Ramazan Kaya joined the Kurdish Freedom Movement in 1983, at the age of just 17, together with seven friends. In 2000, Ramazan Kaya fell as a martyr in clashes in Beytüşşebap. Eight years after her uncle’s participation, Semiha Kaya also joined the guerrilla ranks and fell as a martyr in 1993.
Abdurrahman Kaya, who lost both his brother and his daughter, and his wife Hediye Kaya, spoke to ANF about the struggle that began in the village of Dera Çomera in Mardin (Mêrdîn).
Kaya explained that they moved from Dera Çomera, where they raised livestock, to Kertwên (Duruca): “We lived there for 16–17 years. There were raids there too, our children were outside. We sent our children to Istanbul. We were doing well; we sowed wheat, cotton, and barley. But the enemy would not leave us alone, we were subjected to torture. Our children would call and say, ‘You’re alone there, don’t stay.’ We sold our animals and moved to Istanbul, near our children.”
Our people stand by the cause
Kaya added: “We came to Istanbul, and we’ve been here for 20 years. Blood has been shed for 50 years. We want peace, but so far we have not seen any steps taken. Our Leader [Abdullah Öcalan] is still in prison. He should have been sitting at the table of the peace commission. Our children went out, they fell as martyrs. Our people are good; they stand by their cause. We know what we want.”
We have no regrets
Kaya continued: “Despite the repression they endured, Hediye Kaya continues speaking Kurdish with her children and grandchildren. She said she only learned of her daughter’s martyrdom years later: “My daughter was only 14, she was a hard-working person. When her uncle went, she too joined, saying, ‘Am I better than my friends?’ I heard years later, from my elder daughter, that they had told her father our daughter had fallen as a martyr. We are not regretful of our path; this is not a bad road. We wish for peace; even if we cannot see it, may our grandchildren see it.”