ISTANBUL - Anna Ellenberger of the People's Caravan said they had observed repressive and hateful policies in Turkey. She emphasized the importance of a global struggle and of fostering hope to lift the blockade against attacks on Rojava.

 

Many members of the international activist group that traveled to Turkey as part of the People's Caravan were detained and deported upon entering the country. Anna Ellenberger spoke about her observations in Turkey, stating that the international community does not sufficiently recognize the Kurdish movement. She said that she witnessed hatred and arbitrariness from the Turkish state and its supporters. She added that, although peace has been portrayed as having been achieved in Syria, international pressure must continue. Emphasizing the importance of hope, Anna Ellenberger said, "Connecting struggles around the world, building networks and platforms, and sharing experiences are also crucial."

 

'We saw hatred in their minds, behaviors and words'

 

Stating that her experiences in Turkey were frightening but also eye-opening, Anna Ellenberger said, “It was striking to feel in your own body how violently and arbitrarily the state and its supporters can act.” She continued: “They were not like giving us any information about why we are being arrested or why we are getting deported and the treatment was also very bad or we had to fight to get water or go to the toilet. So you could really feel the hate and the anger on their minds and in their acts and words, that you could feel the hate against us as internationalists, but also very strong against like the Kurdish people in in general. And they really wanted to scare us, but we knew that this could happen in some way”

 

'What we experienced made the urgency of taking action feel stronger'

 

Anna Ellenberger stated that the experience made many people feel more strongly about the urgency of taking action and speaking out, saying, “There's so many more political prisoners or people being oppressed and the oppression is going on. It's just not just our personal experience. Repression continues.”

 

'We are holding press conferences'

 

Anna Ellenberger said that everyone who participated in the Peoples’ Caravan shared their experiences on social media, adding, “We all of the people that were participating in the People's Caravan, they wrote down like what happened. Now we are making press conferences to inform the press here back home. But I don't know if the lawyers or anyone is going to start process against the Turkish state. I don't know. But it's your rights to go and make a protest. Now that we have returned to our countries, we are holding press conferences. I do not know whether lawyers or others will initiate legal proceedings against the Turkish state. But protest is a right”

 

'They do not want the world to hear about the crimes they commit'

 

Stating that Turkey does not want the world to see and learn about the crimes it commits, Anna Ellenberger said, “They try to get rid of people that are making solidarity work or informing about the whole situation and especially the movement and the autonomous region in Northeast Syria, so they really try to make us silent.”

 

'They are trying to draw attention to the issue'

 

Anna Ellenberger noted that, as the Peoples’ Caravan, they plan to organize actions, demonstrations and information stands in different cities in the short term. She added “Talking to people or spread flyers and just draw attention to the topic is like a the short-term things we will do. And also like long-term, I think there's like many more delegations planned and but I think our main thing on the long term should be like deepen our research on what does living democratic confederalism mean in our region to like build up also like autonomous structures and trying to organize our society back home to make a long-term difference all around the world.”

 

'It is portrayed as if peace has been achieved in Syria, but international pressure must continue'

 

Anna Ellenberger pointed out that mainstream media portrays the situation as if peace has been achieved in Syria and a solution has been found, but Kobani remains under siege. “But Kobane is still under siege and we still need to keep on putting up international pressure to inform people. Because the situation is still not good also the agreement that was made is assessed as a next step or a way to stop further massacres or like being destroyed all the way the autonomous region. So I also think it's good in some way that for example the structures are legitimized even though they go like into the state structure. It feels like it's a good agreement for this point right now”

 

'Rojava poses a danger for capitalists; resistance will be strong'

 

Anna Ellenberger stated that Rojava’s ecological, grassroots democratic and free-life model is very dangerous and frightening for those in power. “For capitalists, imperialists and those who want to protect their interests, this model poses a threat,” she said. “İmperialists, for all those like people that want to make money and I don't know just act in their interests, so I think the solution is to decentralize the power. And it also shows like that a different way of like society living together with different religions and also ethnic groups is like possible in a peaceful way. Like it's not you can see that it's not a war of between Kurds and Arabs like some of our media frames it now that the Kurds are fighting the Arabs or something like this, but it's a war of ideology. It's like the war the war of capitalism, imperialism, extractivism, colonialism against the ideology of socialism and people living together in a like peaceful way and taking care of the land and people. Our resistance will be strong enough.”

 

 

'People must learn the history of the Kurdish movement'

 

Anna Ellenberger emphasized that the international community also includes people who have never heard of Rojava. “People should get informed about the history also of the Kurdish movement, not just the situation right now, but like um yeah, and not feel disconnected to it because I feel like sometimes in Central Europe we feel like our struggles or our fights here are disconnected from what happens like so far away. And it's very important to not feel disconnected and to see it as one fight against the like patriarchal system that we need to overcome and I would say listen to podcasts or read more like independent news, not just mainstream media, and talk to people that have experience with it and I don't know, just get out of this feeling of being sad or feeling paralyzed and not being able to do something because it needs our willpower and we need to transform it into anger on one side to really act up, but also into connection and love for this revolution that is happening” she said.

 

'Carrying and believing in hope'

 

Anna Ellenberger noted that carrying and believing in hope is very important. “On the other hand taking part in actions happening in your places in your cities. There's lots of things being organized right now. I think just take action and talk about it. And also, as I already said to connect the fights around the world and building networks also or like a platforms where we can exchange experiences and feel this connection between our struggles,” she said.

 

'Internationalists wanted to stand with the movement'

 

Anna Ellenberger stated that the war that began in Rojava started with the attacks on Aleppo on January 6. “Everyone was like reading news all the time. So everyone I know and was like, "Oh, what is going on? What can we do? We need to uh start like a bigger action right now." And when the attacks really started to move forward and push everything back into like this Kobane in Kamishlo area then I don't know everyone was just like we need to make a big action now and start this caravan and also like one motivation I think is that fascism is rising everywhere right now and we yeah, we need to be ready in some way. And also I feel like the the internationalists and the revolutionary people that I was on the journey with they really felt the need to stand side by side with our people and with this movement right now and to physically take an action not just like of course in your home countries. You can organize stuff too but actually you know, going there, reporting about it and, also showing that we are here and that we know and we support.” she said.