Why won't the UK help the Kurdish fighters in Northern Syria against ISIS?

The flag of the Men's Protection
 Units (YPG)

I was recently able to have a meeting with government officials and put some of my questions to them.

First of all I’d like to express my appreciation for living in a country where I can get involved in political protest, without being arrested and where the authorities are prepared to put time and effort into hearing me and my concerns. My sincere thanks go to the British government for giving me the meeting, for not being patronising and for treating me with respect. Also for answering my questions with due care and attention particularly those questions regarding the progress of ISIS, the role of the UK in Syria and, in particular, why the UK will not engage with the Rojavan Syrian Kurds and consistently denies them any support.

The primary reasons for the UK's reluctance to help the Rojavan Kurds in their struggle against ISIS, as expressed to me by government officials, seem to be these: 

• There have been human rights abuses in Northern Syria- carried out by the Kurds
• The YPG/J recruits 17 year olds
• The YPG/J is linked to the listed terror organisation the PKK.

Let’s look at their first argument.

The flag of the Women's Protection
 Units (YPJ)

First of all let me make clear that my views are that any kind of abuse, torture or deaths in custody are inexcusable. So by all means let’s refuse to talk to any country that has such human rights abuses.

Going by what I was told therefore, the logical assumption is, (since we don’t talk to, or negotiate with, organisations and governments that commit human rights abuses) none of our allies will be guilty of this.

Check out Saudi Arabia:

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/saudi-arabia

Check out our NATO ally Turkey:

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/turkey

Check out China where many of our goods come from

https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/05/13/tiger-chairs-and-cell-bosses/police-torture-criminal-suspects-china

Check out Israel

https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/

Check out the amount of people who have died at the hands of police in the USA- many unarmed 

http://killedbypolice.net/

Check out Britain’s alleged complicity in torture and abuse of prisoners:
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/12/cia-torture-report-uk-must-be-honest-about-its-complicity-these-grisly-crimes

http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/europe/uk

For the sake of interest here is the official letter from the YPG refuting the claims (It's slightly ungrammatical but you get the gist):

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/23/letter-ypg-response-human-rights-watch

Sadly all these links are simply the tip of the iceberg. Go look for yourself. See what our UK ally Turkey is doing to its own citizens right now, at the time of writing, in Cizre, for example.

I feel quite confident at this point in time that any illegal actions carried out by Rojavan Kurds are not state sanctioned (unlike what appears to be happening in Turkey) and if people are accused of committing heinous acts then they will investigated by the Kurdish government, just as British citizens would, presumably, in similar situations.

I am not claiming that the links or my research are exhaustive and I’m not intending to point a finger at countries or to argue one way or another about whether or not the YPG/J are guilty of the allegations. 

All I’m saying is that there's en element of hypocrisy in the excuses made by the UK government and it should not hide behind such a paltry excuse when we can see that it has long and, dare I say it, seemingly comfortable liaisons with many countries with deeply concerning human rights records.

This is not a reason not to talk to the YPG/J UK so please- pull the other one!

Regarding the second point: The YPG/J, as far as I am aware, does not have a conscious, active recruitment process focussed on youngsters. Where the authorities are made aware, youngsters are sent home. However, given the upheaval, does everyone have documentation that can clarify age? And what would you do if you were sixteen and nine months and your whole family had been beheaded while you were visiting a relative in a different village? Would you not be inclined to say, ‘I’m going to go after the people who did this so that I can stop it happening to someone else?’ Maybe you’d be inclined to say, ‘No-one is helping us defeat ISIS. No other countries are helping. I guess I just have to help myself!' What else is left?

The bottom line is that if the UK had offered help earlier, maybe seventeen year old kids wouldn’t need to pick up weapons to defend themselves.

The final point I want to make is about the allegation that the YPG/J is linked to the PKK. Maybe it is but that doesn’t change the fact that it isn’t the PKK. It isn’t a listed organisation.

It is a legal organisation. 

Either list it or get off your butts and help. Hey, who knows, if they had help from elsewhere perhaps they wouldn’t need to be ‘linked’ to the PKK!

My final point is that Britain is talking to countries like Iran, maybe in the future even to Assad and has helped facilitate dialogue with ‘terrorist’ organisations in Northern Ireland. Surely talking to the YPG/J and their political arm the PYD should be easy in comparison since they are NOT LISTED.

