Fatma Omer: I couldn’t leave my country

Fatma Omer lost an arm in Hesekê in 2014 as a fighter for the Women’s Defense Units (YPJ). Today she is co-chair of the Federation of War Invalids of North and East Syria. In this interview with ANF, she talked about her struggle and the importance of the freedom movement in northern and eastern Syria. About her motivation to join the YPJ, she said that “there was a fierce war in Rojava. Some decided to leave the country because of the war. I wanted to join the fight instead of leaving West Kurdistan. I made this decision in 2013 and joined the YPJ. I couldn’t turn my back on Rojava because of my love and attachment to my country. The people attacking our country want to destroy us. Our existence is in danger. I knew it was better to stand up and defend the country than walk away.”

“The importance of women in the guerrilla movement”

Omer also spoke about the development of the Kurdish freedom movement in her area and said: “When Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] came to Rojava, my relatives became apoists. Before that, they were involved in the other Kurdish parties. At that time, we had moved to Damascus. Rêber Apo was also there at the time and friends kept coming to our house. The first of them I met was a guerrilla. I was very young at the time, but seeing a woman sneaking into our home alone and in the middle of the night caught my attention. The regime was strong then, and if she had been caught, she would definitely have been arrested. The friend was aware of this, but she still came to us without fear. She had a special interest in us children. She kept talking to us. She hid Rêber Apo’s books in our house. That way we got to know each other better and this had a strong effect on us. It was only logical for a woman to be armed, move independently in society and be valued by it.”

“I understood the meaning of my life”

She changed a lot by joining the YPJ, said Omer, and continued: “First of all, I recognized my own reality, the suffering that the Kurdish people were facing and the historical reality that should be destroyed. It was important to understand historical reality, to stand up for the mother tongue and to break with the conventions of normal life. Especially as a woman, I began to grasp, understand and internalize this and thus give my life meaning. With the freedom movement, my life got its meaning.”

“The Kurdish people were revived”

On the importance of the Kurdish freedom movement, Omer said: “The Kurdish freedom movement is conducting a revolution that encompasses all parts, even the world. The revolution is not only a revolution of the Kurdish people. The Kurdish freedom movement is now entering its 50th year of struggle. It expanded and renewed itself every day during those years.”