One year has passed since Abdullah Öcalan’s “Call for a Democratic Society and Peace” on 27 February 2025. Although public expectations have not been met in concrete terms during this period, the Kurdish people have nevertheless not abandoned their call for “peace.” The years-long conflict has encompassed thousands of stories, and women, children, and young people who have borne witness to these stories continue their struggle to ensure that this process reaches a successful conclusion. They have endured profound losses, postponed their mourning, and in many cases have been unable to recover the remains of their loved ones. Even so, they continue to demand peace, saying, “For freer tomorrows.” One of these voices is Peace Mother Kudret Eryılmaz (66), who lost two of her children in the conflict and, after long struggles, was able to retrieve their bodies.
Kudret Eryılmaz lost her son in 2014 during the resistance in Kobanê and her daughter in 2019 during clashes in Muş. For nearly fifteen years, she has waged a struggle for peace alongside the Peace Mothers. Acting on her late son’s final wish, Eryılmaz has insisted on peace for years, and during this period she waited for months in order to receive the bodies of both her son and her daughter.
After losing her children, Kudret Eryılmaz underlined that the process launched following the 27 February call is a responsibility shared by all and said: “Everyone must put their hand to the stone.”
Our story is shared by all of us
Kudret Eryılmaz said: “Before my son lost his life in Kobanê, he told me, ‘Struggle for a free life.’ After him, I kept saying ‘peace’ no matter the mountain, the stone, or the road. At that time, I buried my son’s body with my own hands, but I did not know it belonged to him. Days later, through tests, we learned that the body was his. After that, they showed us my daughter’s body in pieces. I recognized my daughter with her nails and teeth. Even though I recognized her, they did not give us her body. After waiting four months, we were able to retrieve her body from the place where she had been buried.”
Everything for a free life
Eryılmaz said that what she experienced is a story shared by everyone and that, despite all these pains, they continue their struggle. She said: “I set out on this path so that this oppression and cruelty would end; peace would prevail in these lands, and children would be able to live a free life. With this belief, there was no place I did not go to and no mountain I did not climb. We took part in human shield actions and went to all the villages. We were present wherever peace should prevail. During the hunger strike actions launched in prisons, we protested every day; there was not a single day when we were not beaten or tortured. What did we ask for? We only said, ‘We burned; let no one else burn.’”
No hardship made us say “enough”
Kudret Eryılmaz said she set out on the road to Ankara at least twenty times during the years she has carried on this struggle and raised this demand there as well. Eryılmaz said: “There were even days when we went to Ankara three times in a single month. Some people would say to us, ‘Aren’t you tired? How much longer will this go on?’ They thought the road we were taking was hard and long. But for us, what is truly hard is sitting at home and doing nothing. That is why neither the roads we traveled nor the torture we were subjected to ever made us say ‘enough.’ We wanted to tell everyone, both here and in Ankara, about the value of peace. Each time we set out, we went without looking at illness, hunger, or hardship. This effort was not only for us, but for everyone.”
Everyone must put their hand to the stone
Eryılmaz underlined that the process launched after so much suffering must be embraced and actively carried forward, concluding her remarks as follows: “This process does not belong to one person or one group; it belongs to everyone. Everyone needs to take ownership of this process with this level of seriousness. We do not want anyone else to suffer. No pain and no mourning is different from another. Despite receiving the bodies of our loved ones in packages and despite this barbarity, we continue to say ‘peace.’ Everyone beyond us must also put their hand to the stone and work.
We have one life and let it be sacrificed for the peace that will be built. We want our children and grandchildren to be able to breathe freely in these lands. This is not the time to sit at home. Everyone who says ‘peace’ must take hold of this process somewhere. War is not a solution.”
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