UK- please! Stop with the lame excuses and help Rojava, the YPG and YPJ. 

Why I want to record everyone abducted or killed by Daesh/ISIS

I am going to make a record of every person killed or abducted by ISIS. This will include combatants and civilians. I hope it will include everyone killed or missing, including the victims of ISIS attacks in Tunisia, Libya and anywhere else.

Why am I doing it?

• There is no definitive record and there are no proper numbers of people killed or abducted.
• These people should all be remembered
•  It will help us in the fight against ISIS as we will have numbers and statistics
• It will reduce apathy as people link the murders with real people and real faces
•  It will provide a record for us to be able to hunt down and prosecute the perpetrators of the crimes when they try and return to their own countries and pick up their lives
• It will help us find the missing 
•  Finally so that when we hold a vigil for the dead we have names.

Some of the information you give me I will keep private, some I will put on a website. The website will look something like this: killedbypolice.net

I need your help for this. I need you to give me the information.

This list depends on you

Please help me do this.

Send me any of this information if you know it: 

• proper name 
• nom de guerre
•  date of birth
• father’s name/mother’s name
• place of birth
• place of death/abduction
•  religion and race
• method of death 
• the name of the person/ unit who killed them (even if those are not the murderers'proper names) and any other information about them that is known
• gender
• any other information
•  a photo if you have one.

The photo and some basic information (name, age, religion, race, gender, method/place of death) will go onto the website; for the dead and for the missing/ abducted the name, age, gender, race/ religion and place they went missing will go on. The rest of the information I will keep private, just to have records.

If you want me to keep the person anonymous I will do that but if we do that it will be harder to get people to believe what we say and act on it.

Let’s make a record to shame the governments for not doing enough. Let’s remember the dead and the missing.

When the website is made I will post the link and people can hopefully upload their own information but for now send your information to me at kostasolivetree[at]gmail[dot]com or find me on facebook.

Remembering 7/7

Today we remember the victims of 7/7.

How do you find words to describe the atrocity? The indiscriminate killing? The inhumanity? The trauma and terror? How do you get through the loss without getting caught up in negativity and hatred?

You rise above the evil as much as possible. You focus on the moving stories of light and hope that come out of the darkness. Stories of survival and humanity, of bravery, compassion and of sheer heroism.

You don't let evil win.  You lose fear and you act. You stand up and shout out against extremism, against inaction.

The evil we face now may not be quite the same as it was then - it has mutated, becoming better organised, harder to pin down and more pervasive. It has become even more barbaric if that is possible and is responsible for the wholesale slaughter of civilians right across Syria and Iraq. Spare a thought for the brave men and women in Northern Syria and Iraq battling against this terrorism every day and for the many victims who are at the mercy of an invading militia made up of citizens from all over the world, including Britain.

For as long as this caliphate cult flourishes everything that underpins our society is at risk. Our lives are at risk.

It makes me feel even more driven to make a difference, and hopefully see the end of ISIS and other forms of harmful extremism. Join me in any way you can. Write to your MPS, sign the petition, ask your MPs to table a question in Parliament. Make sure you understand what's going on in Northern Syria and see if you can get your MPs to acknowledge the efforts of the YPG and YPJ. (Northern Syrian Kurds- they are already acknowledging the Iraqi Kurds and supporting them). Push our governments to provide the YPG and YPJ with the help they need.

For letter templates and the petition scroll down to previous posts, or look in the side bar.

Don't be cowed. Shout out so that the victims are not forgotten and evil is defeated- it's the very least we can do because if ISIS wins in Northern Syria the consequences do not bear thinking about..

Response to Times article

The Tiimes published quite a negative article focussing on a young man fighting with the YPG, and alleging that he had autism and was 'lured' to Syria!

The article :http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4464198.ece

My response:

The olive tree planted on Kosta's grave is growing.

This is an interesting article and it is really encouraging to see that the local MP cares enough to take a personal interest in constituents’ issues and that you care enough to report on them. However there are some assumptions that I feel should be challenged and some errors on the part of the MP that I also feel should be corrected.

