Aysel Işık

 

HEWLER – The call of the century gave rise to the steps of the century. Attending the ceremony in Silêmanî was full of excitement, caution and hope.

 

In these historic times, we are waking up almost every day to a new development. The process, which gained momentum in October, has seen many positive developments. The most promising of these was the reading of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's call for 'Peace and a Democratic Society' on Thursday, 27 February at 17:00. This call has opened an alternative door not only for the Kurdish people, but also for the Turkish people and all those living in the Middle East.

 

Since that day, calls from Imralı Island have remained on the global agenda as a lifeline for peace. News agencies and television stations carry this call in their headlines every day.

 

Today, we set off from Amed to Sulaymaniyah in Southern Kurdistan to witness another historic moment. Preparations for the ceremony had been ongoing for days. A delegation of 150 people, including journalists, writers, politicians, and civil society representatives, set off from Amed to witness this historic occasion.

 

Some notes from the journey:

 

The delegation gathered at the stadium junction at 12:00 and set off in four buses.

 

The agenda on each bus was intense, with the most talked-about topic being Abdullah Öcalan's video message, released on 9 July.

 

Question marks about the state's sincerity regarding peace emerged in conversations among journalists and the public alike.

 

It was frequently mentioned in conversations that the process was not saved by unilateral steps, that the government had not adopted a language of peace, and that it was Abdullah Öcalan's insistence that kept the process alive.

 

The Peace Mothers smiled. One mother said, “Seeing Leader Apo was like being reborn,” while another said, “I had always dreamt of seeing the Leader before I died; now I can die.”

 

A woman who had spent days preparing for the ceremony said, "When I was born, the PKK already existed. Now I am attending the ceremony of dissolution and laying down arms. This affects me emotionally. My mum cries every day; my brother was a martyr. Our leadership has given us a road map; we have full confidence in them, but we do not trust the state."

 

*After a short break in Cizre, the buses departed and reached Habur Border Gate after one hour.

 

*After the passport procedures, the delegation travelled to the South Kurdistan Region where they were welcomed by a delegation including the Governor of Duhok.

 

*The agenda here was that if a social peace was achieved, it would have a positive impact on other parts of the region.

 

*At the end of the day, while settling down in the accommodation, the last conversations were about "waking up tomorrow with vigour and the need for the state to take concrete steps after tomorrow."

 

This was a journey in which sadness and happiness, caution and hope walked side by side. The expectation for today is common: "Let the language of peace be spoken, no more mothers crying, no more young people dying, let the peoples breathe. Let us build a democratic society."