Every nation has a period of resistance that awakens a people to its own reality. Some moments become, for a lifetime, the foundation of freedom and the source of strength. Especially for peoples subjected to genocide, such moments turn into a belief in life itself.
The Week of Heroism has become an unforgettable period in the memory of the Kurdish people. That day became the history of freedom. Although the conditions of the time were extremely limited, those heroes turned scarcity into possibility through their patience and stance. With the arrival of spring, the movement gained momentum and resistance grew day by day. The line of Mazlum became widespread. He was like a flower that enabled many others to bloom and grow.
Hundreds of people, especially Ferhat Kurtay, Necmi Öner, Mahmud Zengin, and Eşref Anyık, became heroes on that path and in Mazlum’s footsteps. They sacrificed their lives heroically on the path of freedom.
The period from Mazlum Doğan’s martyrdom on March 21 to the martyrdom of Egîd (Mahsum Korkmaz) on March 28 is commemorated as the Week of Heroism. With the first bullet he fired, Martyr Egîd revived the seed of freedom and laid the foundation for a new life for the Kurdish people.
The Turkish state claimed, “We eliminated the Kurds and Kurdistan, we massacred the Kurds and buried them.” Yet years later, through great struggle, the colors of spring emerged again. There is no happiness without hardship, and no hardship without the potential for joy. In the reality of the Kurds and Kurdistan, heroism has always emerged from hardship.
The Week of Heroism is marked by epics and legends written through the resistance of heroes. By igniting the Newroz fire with his body, Mazlum Doğan declared against authority: “Submission leads to betrayal, resistance leads to victory.” With this spirit, the system of domination was shaken and its foundations weakened.
Martyr Egîd (Mahsum Korkmaz) left a great legacy in the struggle against occupation. In his life journey from Farqîn (Silvan) to Amed (Diyarbakır), he came to know the Kurdistan Freedom Movement through the line of Mazlum Doğan.
The bridge for peoples to overcome genocide became March 28 and August 15. This bridge was established under the leadership of Commander Egîd when the first bullet was fired on August 15, 1984, against the racist mentality of the Turkish state. In the transition from darkness to light, Martyr Egîd became a ray of sunlight and hope for the Kurdish people. After him, thousands of Egîds awakened and embraced his legacy.
On the night of May 18, Ferhat, Necmi, Mahmud, and Eşref joined hands in the early hours of the morning as if dancing for freedom. Those four immortal commanders became, in a sense, Kurdistan itself: one part of them Bakur, one part Bashur, and the other parts Rojhilat and Rojava. Their bodies became Kurdistan. They walked in the line of Mazlum and continued their struggle in his spirit.
In the dim light of dawn, they illuminated the dark night with the fire of their bodies and sang the song of freedom. In the light of the flames, they sang songs of courage and heroism, saying, “Comrades, if you love us, do not extinguish the fire of our bodies. With the fire of our bodies, we want to sing you the song of freedom and victory and create a bright day. We are now happy; we are going to join comrade Mazlum.”
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