First of all the implication in your headline, that because this lad is autistic he is automatically vulnerable and incapable of making up his own mind is rather troubling. It also seems as if you are defining him by his disability, (and there is some doubt about whether he has autism. It appears he was diagnosed when he was nine years old and then was told that he didn’t have autism when he was seventeen- personal communication with his mother). Did you actually try and contact the lad himself to ask him for his opinions? If you have to use this lad’s disability in an emotive headline why not: Autistic man joins fight against ISIS to protect humanity? Or better still go for Newark lad stands up for British values and resists ISIS alongside Rojavan Kurds.

Please don’t diminish his courage because of his disability.

Second, put simply, the Peshmerga are the fighting arm of the Kurds in Iraq mostly. The Kurds in Iraq are a patriarchal, tribal based society. The YPG is the male fighting arm of the Kurdish people in Northern Syria (Rojava). In contrast to the whole of the rest of the Middle East these Kurds are working towards a democratic society and have active gender equality, freedom of religious expression and active pro-gay rights policies among others.

There definitely seems to be some confusion in the mind of the MP and in many media reports between the two different countries. Perhaps it would help if everyone could get that straight for a start. If the MP is indeed asking the British government to ask the government of the Peshmerga to stop people joining the YPG then that’s a bit like Italy asking France to stop people joining the British military in Catterick.

The YPG (or Lions of Rojava) have a vetting system when they recruit and if they think that a recruit is in any way a liability or vulnerable they would either not allow them to join or would send them back. They are, indeed, trying to do this with the actor Michael Enright. If this lad’s mum feels that her son is at risk then she has a way of contacting the YPG and asking for him to be sent back. It is my experience that they would do this at once since they value every human being and try very hard not to have losses. A liability or a loose cannon on the battlefield would put their own people at risk. In addition this lad must have passed the one month training the YPG gives all its members or he wouldn’t still be there. This indicates a certain level of capability on his part.

Finally I note that the reader is told that Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with the ‘brave Peshmerga’. Indeed, are these the same brave Peshmerga who abandoned the Yezidis to ISIS so many months ago? The Yezidis who were rescued from Mt Sinjar by the YPG including the foreign lions like my son (Erik also saved someone’s life and carried him off the mountain to safety)? The Yezidis still remember the foreign lions who helped save them. As we’ve already established, the YPG are not the same as the Peshmerga and so far there is little to no evidence that Britain supports the YPG at all. Little to no aid is reaching the refugees from all minorities societies, who have found sanctuary in Rojava with the Syrian Kurds. There is no aid for the rebuilding of Kobane and other cities destroyed by ISIS. There are no weapons reaching the Rojavans, not even night vision goggles or defensive items. Yet these brave men and women still fight, in trainers and home-made armoured vehicles. They fight against an invading militia that is made up of British citizens, Iraqis equipped and trained by us who have defected, as well as other people from all over the world who share their terrible ideology. Then you ask why our lads feel they need to go out there and imply that they have been lured. Seriously?

No-one wants British boots on the ground but for as long as the British government ignores the YPG/J and its role in the battle against ISIS the more likely we will be to have a British civil war going on in someone elses’ back yard, in which the two ideologies- that of ISIS and that of a tolerant and democratic Britain, will be tested. All we ask is for the government to open a dialogue with the Kurds in Syria (we’re already helping the ones in Iraq) in order to see how they can be supported (night vision goggles for instance would make a big difference to their success against ISIS)

If your readers and any MPs want to find out more about the situation in Syrian Kurdistan and the fight against ISIS then they can visit www.kostasolivetree.blogspot.co.uk for the links along the side of the page. They can also join my campaign called Kosta’s Olive Tree (look for the group on facebook), or sign the petition if they wish to make a difference. My campaign does NOT call for boots on the ground.

Yours respectfully

Vasiliki Scurfield (Mother of Erik Konstandinos Scurfield KIA Syria)

Tunisia, France, Kuwait and Kobane.

I'm terribly saddened this last week at the news of terrorist attacks in three separate countries all of them engineered by ISIS.There was an attempt at a chemical plant in France with the brutal beheading of the manager, the shooting of holiday makers on a beach in Tunisia that has resulted in over 30 deaths, and a suicide bombing of a Shia mosque in Kuwait with a loss of over 27 lives. 

