Appeal for the International Women’s Day 2024

This appeal was drawn up by the Middle East Coordinators in the name of the World Coordinators

On March 8, 2024, the International Women’s Day of Struggle, we will take to the streets against the exploitation and oppression of women worldwide, against patriarchy, fascism, racism, capitalism and imperialism. The streets of the world will echo with our calls on this day, which we have declared a day of common struggle. As always, we will take to the streets against sexual, national and class oppression.

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Annual of the assassination of Jina Amini in Iran

European coordinators of the
World Women’s Conference of Grassroots Women

16.09.2023

Call to the grassroots women’s movement in Europe and worldwide to show solidarity with the protest movements in Iran.

In commemoration of the assassination of Jina (Mahas) Amini in Iran on September 16, 2022, we call on the women of the world to stand in solidarity with the revolutionary uprisings, especially the, protest movements in Iran led by the young women. (more…)

A letter from the earthquake region

by Songül Yücel, Coordinator Middle East, Istanbul Turkey

Dear Suse, Halinka and the women of Courage,

First of all, we are sorry for this late answer because we saw your mail after days. Thank you very much for thinking of us. We need every kind of solidarity these days. Even though we are far apart, we know that your heart is with us and we are grateful for that. As you can imagine, we are living in terrible days.

We, in Istanbul, set off as soon as we received the news. More than 10 million people live in the earthquake zone and many of us have family and friends there. We have all been in intense solidarity since the first day. Unfortunately, the houses of our families were destroyed, both our friends and the families of our friends were trapped under the rubble. For the first few days, the state was a bystander. Relatives and friends pulled people out from under the rubble with their bare hands. Many of our relatives died in the concrete because rescue teams did not arrive despite the voices come from under the rubble for days. In the first few days, no search and rescue team came to the cities destroyed after the earthquake. Literally no team! No cranes to lift the rubble, no professional search and rescue teams, no state officials! The state literally left hundreds of thousands of people under the rubble and left them to die. This happened in front of the eyes of everyone living here. Health workers and independent search and rescue teams took the initiative to go to the earthquake zones even though the ministries did not assign them. Volunteers from all over flocked to the region. Our solidarity kept alive the people trapped under the rubble, the people who survived the earthquake with injuries, and the people whose houses collapsed and left them on the streets.

We have been in hell for the last two weeks. We lost a comrade in Hatay, Onur Kopran. He was the Hatay representative of the Union of Struggle (in TR; Mücadele Birliği) and he was just 33 years old when he died. It was on the 10th day of the earthquake that we were able to pull his body out from under the rubble.

The entire family of our friend Canser Dayanır, who was giving a speech on behalf of Turkey at the young women’s session at the 3rd World Women’s Conference, was trapped under the rubble; we rescued her mother and sisters with our own efforts, but unfortunately we could not save her father Hasip Dayanır.

This terrible catastrophe affecting 11 provinces, has brought complete devastation. In these provinces, where the families of Canser, Seher, Gizem, Sena and many other comrades from EKA live, the devastation is immense. The beautiful, ancient and multicultural province of Hatay was almost completely destroyed. The earthquake did damage that no war could ever do. The city center of Hatay was completely destroyed. The destruction in the districts and villages is less, but no one can enter their homes. Very strong earthquakes continue to occur. Most recently, there was another earthquake centered in Hatay the other day. Many damaged buildings collapsed by this earthquake and people were again trapped under the rubble.

We have seen that you have started an aid campaign. Thank you very much for this. We know that it will take a very long time to heal our wounds. But there is still a lot to do today. The biggest need here is winter tents and supplies like dry food and canned food. In the first week, trucks of supplies arrived from all over the region, but now this aid has decreased a lot. The state confiscated some of the aid, so some of the trucks could not reach the people in need. But this support needs to continue. Earthquake victims will have to live in tents for a very long time. This will take months. That is why it is very vital for them to have continuous support.

We will be going through such a time as the theoretical seminar of the Women’s Conference approaches. We propose to dedicate the theoretical seminar to the women who lost their lives in the earthquake. Maybe the conference can be dedicated to both the women who lost their lives under the rubble and the earthquake victims. This would be a good solidarity for women living in earthquake zones.

We embrace you all with love.

Songül Yücel

Turkish Representative of Labor Women, Emekçi Kadınlar / EKA

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria ! Humanitarian aid is urgently needed !

Thousands of people have died, the survivors are struggling to rescue their loved ones and neighbors in freezing temperatures. We mourn and share the concerns of the affected people in Turkey and Syria !
Also affected are the areas of democratic self-government in the north of Syria, Rojava. According to recent news (SWR 07.02.23 15:00), the Turkish air force flies attacks against these areas. What inhuman policy of the rulers of Turkey!

We do not make an own donation action but support the relief action of Solidarity International, which organizes the cooperation with the Kurdish Red Crescent, Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê.
“Heyva Sor is an experienced and prudent partner with whom the member organization in Solidarität International e.V. (SI), “Medicine for Rojava”, has already successfully cooperated, most recently in supplying the maternity clinic in Kobanê to support its ongoing operations.” (From Solidarity International’s appeal for donations)

For the purchase of emergency medication and dressing material directly on site we ask for donations to the aid account:

Please transfer donations to the account of Solidarität International (SI) e.V.
IBAN: DE86 5019 0000 6100 8005 84
BIC: FFVBDEFF
at the Frankfurter Volksbank
Keyword “Earthquake Kurdistan”

Statement from Kongra Star on the assassination of 3 Kurds on 26 Dec, 2022

We defend the women’s revolution against political femicide!
Yesterday (the 23rd of December, 2022) three Kurds were shot and killed in a terrorist

attack in Paris. The gunman also wounded another three people in three different

locations that all belong to the Kurdish community in Paris. In this context this attack is

more than simply a racist attack, which is how state authorities and the mainstream

media are presenting it. It is a politically motivated assassination targeting the Kurdistan

freedom movement.
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