AVRİN NAVDAR

News Center- One year has passed since the killing of journalists Gülistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn. They were killed in a Turkish drone strike targeting their vehicle in the Said Sadiq district of Sulaymaniyah on August 23,2024, becoming the symbol of resistance, freedom and awareness in the press. They turned their pens and cameras into tools of struggle, becoming the voice of the people, especially women.

‘She had a sparkle that was impossible to be put out’

Gülistan Tara was born to a Kurdish family, the eighth of ten sisters. “She was a born leader. Even our elders listened to her,” said her sister Ülkem Esen. “Gülistan had a sparkle that was impossible to be put out.” Gülistan Tara grew up in Northern Kurdistan, in an environment where Kurdish identity and culture are under attacks. Her father and her sister were arrested for defending their identity. “She was very young and did not know what identity means but felt her father's absence, the price of defending their identity.”

Gülistan Tara, who loved theater, music and dance, wrote theater plays and performed them with children in her neighborhood. She also loved books, reading books about history and Kurdish literature to understand the true story of her people. “She always asked questions that led her to be a journalist. She became a journalist to reveal the truth,” Ülkem Esen. “She loved people, believing that resistance would be more meaningful by not only fighting but also loving humanity.”

‘Her camera was her weapon’

After being a journalist, Gülistan Tara started documenting the guerrilla struggle in the Xinere mountains. She recorded the lives of the guerrillas, resistance, nature, pain and hope. “Gülistan Tara’s camera was her weapon,” said Rojbîn Deniz, one of the colleague of Gülistan Tara. “She used her camera to report the truth. She was disciplined, having a radiant spirit.”

‘Hêro was a source of inspiration’

The journalistic career of Hêro Bahadîn started in late 2017. She started doing journalism in the Kurdistan Region, where women face oppression. She always said, “I know myself thanks to journalism.”

“She was not only a journalist but also a revolutionary in the press,” said Rojbîn Deniz, stressing that Hêro Bahadîn was a source of inspiration for women.

 

Speaking about Gülistan Tara, Rojbin Deniz said, “She played an important role in the development of a free press. The free press is a battleground against capitalism and oppression. As journalists, we do not only report but also reveal, confront and build. The free press reveals the truth and exposes oppressive policies. That’s why journalists are targeted. On August 23, 2024, our colleagues were targeted by a Turkish drone attack. This attack was an attempt to silence the truth. The attack on Gülistan Tara and Hero Bahadîn was not an attack targeting two journalists but also the free press.

“The killing of Gülistan and Hero left a deep mark on us, opening a big wound in the hearts of all Kurdish women. Women think that the attack was a deliberate attempt to silence women. The killing of journalists Gülistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn further fueled the fire of struggle instead of silence. They become the symbol of resistance, freedom and awareness in the press. Today, we follow in the footsteps of the killed journalists such as Gurbetelli, Gülistan, Hero, Nûjiyan, Deniz, Kemal, Nazım, Cîhan, Agit… We maintain their struggle. They become symbols, torches illuminating the path to freedom.”