The media has been filled with terrible pictures of pain and suffering and the stunned incomprehension of normal people who were doing nothing but go about their normal business when their world imploded. But while these images, of Tunisia in particular, have flooded the news reports, there have been ISIS attacks elsewhere, in which gunmen have shot and killed children, not just adult tourists and where the death toll has been over 150 adults and children. Here you see the same stunned incomprehension, the same dreadful grief on so many faces, but this time it's Kobane, where there are so many ISIS terrorists that they qualify as an invading army, where the media coverage has been so scarce that it verges on shameful. The people in this town didn't deserve to die any more than the people in the Mosque worshipping, or the people on the beach holidaying, or the man going to work. None of them deserved to die and I'm saddened that despite David Cameron's rhetoric about stopping extremism, he still won't enter dialogue with the Kurds in Rojava to see what Britain can do to help. 

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people suffering at the hands of ISIS wherever they are. I will keep shouting for you in the hope that my voice will be heard at some point.

Be wise, be brave, be strong.

USA letter for adapting and sending.

Here is a letter that you might wish to adapt  and send to your Senator if you live in the USA.

Thanks to Don Weingarten for writing this.

I write to you to urge increased US military support for Kurdish forces in the face of the Islamist jihadi's of ISIS.

Among the Kurds fighting ISIS are the Peshmerga, the security force of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), the People's Protection Units, initials YPG and YPJ (a force solely of women) and military units of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

All of these, particularly the PKK, YPG and YPJ, are poorly equipped, and lack heavy weapons.

In addition, the PKK has been classified by the US as a terrorist group, in my opinion mistakenly. Thus US citizens, many of them military veterans, who have joined their fight, and anyone who contributes to their support, are at risk of legal sanctions by the US government.

In response to this I ask you to

1) Join Senators Ernst and Boxer as a sponsor of the Senate bill to provide US arms directly to the Peshmerga

2) Offer an amendment to the Ernst-Boxer bill providing arms also directly to the PKK, YPG and YPJ.

3) Offer an additional amendment to the Ernst-Boxer bill to insure that no legal action will be taken against US citizens who join or support the PKK, YPG, YPJ or any other Kurdish military unit in their fight against ISIS.

A few days ago, Ramadi the capital of Anbar Province, fell to ISIS in the face of failed resistance by Iraqi security forces.

Military success against ISIS has come only from the Kurds.

Indeed the Kurds have stood heroically almost alone against the ISIS onslaught.

We, the United States, despite our mistakes, overall have been the good guys. That's our role. Time to act!

First hand account of a visit to a Yezidi refugee camp.

This is a guest post by Rachel Emec and is her account of her visit to a refugee camp in eastern Turkey. Her original post can be seen here: 

http://www.turkishliving.com/forums/news-views/79241-my-news-my-refugee-camp-visit.html

Rachel is raising money for this camp here: http://www.gofundme.com/t3pkgs 

My News & My Refugee Camp Visit

I haven’t really posted on the forum much over the past year ... but there are a few things that I would like to share with you that may be of interest to some members. I also wanted to update members who were involved with my charity collections sending clothes, toys and teddies to refugees from Syria.

A few years ago I wrote a thread about my travels to Diyarbakir in The South East Of Turkey which I had a great response from.

http://www.turkishliving.com/forums/...st-turkey.html

I’d like to tell you about my most recent trip and the events leading up to it. (sorry if it’s long but I’ll try and be brief).

Many of you may know that for years I have been involved in Kurdish issues, I’ve signed hundreds of human rights petitions, set up charity collections, helped Kurdish children get an education, I’ve protested about inequality and inhumanity. I’ve been touched by many things for many years but never have I been touched by anything more than this.

In early March this year I read about the death of a young man, Konstandinos Erik Scurfield. A 25 year old former Royal Marine he left the UK to travel to Syria to fight alongside Kurdish forces. On the 2nd March 2015 he was sadly killed. What touched me so much was the fact that Kosta wasn’t Kurdish...in fact he had no links to the Kurdish cause or community. He wasn’t a mercenary, he’d had a promising career in The Marines. He took the medical training he had learnt and travelled to Syria not for money or to be a hero, he simply wanted to help.

I attended Kosta’s funeral here in Nottingham on 26th March. Like many of the hundreds of people there I had never met him...but on that day, in that church I looked at his coffin and his family and I decided that what I’ve done in my life for others just wasn’t enough!

On 3rd April this year....still reeling with the emotion of the previous week I travelled to Turkey with my husband and 2 sons. It was a trip for Kawa and Lesker to see Granny and granddad and for me to catch up with some things and with some friends. It wasn’t long before I was told in some detail about the Ezidi refugee camp on the outskirts of Diyarbakir. In desperate need of help I was asked if I’d visit. Then a former member of TLF messaged me suggesting a visit so I arranged to go and have a look around. So I did....

