Memorial march for Kelly Freygang: Remembering the heroine from Hamburg

Memorial march for Kelly Freygang: Remembering the heroine from Hamburg

A memorial march for Kelly Freygang will take place in Hamburg on July 29, 2023 at 12 p.m. The starting point is Hachmannplatz at Hamburg Central Station. This is an important event that gives parents and relatives the opportunity to remember the 31-year-old fighter who died in a Turkish drone attack in Southern Kurdistan on April 29, 2023. The plans for the march had to be changed several times due to unexpected circumstances, as anfdeutsch.com reports.

Kelly Freygang, whose nom de guerre is Tîjda Zagros, was born on August 24, 1993 in Hamburg. While studying law, she discovered her passion for the Kurdish liberation movement and the conflict in the Middle East. She was particularly impressed by the role of women in the Kurdish guerrilla struggle and their resistance against IS. In 2017, Freygang decided to actively participate in the fight for freedom in Kurdistan. She was a member of the women's unit Yekîtîya Jinên Azad (YJA STAR) and fought in the special unit Hêzên Taybet from 2021.

Public sympathy and remembrance

In Hamburg's Schanzenviertel, graffiti with the words “Kelly immortal” and her portrait adorn the walls, showing how deeply her loss is anchored in the community. Freygang entered the armed struggle for Kurdish areas as an international volunteer and fought until her death in the “Medya Defense Areas”, a PKK retreat area. Her family continues to live in Hamburg, where the city administration has not yet issued a statement on her death. This is a point that the left-wing Bundestag member Cansu Özdemir has taken up and the result of which is still pending; she had asked the federal government whether German defense companies were involved in producing the drone that killed Freygang. The information comes from the Civaka Azad association and the Kurdish People's Defense Forces HPG, as taz reports.

Freygang's deployment came at a time when there were attempts to revive the peace process between the PKK and Turkey. Medico International's Anita Starosta notes that she fell in a shaky peace process, while HPG accuses the Turkish government of continuing military attacks and not seriously supporting the peace process. Since 2013, around 295 Germans have traveled to the Kurdish combat zones, as documented by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Of these, 150 returned and over 30 died in battle.

Women in the Resistance – An important topic

The role of women in war and resistance also has far-reaching social effects. For example, in Rojava, the Kurdish region of Syria, we are witnessing a real women's revolution. This movement is based on the principles of equality and autonomy, which is reflected, among other things, in women's villages like Jinwar. There, women live independently, farm and run a school that also teaches children from the area. Dilar Dirik, a sociologist, describes how women's cooperatives develop in this region and how women work together to support each other in overcoming violence Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

In this context, the fate of Kelly Freygang and the memory of her struggle has a symbolic meaning that extends far beyond her person. The commemorative events not only show respect for their spirit of self-sacrifice, but also a strong sign of solidarity and the desire to advocate for justice and women's rights worldwide.