Dayê, Rojek Tê by Aynur Doğan

‘Dayê Rojek Tê’ was written by Mr. Shahin Bakir Soekli in 1988. Mr. Soekli is a Kurd from Kobanî, the Kurdish town that came under siege of the Islamic State and Turkey in late 2014. This siege gained global coverage and was considered the turning point in the war against ISIS; a terrorist organization the likes of which the world has not seen since the plague of the Mongolian Hordes.

Kurds from Turkey, just across the border of Kobanî, rushed to the defense of this small town. Men and women fought side by side in close quarters for over six months; the town was completely devastated – but it did not fall. Some have labelled the heroic defense of this town, which prior to this war had little historic significance for the Kurdish nation, the ‘Stalingrad’ of ISIS. Fast forward to now, and now is 25 March 2019, the Islamic State is no more; in fact, the Kurdish High Command declared territorial defeat over this degenerate bunch three days ago.

This… this is pretty much the story of the Kurds. This song, or more properly labelled a ballad, was written by Mr. Soekli over three decades ago. Very few Kurds had heard of his hometown back then. Yet, Kobanî has now become a symbol of resistance and perseverance for Kurds worldwide. Kurdistan has always been heavily contested and wanted by foreign nations; five years ago it was ISIS, but ISIS will be nothing more than a footnote in the turbulent history of these ancient lands.

Many far greater than ISIS tried to impose their degeneracy and hatred on these lands, and all failed. But at a cost far higher than the pride of claiming these victories is worth. For how much longer will families be torn apart and devastated because of perverted ideologies and greed?