The camp holds 6000 Ezidi refugees, 3500 of those are children. Babies are being born and the camp has only 2 cots. The Turkish Government does not and has not donated one kurus YES not ONE PENNY to the camp’s running costs. Nor does the UN, nor any other charity or organisation. Turkey blocks any group from working in there. The camp has been set up and is run entirely by public donations and goodwill.

On entering the camp I was met by a middle aged man who had quite severe learning difficulties, he had escaped the Brutal massacre of Ezidi men...how I was soon to find out.

I had free access to the camp, my husband’s friend volunteers as a doctor and my sister in law has a friend who helped process the refugees. When they first came she worked for 40 days and nights with minimal sleep to help settle them. The people working there are living angels x

There are sooo many children, it hits you. There are elderly, not many men and fewer young women. I hope I can post photos at the end of the post but there is a beautiful young lady of about 18, I really connected with her. I thought that the young girl that she had was her daughter. Sadly not, mum had been murdered and this was the aunt. Surrounded by children many without parents she cared for so many.

The stories that they tell of what was behind them are horrific...utterly horrific and I feel unable to share most with you.

I was approached by an Ezidi elder who invited me to his home. Home for everyone is a tent, a foam mattress and a blanket. Tents have a small area for preparing food and some have a heater. Everything is communal there, showers, washing facilities, clothes stores. It costs 8000 lira a day to run the camp...not much per head.

Before I sat he held my hand and thanked me for visiting. He spoke English, Kurdish and Turkish among other languages. He told me very firmly that the only reason that the majority of those in the camp were alive was because of The PKK. It was a message that EVERY ONE of those refugees that came from Shingal in Iraq told me. The PKK fought ISIS to the death, they carried the disabled, the old and the children to safety....and that is the reason Turkey ignores this camp. The Turkish government will only allow aid to get to it if Ezidi refugees publicly deny The PKK’s help.

Turkey have also said that they want the small school closed inside the camp unless it teaches in Turkish (all the children speak Kurdish). Turkey in fact wants to ban any Kurdish being spoken at all in the camp (this even applies to the volunteer counsellors that help the rape victims!)

The next group of people I spoke to were refugees from Mount Sinja. They spoke of how they were saved by The YPG and (deep breath!) a group of foreign fighters fighting alongside them. I didn’t really speak until they told me that some spoke English.

I’d read that Kosta posted on his Facebook page that he had helped lift the siege of Sinja mountain... here I was sitting with women and children that he had directly help save. A week before I was weeping at his funeral, now I was weeping at what he’d done. I showed these few refugees the photos I had of his funeral....and we all wept together.

I spent quite a bit of time at the camp (and I think you’ve probably had enough of me already) but walking out I decided that if I am to do anything in my life it’s to help these people.

We have to stand up to ISIS, in doing so we are standing up for humanity. These people were good people, they just happened to be Ezidi and therefore a target for ISIS. The camp now holds families from Kobane, unable to go home due to the ongoing fighting and threat of ISIS.

Kosta’s mum has set up a petition that needs more people to sign

https://www.change.org/p/number-10-downing-street-barack-obama-jean-claude-juncker-stop-isis-act-decisively

There is also a group: 

Kosta's Olive Tree

Thanks for reading so far. I also just wanted to thank everyone who donated to my clothing and teddy collections over the years. I’ve been in contact with some people who benefited from them when they needed help. Syria is in turmoil and at that time the West didn’t know just how much. We got clothing to people before aid agencies did...so Thankyou x

Get writing- be the voice of change.

Here is another letter. This one can be sent to the British Prime Minister via the contact form. https://email.number10.gov.uk/

Feel free to adapt or change but bear in mind that there is a 1000 word limit. So far I don't think anyone who has used this has had an answer so there must be a backlog.

I am horrified by the atrocities perpetrated by ISIS, and how it continues to work unhindered, growing and spreading. Coalition airstrikes are not working. We cannot ignore the role of the Rojavan Kurds in holding back ISIS and protecting people of all religions and ethnic backgrounds. We would like immediate parliamentary discussion of the following:

1.UN presence along the Turkish Syrian border.

