The 33rd International Kurdish Culture Festival will be held in Dortmund, today. Taking place at Remydamm/Victor-Toyka Str. 44139, the event will bring together the culture, art, and spirit of resistance of Kurds living in Europe.
Festival Organizing Committee member and co-chair of the European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E), Engin Sever, spoke to ANF.
Sever recalled that beginning in the 1980s, repression, the increase in torture after the 12 September coup, and war policies triggered waves of migration. He said that Kurds were forced to migrate to Europe not only from Turkey, but also from Syria, Iran, and Iraq at different times.
Sever highlighted that Kurds have continued their struggle for organization wherever they live and said: “Even though we are at the center of capitalist modernity, our people have fought not to lose their culture and language. In response to so-called integration programs, they established hundreds of associations and cultural centers, carrying out work on the basis of a democratic society.”
Sever also reminded that due to the cooperation of European states with Turkey, repression against Kurds continued in the diaspora, and with the ban on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in 1993 and attacks on associations, Kurds were criminalized. Nevertheless, he stressed that Kurds continued their democratic struggle and cultural activities through their associations.
Festivals as symbols of cultural resistance against assimilation
Engin Sever emphasized that cultural festivals hold a special place in the diaspora struggle: “The first International Kurdish Culture Festival, held in 1992 in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, has continued uninterrupted for 32 years. These festivals have become symbols of the Kurdish people’s resistance to protect their identity and culture against assimilation. Each festival has taken place with renewed enthusiasm and ownership.”
Sever noted that the festivals, organized so far in different European countries and even in distant places such as Japan, Australia, and Canada have brought together tens of thousands of Kurds. He added that young people at these events had the opportunity to experience the clothes, folklore, and art once worn and practiced by their grandparents.
Sever pointed out that the 33rd International Kurdish Culture Festival will be held under the motto “Peace and a Democratic Society,” and said: “The festival will not only feature cultural gatherings but also political meetings. Artists and politicians representing the four parts of Kurdistan will take the stage.”
Expectation of a message from Abdullah Öcalan
As preparations for the festival continue, there is also excitement about the possibility of receiving a message from Abdullah Öcalan. The KCDK-E co-chair said the profound meaning of Öcalan’s words to the Kurdish people: “Every writing, every message from Abdullah Öcalan creates great enthusiasm among our people, from children to the elderly. Our people see their own freedom in his freedom; when they feel suffocated, they draw breath from his voice.”
Sever said that the festival committee’s greatest expectation is also to receive a message from Abdullah Öcalan, adding: “We want this excitement to last until the very last day. We hope that such a message will indeed come.”
Sever concluded: “Our wish is to one day hold a festival in which Öcalan himself participates. His calls for the construction of a democratic society and peace are evident. If we manage to grow our struggle to this level and strengthen our organization together with our friends, we believe that in the coming festivals we will reach the days when we will not only hear his voice and see his image but also have him among us.”
Preparations completed
Engin Sever said: “We held our final management meeting. We reviewed all the details, from the program to the stage, from food stalls to security. As of now, our preparations are complete.”
Sever also gave further details about the preparations: “More than one hundred buses and thousands of vehicles have been arranged to bring the crowd to the venue. Of course, our preparations concerning all details from the program and the stage to food stalls and security will continue until the final day of the festival.
Our goal is to present in the most accurate way the just struggle of the Kurdish people, which is built upon the call for peace and a democratic society, and to once again declare to societies how much Kurds have struggled for peace and freedom. We approach this with great care.
All our institutions, that is, the 420 institutions affiliated with the KCDK-E, are now working with a spirit of mobilization. There will be mass participation from northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, all over Germany, and partially from Switzerland and Austria. As a committee, we have addressed all these details. At this point, we can say that we are fully ready for the 33rd Kurdish Culture Festival.
Of course, the eyes of Germany will be on us; because we will declare there how wrong Germany’s ongoing policies of criminalization against Kurds are. We will make it clear that policies of terrorizing and criminalizing Kurds will no longer yield results, and that the Kurds are carrying out their fundamental struggle within a democratic and peaceful framework.
Representatives from German politics will also attend and deliver their messages. At the festival, we will also declare our will to respond to the call for a democratic society and peace made by Öcalan, and to free leadership.
For both young people and women, as well as in a visual dimension, there will be many stands dedicated to Kurdish culture. In addition, there will be a children’s tent, along with many other activities.”
Let us unite with a spirit of mobilization
Sever, made a final call to the Kurdish people living in Europe. He emphasized that everyone, from children to the elderly, should attend the festival in their traditional clothes, with their colors and identities, and said: “Everyone must be part of this process with a spirit of mobilization and take their place in the struggle.”
Sever underlined that the strongest message of the festival would be given on the field itself, and added: “For this reason, we expect all our people, above all the youth, Kurdish women, our mothers, and our people as a whole, from children to the elderly to participate in the 33rd Peace and Democratic Society Festival with a spirit of mobilization. We will be there, and we expect all our people to join us as well. We will declare our will at the festival. At the same time, we will affirm our embrace of the Peace and Democratic Society Paradigm by demanding the physical freedom of Öcalan. We expect everyone to be there.”