SORGUL ŞÊXO

Hasakah- The Ottoman Empire committed a genocide against Armenians living Northern Kurdistan and Turkey in 1915, at the time of the First World War. Despite the genocide, the Armenian people were reborn from their ashes and continue to fight in order to preserve their identity and culture. The Martyr Nubar Ozanyan Brigade, Armenian military forces in North and East Syria, was founded on April 24, 2019, the 104th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, to protect the Armenian people and preserve Armenian culture, history, existence and identity. NuJINHA spoke to Angêra Anush and Lûsîn Hagobiyan, twin sisters and fighters of the brigade. Angêra Anush grew up by listening to stories about the Armenian genocide from her grandfather.

“My grandfather told us, ‘I will never forget the genocide against us in 1915. The bones of Armenians were thrown into the street. Our intellectuals, academics, and students were hanged and killed. 1.5 million Armenians, including women and children, were killed and hundreds of thousands of women went missing. The women who said, 'We are thirsty', were taken away and killed near rivers. The rivers turned red with their blood. During the Armenian genocide, women were raped and their hands were marked so that they could be resold. This pain is unforgettable.’ The Ottoman Empire committed the genocide against Armenians from Northern Kurdistan to the city of Aleppo in North and East Syria. A century later, the Armenians face genocidal attacks again in the same territories.”

‘Armenians had no forces’

“The Turkish state built its existence by committing genocides against other nations,” Angêra Anush said, “Armenians and Greeks were farsighted, so their intellectuals and scholars were killed. At that time, the Ottomans said; ‘If the Armenians and Greeks develop, the Turks will remain behind.’ They were so racist and nationalist that they did not accept anything but 'one flag, one language and one religion’. At the time of Armenian genocide, Armenians had no military forces to respond to the genocidal attacks.”

Following the revolution in Rojava, the twin sisters decided to protect their people. “We decided to protect Armenian women and other women so that everyone would know that Armenians still exist and will exist.”

‘We should preserve our history together’

Calling on Armenians living around the world, Angêra Anush said, “We should strengthen our defense against all genocidal attacks. Women must fight for freedom and use their power to serve the people. Armenian women and men should organize themselves to protect themselves. We joined the Martyr Nubar Ozanyan Brigade to protect our people against all kinds of attacks. We should preserve our history, our culture, our identity and our religion. We exist, we will continue to exist.”

‘Our goal is to liberate all women’

Speaking about why they decided to join the brigade, Lûsîn Hagobiyan said, “I decided to join the brigade to have a role and mission in my society as a woman and to guarantee gender equality. It is important for a woman to be able to think, speak, express herself without fear and believe in herself. I wanted to join the military forces but I was rejected because I was too young. The honor of the Kurdish women affected my personality. Therefore, I decided to be involved in cultural activities. As Armenian women, our goal is to liberate all women.”

‘We built a new life by resisting’

She added, “Women were excluded from society. They married, had children, and spent their lives at their home. Women said it was ‘Our destiny’. We did not accept this and we built a new life by resisting.”

‘I get my strength and will from my mother’

Emphasizing that her parents were at the forefront of the battlefields when the revolution started, Lûsîn Hagobiyan said, “My mother always said she wanted to fight in the mountains and be a fighter. She realized her childhood dream. I get my strength and will from my mother. I will fight until all enslaved women are free. The Turkish state now follows in the footsteps of the Ottomans. Although the names change, the mentality never changes. This is why we are determined to fight and protect our people. We are ready to protect women and our people wherever we are.”