2.opening a dialogue directly with the YPG in Rojava to find out what it needs to defeat ISIS conclusively and supply it.

3.the immediate release of Silhan Ozcelik and any other person being held for wishing to fight against ISIS.

4.the de-listing of the PKK.

5.commitment of resources to ensure the return of every girl taken by ISIS and her return with appropriate support.

6.an investigation into Western ‘allies’ who may be funding or supporting ISIS and immediate action if they are. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Get writing- be heard!

Get writing if you want to be heard.

Are you sick of the apathy of western governments towards ISIS and its brutality? Write to your MP. 
This letter is aimed at UK politicians. I will post another one for the USA later. Feel free to copy and paste and/or adapt. If you get a response post below and let me know what it is. 

Dear

I am writing because I am extremely worried about events taking place in the Middle East, particularly the murder of innocent civilians at the hands of ISIS. ISIS is an invading force that is brutally murdering ethnic and religious minorities while the countries of the west sit by and watch.

However the west has a collective responsibility, as many of the members of ISIS are recruits from western countries and it is these people who, against every value that is important to us, are killing the Yezidis and beheading people, setting fire to them while they are alive and selling girls into slavery. What logic are we using to allow this to continue? Why is the west and the EU not providing comprehensive support to the Kurdish people, particularly in Rojava, Syria? These people (YPG, YPJ) are actively resisting the invasion of their towns and cities whilst also trying to support the refugees displaced by ISIS activity. I am aware that there are some coalition airstrikes in Ithe area however these are limited in northern Syria. In addition to this there is no conversation with the people on the ground in Rojava, Syria. There is little help available for the support of refugees or the rebuilding of liberated towns.

At the very least there should a clear and open discussion of these issues. In the meantime perhaps you could answer the following questions for me:

Why is there no UN presence along the Turkish Syrian border to prevent ISIS from accessing supporters and supplies and also to investigate allegations of Turkish forces not only obstructing aid from getting to the Kurds but also actively supporting ISIS?

Why is there no protected aid corridor into Rojava to facilitate the access of the refugees to aid and also to help with the rebuilding of towns such as Kobane?

Why is there no dialogue with the YPG and YPJ to find out what they need to continue their resistance against ISIS? Why are we not in discussion with them and providing them directly with help?

Why has Silhan Ozcelik, a young girl of 17 been arrested and remanded in Holloway for trying to join the YPG/J, an unlisted organisation to which many westerns belong, some of whom have returned but have not been arrested.

Why is there no concerted effort being made to commit resources to tracing and returning the girls who have been sold into slavery to their communities? Among the men selling them into sexual slavery and raping them are British citizens yet little is being done to investigate the crimes that the returning men may have committed against civilians.

Why is there no effort to acknowledge the efforts of the PKK in freeing the persecuted minorities (such as the Yezidis from Mt Sinjar) and for working alongside all other Kurdish factions to liberate Kurdish cities from ISIS, particularly since its imprisoned leader has lately been active in promoting dialogue rather than terrorist activities.

Why is there no formal investigation into the allegations that Turkey is taking an unofficial yet active part in supporting the terrorist organisation ISIS?

How many more British people are to be shamed by the apathy of their government into going out there to act against ISIS and possibly dying?

Will you please take steps to raise these issues in Parliament and get them put on the agenda urgently?

I look forward with interest to your answers to my questions and a speedy reply.

Yours sincerely

The petition- please sign

Here is the link to the petition that I promised you. Can we make it reach 100.000? If we do, the British Government will have to discuss it in parliament. Please sign and share.

Stop ISIS, act decisively

Stage 1-Twitter

Kosta's funeral.
Olive tree planted on his grave.

Sick of doing nothing? Join our campaign to #stop_ISIS. Select tweets from the list below or tweet all of them in turn, and between now (25/4/2015) and the end of May tweet them regularly. Let's try and get #stop_ISIS trending and lets get the powers that be sitting up and taking notice. Please note: No automatic software please. Tweet personally and sensibly.
Be wise, Be strong. Be hopeful.

Tweet selection

Women’s rights:

Protect women’s rights in #Syria #Iraq #stop_ISIS. Give women a choice. @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU #womensrights

Pro gay rights:

Protect gay people in #Syria #Iraq #stop_ISIS  Stop the killing now. @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU #LGBTrights

Antislavery:

Stop slavery now in #Syria #Iraq #stop_ISIS #bringbackourgirls  @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU  #Yezidi #womensrights

Archaeology/history:

Stop destruction of history/culture in #Iraq #Syria #stop_ISIS #archaeology @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Stop the looting.

