‘I can’t forget my many memories of Öcalan’

When Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan crossed from Northern Kurdistan to Rojava, the Aluş family’s house in Kobanê was the first place he went to. The family’s father had died at the time, but their mother was still alive. The surviving mother and her oldest brother, Enver, were trying to take care of 13 siblings.

Ethem Akcan, a family relative known as Mihemed Said in the Kurdish Freedom Movement, visited the family. His task was to find a way to cross into the Middle East. After a few visits, he informed the family that a movement had been created and that he wished to use their home. The family’s oldest brother consulted with the mother. Mihemed Said brought the first group home after the mother accepted. 

The family had a 13-year-old daughter: Nûwar. The first time Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan saw her, he called her Dînê, which means “crazy,” and her name has remained Dînê to this day.

Dinê explained to ANF why Abdullah Öcalan called her Dinê the day he arrived, what happened afterwards, and her relationship with the Kurdish Freedom Movement.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST GROUP

Mihemed Said, that is to say, our relative, Ethem Akcan, went back and forth a few times after speaking with my late brother Enver several times. The first group arrived a few days after Enver spoke to my mother and she said, “OK, you can come.” The group was made up entirely of male friends. There were two yards in our house. We stayed in one area while our friends stayed in another. We were preparing food. Enver was carrying the friends over to the other side. Enver would take them wherever they wanted to go. Mihemed Said was in and out of the room. The second group had gone. I’m not sure how long they stayed, but I believe it was between 10 and 12 days.

Another group would show up. This is something I’ll never forget. Mihemed Said said it was “important” in Turkish. I had no idea what that meant. My mum was fluent in Turkish. “What does important mean?” I asked as I approached her. Why are you asking, she asked? I said I wanted to learn as well.

A few days later, my brother and Mihemed Said announced that “Heval Ali” would be arriving. Heval Ali’s group arrived. “I want to see this important friend,” I told Mihemed Said. “No, you can’t,” Mihemed Said replied. “You’re a girl; how can you approach men? What would your brother say?” “Let me see them, I won’t tell Enver,” I said.

Mihemed Said once told me, “Dotmam” (meaning cousin), bring us tea.” “I want to see this friend,” I said to Mihemed again. I took the teapot, he took the glasses, and we set off for the other yard.

MEETING THE KURDISH PEOPLE’S LEADER

I was following Mihemed Said. He walked in. The door slammed shut behind him. I opened the door without knocking. Heval Ali had taken a seat in a little chair. He was holding something and reading. “What is this, is she crazy?” he said. I knelt and bowed my head. Mihemed Said used various Turkish terms, including “no, she’s not crazy.” I told him I wanted to see him. Heval Ali let out a little laugh. As a result, I raised my head slightly and went away without saying anything.

Two days have gone. “Make some tea, Heval Ali wants to see you,” Mihemed Said said, and we left. “Come and sit,” Heval Ali said, and I shook my head. “What’s your name?” he inquired as he rose up and patted my head. “My name is Nuwar,” I introduced myself. “Would you like to join us, friend?” he asked, and I nodded. Because I was afraid of my mom, I left right away without sitting down. I approached my mother and said, “What does Dînê mean?” “What is it that you’re asking me about?” my mother asked. But then she explained what it all meant. My name remained “Dînê” from then on.

WOMEN JOINED AS WELL

Then another group arrived. There were women among them this time. Sakine, Rêzan, Fatma, Zeynep, and Xezal arrived. We were hiding our comrades so that no one could see them. Heval Ali was there for roughly a month. The groups continued to arrive. Heval Cuma, Heval Cemal, Kemal Pir, and Heval Delil (he was injured in his foot and my brothers were inspecting his wound) arrived. The majority of the comrades used their true names. I ran across Heval Cemal and Heval Cuma in Kobanê. Four years passed like that. After four years, I married and moved to Aleppo.

SECOND MEETING WITH ÖCALAN

Ali, my husband, told me one day that he had a surprise for me at home. The door was opened, and three persons were inside: Sakine, Cahide, and Rêzan. They were waiting for me at home. They were aware that my husband Ali would travel to Kobanê. We hadn’t seen each other in maybe 4-5 years. We exchanged hugs. The doorbell rang after a time. It was Mihemed Said. “Did you arrive, Dotmam? There is a visitor,” he stated. Heval Ali arrived behind him before he could complete his sentence. We knew the leader as Heval Ali.

