In Memory of Sehid Zekî Şengalî – Sehid Namirin!

When we get into our cars on 18th August 2018, the sun is still low in the sky of Rojava. For outsiders, it seems like a normal day. But it is precisely these outsiders that are not visible to us in the entire city of Derik. Hundreds of people have set out to accompany Zekî Şengalî, who fell as Sehid on 15th August 2018, on his way to the Şengal Mountains. Our first stop is the peoples hospital in Derik. When we arrive, many people are already waiting in the hospital entrance to accompany the coffin. On the colorful dresses and vests, we see a hundred times the face of Comrade Zeki, printed on small photographs. With the slogan “Sehid namirin” the coffin from the hospital is loaded into a van. The mood is unfamiliar to us, who come from Europe and other parts of the world. The mourning of the people is mixed with anger and hope. It’s hard to describe that feeling in words. But it makes clear that the statement “the Sehids are immortal” is more than a few words. With the convoy we set out towards the Şengal Mountains.

On the four-hour drive, the convoy will grow to a total of over 250 cars. 250 cars, which is an average of 10 people per minibus at least 2,500 people. It is impressive how many people from the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria have made their way to accompany Şengalî on its way. People of all ages, gender, youth, civil structures and also the various defense structures. They all want to take part in the farewell to Şehid Zekî.

He was fatally wounded on Wednesday, 15th August 2018, on the anniversary of the first three armed actions in Kurdistan, in a targeted attack by the Turkish state. Nor is it a coincidence that this attack on him took place on the anniversary, which is considered the starting point of the armed struggle.

The bomb struck Heval Zekî’s car when he was returning from a memorial service to the genocide in the village of Koço, which was almost completely wiped out by DAESH four years earlier.

Zekî Şengalî was born in Batman in 1952. In 1969 he moved to Germany at the invitation of his brother. In 1978, Şehid Zekî got to know the party better and worked in a factory. He was a founding member of the Komeleya Kerkerên Welatparezên Kurdistanê (Patriotic Workers’ Association Kurdistan) in Celle in 1981. After meeting Abdullah Öcalan in 1985, he decided to join the party. In 1989, his son Sipan joined the movement and fell as Şehid 1992 in Mardin. Zekî Şengalî was a member of the ezidic coordination of the Şengal and a member of the KCK Executive Council. After the expulsion of Daesh from the Şengalgebirge he dedicated himself intensively to the establishment and support of the Yezidi self-government in the Şengal.

Zekî Şengalî was a member of the Şengal’s ezidic coordination and a member of the KCK Executive Council.

Our drive takes us through various checkpoints of various local self-government. In the cities people are standing on the streets and greetings the convoy. The sympathy is huge everywhere. We reach the desert, which leads us to the Iraqi-Syrian border. At the first checkpoint we see that the Iraqi army, despite prior agreement, will not let us pass into the Şengal. Displeasure spreads among the people and above all the youth.

For whatever reason, the border guards insisted that the women will be allowed to cross the border. And so a mass of women poured through the first border post and went straight to the second to increase the pressure on the soldiers. Shortly after the women, the men followed and the 2nd border post was breached by the measures. We had come with about 500 people across the border but as it turned out it was not possible to negotiate with the commander of the army. The cars and the body of Heval Zeki were not allowed to pass. There were more and more angry reactions of the people of Rojava about the behavior of the Iraqi army. A group of mothers of Şehids takes the initiative, blocking the street as a consequence of the immoral behavior. The vehicles of the army can not pass this way. Nearly two hours, the soldiers of the Iraqi army began to get nervous because the women were still blocking their vehicles. They started to point their rifle barrels aimed at the crowd present, which they replied angrily by pushing them to the ground. All of this in the knowledge that we are all here not only as human beings but as part of the Kurdish freedom movement. As part of an organized force that can influence and relate to a source of strength, courage and resistance.

After three hours of border blockade and the arrival of the family of Şehid Zekî, he was carried across the border and received by friends and comrades from the Şengal Mountains.

Şehid Zekî Şengalî was transferred to Serdeşt in the Şengal Mountains and buried in the fallen cemetery “Şehid Dilgeş and Şehîd Berxwedan”.

During an imprompt rally, several Hevals pointed out the history, qualities and merits of Şehid Zekî. The promise to live the wishes, dreams and struggle of the fallen, to integrate it into our struggles and conflicts is a challenge to all revolutionaries worldwide.

Şehid Zekî namirin!