Kurdish Victory in Kobani

By Dr. Rashid Karadaghi:

Kobani - triumph of the human spirit

Kobani – triumph of the human spirit

After 134 days of heroic resistance, the brave Kurdish men and women of Kobani (Syrian-occupied Kurdistan), with the help of the Peshmerga and the US-led coalition air-strikes, won an incredible victory over the barbaric ISIS terrorists and pushed them out of the legendary city. For the past four months, Kobani has been in the thoughts and prayers of everyone who cares about freedom and human dignity. Kobani has entered its well-deserved place in history as the city that refused to surrender to the forces of hatred and darkness despite all odds. Kobani has already become a legend, and the freedom-fighters who have become the symbol of the indomitable human spirit have won the admiration and love not only of Kurds but of freedom-loving people everywhere.

While we all celebrate this great victory in Kobani, we must never forget the more than four hundred Kurdish resistance fighters —men and women —who lost their lives defending the city against the invaders, and the many more who were wounded and maimed, and the quarter million Kurdish men, women, and children who have lost loved ones and lost everything they had as they desperately fled for their lives from the ISIS onslaught to become homeless refugees.

Kobani is now a shell of a city. The devastation is everywhere. How deep must the hatred be in the hearts of those who forced all this destruction on the city! How empty their hearts must be of everything that is good, kind, compassionate, decent, and human! It pains one to look at what remains of what was once a peaceful, beautiful city. It pains one a thousand times more to think of all the wonderful, brave lives, young and old, lost so the city would stand. So, the joy of victory is inevitably mixed with sadness for all the loss. Despite it all, however, one thing remains constant, which is our undying love and admiration for, and pride in, the unbeatable spirit and heroism of the women and men defenders of Kobani.

Even though the victory in Kobani has been won with a lot of blood and tears for the inhabitants of the city and the entire Rojawa, and physical destruction to the city, it has given a huge boost to the Kurdish psyche, for here is where lightly-armed Kurdish men and women freedom-fighters stood their ground and ultimately defeated a strong evil force that even the well-equipped armies of Syria and Iraq could not face, let alone defeat. And it was here where Kurdish unity was displayed at its best as the brave Peshmerga from another part of divided Kurdistan came to the aid of their brethren in Kobani, something that has happened only once before in Kurdish history. Kobani’s freedom fighters and the Peshmerga are a source of pride for the Kurdish people and for all those who never give up fighting for their freedom and dignity wherever they may be.

The Kurds did not ask for this war with ISIS; it has been forced on them by the invaders, who brought death and destruction with them. And in every corner of Kurdistan, West or South, the brave men and women’s defense units and the Peshmerga have taught the aggressors a lesson they will never forget. This should also be a lesson to any other aggressor who dreams of subduing the Kurds.

The victory in Kurdish Kobani proved that the human spirit is unbeatable despite insurmountable obstacles. In the end, those who were on the side of justice, freedom, and human dignity won over the forces of evil and hatred despite their superior military might. The struggle in Kobani was a clear battle between good and evil. And what four months of unheard of heroism by Kurdish men and women freedom fighters showed is that even if evil may have the upper hand for a while, the forces of good will triumph in the end. Let us honor the memory of all those who fell defending freedom and human dignity against the forces of evil and darkness in Kobani and the rest of Kurdistan, and, indeed, everywhere, by never letting it fade in our hearts and minds.

Dr Rashid Karadaghi is the author of The Azadi English-Kurdish Dictionary, the most comprehensive English-Kurdish dictionary ever published. A retired teacher and translator living in the USA, he writes many articles on the Kurdish issue.

One Response to Kurdish Victory in Kobani
  1. Jamal Fuad
    February 13, 2015 | 22:41

    This is a very good Article. We paid dearly for the victory we achieved. Not only we lost many lives, but the destruction is horrendous, Our lady peshmergas performed bravely and we need to give them a great salute. With such spirit, men and women that we have, I have great expectation and our nation is now on the road to unity and status. We also proved to the world that notwithstanding the boundaries the Kurds are but one nation with one agenda and we are on the way to reach our Goal. Turkey proved to be the one country that brought in Daesh, and helped them cross its border for the criminals to cross and fight us, and also treated their wounds and supplied the enemy with required logistics. But the Kurds proved to be equal to the challenges they faced. Let the Kurds remember that Turkey not only let the Kurds down, but it also went against the international community. It proved that Turkey is a liar, double faced and cannot be trusted. The kurds must not forget the Turkish dirty role in this menace.
    Jamal Fuad

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