“Hello, are you still as crazy as before?” Heval Ali asked, and I said, “No.” We entered the house. After a while, Mihemed Said announced that there was another visitor. They were speaking in Turkish. People came and left. I looked around, and Heval Cemit had arrived as well. The group was complete. Heval Ali, Heval Cuma, and Heval Cemal. There were two more friends.

My first child was just a week old at the time. Fatma, Zeynep, Sakine, Cahide, and Rêzan were there as well. We hadn’t decide on a name for my daughter yet. Sakine wanted to name her Melsa. “M: Marx, L: Lenin, E: England, S: Stalin, A: Apo,” she said when I asked what it meant. We called her Melsa. Mihemed Said was taking Fatma away after she had stayed for a time. My brother Rıdvan (who died in France) was transporting them to and from Kobanê.

I LEARNED THAT HE WAS THE LEADER IN A PALESTINIAN MAGAZINE

I’m not sure if it was late 1983 or early 1984, but a Palestinian magazine published a photograph of Heval Ali under the title “Kurdistan Workers’ Party Leader Abdullah Öcalan.” That’s when we discovered Heval Ali was the Leader.

When he came and went after that, we started calling him the Leader. He visited us at least four or five times a year. I moved three times. The leader’s visits continued. Siryan had two residences, and our current residence was the third. The leader arrived and said, “I see you’ve moved into a new house. You did an excellent job. Everyone knew who we were. This home is larger. It’s also better for sports.” He was going around home, playing sports, and having meetings.

He once said to me: “Your food is excellent. Come to my house for a few days and cook.” And I replied, “Okay.” Then he turned around and said, “Please do not come. I’m getting fatter because I eat a lot of your food.” Everyone in the room began laughing.

In 1995-1996, I only went to the Leader’s house in Damascus once. Aside from that, he was the one who was always coming. We travelled in two cars: myself, my husband, Ali, my brothers Enver and Hamûdê, my mother-in-law Omer Muxtar, and his son Levend. They were really welcoming. “Let’s have dinner,” the leader said as they stood up. “Cook good food, Dînê’s cooking is excellent. Let’s see what she says about yours.” He said that he had come to see his family rather than attending a meeting.

When Mustafa Karasu was released from prison, he came to us in this house. The leader had arrived, and a meeting had been called. After greeting his friends, Karasu returned home and the leader said: “Dînê, come. Do you know what this is?”

“This is history,” the Leader remarked after Karasu said “No.” Then Karasu and I embraced each other. Karasu and the Leader sat next to one other. I sat with them. I’ve never had enough of those times, and I’ll never have.

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY AND PAINFUL DAYS

He occasionally sent friends who were feeling down. He used to say to his comrades: “When I see her, I gain spirit. Send them to her too. Come, look, there are so many people here, but there isn’t a single crumb of bread on the floor in Dînê’s house,” he’d say to a friend one day. He used to make a comparison between “Halil İbrahim’s table” and my table.

My Russian neighbour knocked on the door one day and said: “Hello Nuwar, do you know they attempted to assassinate your Leader?” I said, “No.” When I turned on the radio, there was nothing on. I pick up the phone, but it did not ring. The doorbell rang one day later, around 3 p.m. When I opened the door, comrade Delil was the first to arrive. I almost fainted when the leader came after him. The Leader said: “Did you hear that I was going to be assassinated, Dînê? There is nothing to be afraid of.”

The leader had reached Rome. When his friends called him, they said to him: “Dînê wants to talk to you.” I picked up the phone and asked, “Serokê min, how are you?” He replied, “Hello Dînê, I’m fine, I’m fine. How are you? You will come to visit me soon.” That was our last conversation with the leader.

The Leader’s arrest was not the only black day. Every day, every moment of my life is slipping away from me. That day, the Koma Berxwedan band was performing party songs. “What day is today?” we asked ourselves. A few hours later, it was revealed that the Leader had been abducted. I can’t put into words how I felt that day. Everyone was afraid I’d do something bad to myself. We went through a lot, not just for a day or two, but every day. Sadness caused me several diseases. It was a black day. Not only that day, but all of the days up to today have been dark.

I AM CRAZY NOW

I promised to go wherever the leader is and live with them. I want neither property nor money. I just want to be with him for the rest of my life. If the leader is released, it will be a holiday for both me and the Kurdish people as a whole. We will see our leader and talk about these days. “Serokê min, I wasn’t crazy that day, but I’m crazy today,” I’ll say.