Hanım Sever, whose son was killed fighting for the Kurdistan Freedom Movement and whose husband, İsmail Sever, was recently arrested on baseless allegations, stated that she holds her head high and desires peace despite her experiences.
The Sever family, originally from Van’s Özalp district, is deeply committed to the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle. Despite losing a child in the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle and facing the state’s special war attacks and oppression, the family maintains its commitment to the Kurdistan Freedom Movement’s struggle.
Amara Viyan (Rojda Sever), a daughter of the Sever family, joined the Freedom Movement against the state oppression in 2012. After seven years of guerrilla warfare, she was martyred on August 25, 2019,
Rûbar Şervan (Botan Sever), a relative of the Sever family, also joined the freedom struggle a year after Amara Viyan, in 2013, and was martyred on October 25, 2019.
A few days after an interview with the Sever family, who had endured state oppression for many years, Amara’s father, İsmail Sever, was arrested on unjust and baseless allegations.
Hanım Sever, speaking about Amara who joined the guerrilla ranks at the age of 14, said the following: “We are originally from Özalp. I had four daughters, and I brought them here. Rojê (Amara) was my fourth daughter and joined the struggle. Rojê was very precious to me. She never hurt me. She wanted to become a lawyer. She was a very good person. Everyone loved her. May she rest in paradise.”
Hanım Sever stated that the state began to pressure them shortly after their child joined the guerrillas, saying: “After a few months, they came and asked us about her. They said, ‘Where is she?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ They kept coming and asking. I am a mother; I don’t know where to go or who to ask. They asked, ‘Aren’t you curious about her?’ Of course, I was curious and wanted to see her. I was wondering where and how she was, but I didn’t know.”
Hanım Sever also mentioned her relative Rûbar, saying, “Rûbar was 20 years old. He was also a very dear friend. He came to me while I was washing dishes in the kitchen one evening and said, ‘I’ve made my decision, I’m going to Amed.’”
He went to Amed with Rozerîn. We said, “Don’t go. Your elders will get angry.” He went and never came back. May their paths be open. We are proud of them. This is an honorable and dignified path. We hold our heads high. We will stand behind them to the last drop of our blood, no matter what. We will never take our hands off our children. I am a mother; if necessary, we will go out into the streets and sit down and say, “I want peace.”
We want freedom. The entire Kurdish people must take initiative and shoulder responsibility. The freedom of the Kurdish people is at the doorstep—very close. Our nation must be vigilant, no matter what. We also demand the freedom of Leader Öcalan. We want him to be released. We all want to see this happen.”
Expressing her views on Abdullah Öcalan’s calls for peace, Hanım Sever stated that they wanted peace and that the Kurdish people had bled too much, saying the following:
“We all want peace. Let there be no more bloodshed. The blood of the Kurdish people has flowed like a river. Under every stone you lift, there is the blood of the Kurdish people. On every mountain you climb, there is the blood of the Kurdish people. Enough is enough, we want peace! We want to see peace established.
The state should also listen to its conscience. No one from the Kurdish people should be oppressed anymore; no one should be killed. We don’t want the police to die, nor the soldiers. The mothers of the police, soldiers nor the guerrillas should not cry anymore. We don’t want anyone to die anymore. We want to live as brothers and sisters. We want to live freely in our homes like everyone else. Women should not be killed anymore. Women are being slaughtered like chickens. Every day we hear news of women’s deaths on television; we want an end to femicides.”