COLEMÊRG - Peace Mother Amine Engüdar said they had planted trees 15 years ago for Abdullah Öcalan and had since tended the garden, hoping to see him free. Amine Engüdar said: “This is his and the people’s garden. The fruit is ours, the shade is ours. If our Leader is ever free, we want him to come here first.”

 

Seventeen months have passed since the process initiated by Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February 2025. The draft law submitted to Parliament on August 5 remains on the agenda, with various views and criticisms voiced over its content. Meanwhile, actions and events continue to be held calling for Abdullah Öcalan’s physical freedom. 

 

Members of the Colemêrg Mothers of Peace Assembly are looking forward to welcoming Abdullah Öcalan to the garden in the village of Şîşemzîna (Serindere), where they planted their first saplings in 2011. 

 

The village, located in Colemêrg’s Gever (Yüksekova) district near the Rojhilat border, has a significant history. The village was once burned down, and nearly all of its residents faced massacres, while many villagers were imprisoned.

 

FIRST SAPLINGS PLANTED IN 2011

 

Villagers call Şîşemzîna “Abdullah Öcalan’s village.” In 2011, Colemêrg Mothers of Peace planted saplings at the entrance to the village as part of a campaign for Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom, establishing a garden known as the “Leader’s Garden.” In the years followed, there were several attempts to uproot the trees in the garden. The fruit trees replanted in 2015 are now seen as a garden for Abdullah Öcalan and for those who hope to welcome him there.

 

‘WE WILL HOLD A CELEBRATION’

 

Amine Engüdar, one of the Mothers of Peace who planted the first saplings in the garden and a native of Şîşemzîna, said they were waiting with great hope for Abdullah Öcalan’s physical freedom. Recalling the village’s long history of struggle, Amine Engüdar said: “The state would raid our homes, take our husbands and brothers away, and torture them. Sometimes we would not hear from our loved ones for months. They burned our homes and opened fire on them. They banned us from the our pastures in Berî where we used to go. We were left to struggle with hunger, but we did not back down. We never abandoned our commitment to our case. We believed in this struggle. We believe in and trust both out Leader and our movement. We are planning to welcome him here one day. We are waiting for him. This is his garden and the people’s garden. The fruit is ours, the shade is ours. If our Leader ever free, we want him to come to this garden first. If he comes, we will hold a celebration. It has been more than a year and a half since the process began. We are still waiting for his physical freedom with the same hope we had on the first day. We want to see him among us. We built this garden for him.”

 

MA / Ceylan Şahinli