Aid corridor:

Open an aid corridor into #Rojava. #stop_ISIS @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Help the refugees and civilians #Yezidi #refugees

Dialogue with Kurdish people:

Ask #YPG #Peshmerga what they need to #stop_ISIS @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Open #dialogue #Rojava

Silhan Ozcelik:

Free Silhan Ozcelik Don’t demonise people who want to #stop_ISIS @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU #Australia #YPG

  

Recognition:

Applaud our lions #Syria #Iraq @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU #SahidNamirin #YPG #YPJ #AJohnston #IHoffmann #EKScurfield #Peshmerga #stop_ISIS

PKK:

Delist the #PKK @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Work together to #stop_ISIS #negotiate, #reconciliation #dialogue

Acknowledgement:

Formally acknowledge role of Kurds in fight to #stop_ISIS @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU #thankyou #Peshmerga #YPG #YPJ

Rape/women:

Stop the rape now. Protect our girls/women in #Iraq #Syria @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU #Yezidi #womensrights #stop_ISIS

UN:

Involve the #UN #stop_ISIS in #Iraq #Syria @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Monitor borders #YPG #Turkey

Sanctions/finance:

Stop the smuggling @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Don’t buy their oil #stop_ISIS #ExxonMobil #RoyalDutchShell #BP

Anti-extremism:

Stop #extremism stop_ISIS @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Work together for a #freeworld #humanity

Pro ethnic minorities and religious freedom:

Protect the minorities in #Syria #Iraq #Yezidi. #stop_ISIS @Number10gov @BarackObama @JunckerEU Stop the killing now #ReligiousFreedom 

..

Call to action

My son,
KIA 2/3/2015

Now that some time has passed since Kosta’s death, my family and I have given some thought to his principles and desire to help and have decided that we can’t stand by and do nothing while innocent people continue to die at the hands of ISIS/Daesh/IS/ISIL. 

You must know about their barbarity- I don’t need to elaborate here, just perhaps to say that Daesh continues to sell women and girls into slavery, and execute through beheading, crucifixion and worse. They have a long term, stated plan to spread their ideology and system of government throughout North Africa and Southern Europe and into the UK and elsewhere. They are well resourced and don’t lack money or recruits. Mostly, at the moment they are being held back by the Kurdish people in Iraq and Syria. Coalition forces are supporting the Kurdish people in Iraq, through air strikes and the provision of some weapons, however in Syria, in the region of Rojava where my son was killed, the Kurdish people have much less support. In this region, where some of the worst fighting is happening, the men and women (because there are organised women’s units too as the Kurdish people believe in equality for men and women) only have one blanket between two soldiers, they are not allowed to buy weapons legally even though they have the resources to do so and I am told aid is being repeatedly turned back in Turkey before it can reach them.

Ashley Johnston
KIA Feb 23/2/2015

Let’s imagine, for a minute, a world in which these Kurdish people hadn’t mounted a resistance to Daesh. Let’s imagine that Daesh had walked into Northern Syria and completely taken over the area of Rojava and the area of Iraqi Kurdistan. Let’s imagine they had retained the oil producing areas completely and were sitting on all that money.

This success would have resonated with many extremists and perhaps been used as propaganda to ‘prove’ that their twisted ideology was good and righteous. This would have lent validity to their claims and increased their resources in terms of money and man power (neither of which they’re currently short of by the way, and you’ve got to ask where they’re getting it from). An increase in fervour and fire, manpower and money means that they would be consolidating their positions and ready and able to move closer to their ultimate goal. Aside from their expansionistic aims their goal is a world in which gay men and women will have been eradicated, women will be limited to their roles as broodmares and carers for men, there would be no music or theatre, no freedom of religious expression, books would be limited to their brand of religious treatises, art and history would be wiped out and, as we saw a group of 13 year old boys executed for playing football, it is clear that there would be no sport

The Kurdish people are slowing them down and even pushing them back, however the Kurdish people have few resources and are being obstructed by Western Governments. I am not advocating a boots on the ground approach but I am about to start a peaceful campaign to ask our government to be instrumental in securing UN monitors all along the Turkish-Syrian border and the opening of a humanitarian corridor via Turkey into Rojava, among other things. To this end I have set up a facebook group called Kosta’s Olive Tree and I wish to invite you to join if you are interested in expressing your abhorrence at the atrocities being carried out by this caliphate cult.

