Massive rally in Qamishlo to support education in Kurdish

According to KurdPress, residents, students, and various social groups from the cities of Qamishlo, Hasakah, Dirak, Amuda, Dirak, Torbe-Spi, Derbesiya, Chal-Agha, Tel Tamer, and Garglag from various regions of the peninsula canton gathered in a massive rally in front of the March 12 Stadium in Qamishlo and demanded the guarantee of the right to education in Kurdish.According to local media in Syrian Kurdistan, the rally was organized by the “People’s Initiative” with the slogan “Our Language is Our Identity,” and the participants held placards with the themes “Our Language is Our Identity,” “Our Language is Our Future,” “Our Language is Our Respect,” and “There is no life without language.”

The ceremony began with a minute of silence. Then, “Yousef Kote” delivered a speech on behalf of the People’s Initiative and said: “Every tree grows on the basis of its roots, and man is formed on the basis of his language. Without language, man cannot express himself, and without language, no one can write his culture and say that he exists. For this reason, language is our existence and identity, and all ethnicities have the right to read, write, and live in their own language.»

Furthermore, “Mohammad Abbas” delivered a speech on behalf of the Martyrs’ Families Assembly and said: “We salute you in the name of our victims who sacrificed their lives for the Kurdish language and history. In the autonomous administration, we were able to create many institutions and build our system, and we fought many battles. Our request to the government is to accept and recognize our language.”

 “Golestan Gulu,” spokesperson for the Star Congress, also stated: “During the autonomous administration’s establishment, the Kurdish people received their education in Kurdish and raised a generation. For this reason, we do not accept the decision of the transitional government. This decision was made with an authoritarian approach that wants to govern society in a unified manner.»

 “Silava Ali” on behalf of the students also said, rejecting the government’s decision on teaching Kurdish: “We opened our eyes to the world by teaching in our own language, we are fighting with our own language and building our successes with it. We reject this decision and do not consider it right. We do not only want the Kurdish language, but we also want to receive education in our own Kurdish language.”

 “Rojin Muhammad Musa” on behalf of the teachers also stated: “The government’s decision in Damascus is not a fair decision. If the Kurdish language disappears, the existence, history and culture of the Kurdish people will also disappear. We will protect our language and every Kurd must stand up for his Kurdish language."Sheikh Omar" from the Democratic Islamic Congress also referred to religious texts and said: "The Torah, the Bible and the Quran have spoken about maintaining peace and security in this holy land and also referred to the human right to use the mother tongue and consider it a legitimate right for all human beings."

"Gohar Khachadourian" from the Armenian community also emphasized the right to education in the mother tongue and said: "We must demand that we receive education in our mother tongue in our schools. The Armenian people cannot write and read properly in their own language either, because the education of the mother tongue has not been given enough attention. Therefore, today we are asked to stand up against the party that tramples on our rights."

The rally ended with the chanting of the slogan "There is no life without language."