How I met Beritan, a YJA Star – YPJ hero
I met Beritan in early March in Sinjar, Iraq. I went to one of the hot spots in the war against ISIS because I wanted to interview a YPJ fighter for an ongoing project about women in war.
Alex Potter, a photojournalist who I travelled with, and me arrived on the outskirts of the disputed city in the early afternoon. We first met with the Peshmerga and then were able to go and meet the YPG/ YPJ fighters. The two Kurdish forces, much divided on politics and the future of Kurdistan, have declared a truce to fight ISIS. “The worst enemy we have ever had,” said Beritan later.
At first Hagir, the YPG commander in charge of the area, wanted to check us out before allowing us to go and talk to the women. He asked me about Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK leader imprisoned in Turkey since 1999, and the role of the Italian government in his capture. Beritan was sitting next to him, listening and looking at me. I later realized she was the one who had to give her permission, not Hagir.
After drinking chai – before you do anything you have to sip some tea – Beritan told me to follow her and another soldier. In the two minute walk she indicated some buildings around. “We liberated this area,” she said.
When we arrived at their base, about a dozen fighters welcomed us with their sweet and nice manners. The two story building they were living in was half destroyed. The top floor became a dovecote. But on the ground floor everything was nice and clean.
We sat in one of the rooms and Beritan started telling me her story. At first we talked about her family and her youth in Turkey. “We (as Kurds) were treated as a second class citizens,” she said. Then she told about the moment when she had a life altering experience which set her on the path to joining the PKK. “Me and my mother went to a school meeting. I needed to sign up for the following school year. But because precedence was given to Turkish people, a huge crowd gathered in front of the school. Few minutes later Turkish police arrived and started attacking us.” As a result, she added “my mother was badly injured in her head and there was nothing I could do to protect her. I had to carry her home.” She was 13 years-old.
Then she talked about the ongoing war against ISIS and her efforts to help Yazidi people. She is the leader of a human rescue mission. She has been stationed in Sinjar for over eight months now.
The 3 hour interview was intense. Beritan smiled rarely, but she replied to each question. When we finished talking we ate dinner together. Chopped tomatoes, eggs, and bread. We talked a little more and then it was time to sleep.
In the meantime we could hear the opposing forces shooting at each other occasionally, but otherwise, night was relatively peaceful. “We fight every day from dawn to sunset,” another female fighter explained to me. Though the night, this team was resting after a three day shift in the trenches. Before going to bed they all started playing with each other. They listened to Western music and started dancing to a Shakira song. They seemed like any other 20-something-year-old girl, who just wanted to enjoy life. But they are at war.
When it was the time for us to leave their base, we hugged and said to each other good luck. I left with the uncomfortable feeling that they might die while fighting for basic human rights.
Two weeks after I left, there was a rumor about Beritan. She was reported dead along with another woman. I was shocked. I started talking to everybody I knew on the ground, because I did not want to believe it. She had been fighting for over ten years, first against the Turks up in the mountain and then against ISIS. After a few days of frantic phone calls, someone sent me a picture with a capture. “This was taken yesterday,” he said. I was so happy. She is the bravest woman I have ever met and she is my hero.
I had the chance to tell her story on Vocativ. Check it out
