Kobane protesters urge Damascus to reverse limits on Kurdish-medium education

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hundreds descended on the streets of the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane in northeast Syria (Rojava) to protest a Syrian government decision that limited Kurdish-language instruction to three classes a week and cancelled full Kurdish-medium education.

Ibrahim Ahmed, a 71-year-old citizen from Kobane, told Rudaw on Wednesday that even though he cannot read or write, "I want my children, my neighbors, and all Kurds to study in schools in their mother tongue."

Meanwhile, Layla Ahmed, another citizen from the Kurdish-majority city, lamented, "We have given years of our lives to protect our values and our language."

"The [Kurdish] mother tongue will be protected - whether they accept it or not, our position is firm and will not waver," she affirmed.

Most subjects in Rojava schools have been taught in Kurdish for the past 15 years, since the withdrawal of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's forces from the enclave in 2012.

However, a late August decision by the Damascus education ministry made Kurdish a mandatory subject to be taught three times a week. It also gave students in Rojava the option to study some subjects in either Kurdish or Arabic during the coming academic year, with no such provision guaranteed beyond it.

Protesters in Kobane told Rudaw their demand was that the education system in Rojava remain as is.

Saleh Shaker described the education ministry's decision as "a grave injustice," stressing, "We will not accept it." The Kobane local added that "as long as there is a drop of blood in our veins, we will not abandon our language."

Meanwhile, Sharvan Muslim, co-chair of the University of Kobane, said protesters are demanding that the decision "that confines our language to only three hours" be cancelled.

"We reject the marginalization of our mother tongue. This is our unwavering stance," he added.

The new Syrian leadership said its decision stems from a January presidential decree recognizing Kurdish as a "national language." Despite this, Kurds in Rojava say the move contradicts that commitment, as more protests appear to be on the horizon in Rojava.