Among these stories is that of our comrade Sorxîn Kobani, who grew up with the homeland’s legacy and was raised on the stories of the martyrs, until carrying a rifle became, for her, an act of loyalty rather than a choice.
Kobani — Our comrade Sorxîn Kobani grew up in a patriotic family and, from an early age, was raised on stories of resistance and sacrifice. Sorxîn says that the images that left the deepest mark on her were those of the male and female martyrs, along with the ideas she learned from Leader Abdullah Öcalan, through which she came to understand the meaning of freedom and belonging.
“Thousands of our heroic martyrs, both men and women, have sacrificed their lives. This deeply affected me, and I decided to join the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). But from the very beginning, my ambition was to become a fighter and carry the weapon of my martyred father.”
Standing before her father’s grave, she continued:
“His wish was for me to grow up and become a fighter, but he was martyred before he could see this day. Today, I have come to your grave, my father. I am not only your daughter anymore; I have now become your comrade on the same path. Now I will fight for you and for your martyred comrades.”
Sorxîn spoke these words in a steady voice as she placed her hand on the gravestone, as if renewing a pledge that her father had begun but fate had not allowed him to fulfill.
Before the graves of the martyrs, children do not merely mourn; they are born anew. Sorxîn did not go to bid farewell to her father. She went to tell him that his legacy had been carried forward, and that the weapon he left behind had not grown rusty.
With every shot she fires and every step she takes in the ranks of the YPJ, there is a father smiling from above, and a homeland rising on the shoulders of its daughters.
