Why Kobane mattered to the Kurds and the world

When Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani announced on Sunday that Kobane was free of the Islamic State (ISIS), this is how he illustrated Kurdish unity:  “The martyrdom of Zeravan -- a Peshmerga from Southern Kurdistan killed in Kobane -- and Nechirvan -- a guerrilla from Rojava killed in the east Mosul operation -- both on the same day, is the symbol of brotherhood, union and unanimity of the Kurdish nation; it showed that the whole Kurdish nation has the same cause.”

Another example illustrating why Kobane is such a symbol for the Kurdish cause in the four parts of Kurdistan (namely Turkish, Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian), is an excellent documentary broadcast on the BBC’s English and Persian services, titled “Fighting IS: keeping the enemy at bay.”

In one episode, a female Kurdish guerrilla who is originally from Iranian Kurdistan tells the filmmaker that there are many like her (from Iran) who are now fighting for Kobane. “Once we have freed Kobane, we will be off to Iran,” she says.  “It is their turn next.” Although this bit went uncut in the English service, the Persian service, I suspect, wittingly deleted it.

Having Kurdish fighters fighting for the freedom of other parts of Kurdistan is not unprecedented, nor is it the first time the Kurds feel the urgency of helping each other: Mulla Mustafa Barzani, father of the current president of Kurdistan Region -- along with many Kurdish Peshmergas from the south -- fought side-by-side their Kurdish brothers against the then Iranian regime in Mahabad, the capital of the first Kurdish state in modern history in 1946.

Yet, Kobane is a turning point in Kurdish history: it is the first time the Peshmerga are officially deployed outside the Kurdistan Region officially. And one way or another, this help was recognized by the Western and regional powers.

At the time the Kurdish parties accused Turkish authorities of helping the Islamic State, a wave of demonstration and protests prevailed in the streets of Turkey. Hundreds of the demonstrators were shot dead and injured. Not surprisingly though, it was not for the long-denied rights of the significant Kurdish population in Turkey, but rather for the rights of self-defense of the self-declared Rojava cantons against the most brutal Islamic group ever.

In fact, the Turkish government found itself in a situation where saying “no” to the deployment of Peshmerga to Kobane was not an option. The US-led coalition forces also provided ammunition and effective air power. The media coverage and almost daily demonstration across the world, especially in places with large Kurdish diaspora communities, played a significant role.

For the Kurds, Kobane has become a symbol of the Kurdish struggle for statehood, just like Kirkuk and Halabja. Internationally, since the city fights back against the radical Islamists on behalf of the civilized world, the symbol goes much beyond that.

As the Islamic State advanced on the Shingal area, where tens of thousands of Yezidis fled to Mount Shingal seeking refuge, the first reports painfully were about the enslavement of women, rape and even forced marriage of teenage girls. As the crisis moved on, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) managed to partly break the siege from the Syrian side. As a result, thousands of Yezidis could flee to safety.

Amidst reports of women and girls becoming victims of war, Kobane offered an alternative: female fighters could also fight as competently as their male counterparts. Although this fact was obvious to the Kurds, thanks to the participation of women in the Kurdish struggle in the past, the international media and by large the world were  ignorant of its existence. The ignorance, however, played a big role, because everyone was interested in knowing more and more about this nation whose women are fighting for their rights -- even at this time of war.

No wonder the late editor of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, Charb, wrote: “the Kurds defend us all.”  He rightfully understood that the Kurds are the only bulwark against the barbarism of the Islamic State: Kurds share the Western values in the best way possible.

Kobane, like the Shingal and Makhmour fronts, has proved that airstrikes are most effective where there are Kurds on the ground.  And that shows how much coalition forces were wrong in not inviting the Kurds to the London conference last Thursday, especially since that made the Kurds express their anger against the organizers, namely the United States and United Kingdom.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.