Turkish state to release a statement about the situation of Abdullah Öcalan.

 ‘The policies of the Turkish state are the continuation of the conspiracy’

Hamida Omar thinks that the Turkish state has imposed an isolation on Abdullah Öcalan to blackmail the Kurdish people. “The Turkish state aims to break the strong will of the Kurdish people by implementing such policies. The Turkish state does not allow leader Öcalan to see his lawyers and family members. The isolation imposed on him is a right violation and inhuman practice. The policies of the Turkish state are the continuation of the international conspiracy. The freedom of leader Öcalan is the freedom of all people; it is the only way to solve the crisis suffered by the Middle East.”

 ‘The international community should take an immediate action’

Zainab Hussein believes that the ideology of Abdullah Öcalan defends women’s freedom. “His ideology is a philosophy. We call on the international community to take immediate action to end the isolation imposed on leader Öcalan and ensure his physical freedom.”

‘His lawyers must be allowed to see him’

Cennet Muhammed also pointed out the positive changes created by Abdullah Öcalan's philosophy and said, “He gave us the strength to stand against the authoritarian system. We were deprived of our rights by the patriarchal mindset. Thanks to the philosophy of leader Öcalan, we learned more about ourselves and our rights.”

Emphasizing that they, as women, will not remain silent against the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan, Cennet Muhammed said:

“We will not bow to the policies of the Turkish state. We will struggle until leader Öcalan regains his physical freedom. Our concerns about him have been raised after the earthquake. We demand an immediate explanation about our leader and his lawyers being allowed to see him.”