The very least we can do is continue to support those
 still fighting the caliphate cult..

My aim is a good old fashioned letter writing campaign, a petition and a twitter campaign- that’s all, however I am hoping to organise this for maximum impact and to get it all happening within a certain time framework; hopefully June once the new UK government is bedded in. More on this will be posted in the group and on this blog, along with letter formats that people can use to copy and paste into emails etc. so that people would need to do the minimum. My aim is to make it so that the British government can’t ignore the issue any longer and that something is done to protect the people in Kurdistan and especially Rojava, where, uniquely to the Middle East they actively support women’s equality and fight for LGBT rights and where they believe everyone should be allowed to worship who they wish, if they wish and in their own way. Even without the obvious humanitarian need to stop this sort of horrendous atrocity happening the bottom line is that if the Kurdish people stop Daesh they serve all our interests and protect our society, which might be flawed but at least provides hope. It doesn’t matter whether you are British or not, you can still write to your MP and it doesn’t matter which country you live in- please still sign the petition. Please feel free to adapt my letters to write to your own government or your Euro MP as well.

Kurdish Newroz celebrations - talk

I wrote and gave this talk at the Kurdish Newroz (New Year) celebration at Finsbury Park in London, shortly after Kosta was killed.

Thank you for inviting us here to share your new year’s celebrations. I know that Kosta was looking forward to participating in them with his new friends in Rojava. He spoke to me about Newroz with excitement and he would have loved to have been here.

Newroz at Finsbury Park, London, 2015

Newroz is a new celebration for me. I had heard of it but I didn’t really know much about it.  It seems to me that Newroz reminds us that the Kurdish people are one people no matter where they live. It reminds us that individually they are strong but together they could be unbeatable. It reminds us that they have a distinct, unique and ancient culture that should be valued and preserved.

Celebrations like this are bitter sweet. Among the joy of such a time we must all remember loved ones who are no longer with us and the struggle in which they were lost. Whether our loved ones were lost at Halabja or Heseke, Kobane, Til Hamis or Tikrit, whether they were lost years ago or yesterday their spirit lives on in our fight against injustice and unfairness.

At times like this it can be easy to become distracted by feelings of hatred and rage but remember that hatred is the dark, destructive emotion that fuels the so called IS. When the year is renewed and the coming months are, as yet, unwritten pages, we need to look forward and not back. We need to channel this rage at the injustice and the atrocities that are still being committed against Kurdish people, and we need to use it to fuel a strong and unshakeable resolve; a bone deep determination to succeed against this organisation no matter what.

Recently people have asked me, ‘What is the difference between Kosta, who went to join the YPG and fight in Syria, and the men who go out to join IS?’ You and I know what the difference is. Your friends and relatives live the reality every day. So called IS is aggressive, YPG like other Kurds, is defensive; IS is oppressive, YPG and the Kurdish people together, is about people and their right to free choice; IS seeks to suffocate and eradicate anything that doesn’t fit their belief system, YPG seeks to nurture and grow communities.

You and I know that self-styled IS must be defeated. There is no acceptable alternative. We will do what it takes and we will succeed because all the Kurdish people are on the side of humanity, the side that allows choice and fairness; that recognises the equality of women and the right to practise your own religion and culture.

The governments of all countries that share Western values need to understand that without the Kurdish people there would be no stopping this caliphate cult called IS. If Rojava wasn’t putting up such a brave and successful resistance, a resistance Kosta was part of, and if the resistance wasn’t also being realised in places like Tikrit in the Kurdish region in Iraq, then this caliphate cult would spread unhindered. This inhuman cult will not be happy with a little bit of Syria or a little bit of Iraq. It is a greedy monster that will continue eating peoples up until its belly is full to bursting with the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe, and then it will look even further afield.

The whole world is at risk from the dark ideology of caliphate cult IS and it is the Kurdish fighters at the front line every day who are keeping it at bay. Just as Newroz brings light to darkness and spring to winter so the Kurdish people create hope and courage against the darkness of Daesh and show how tyranny can be defeated.

I beg the governments of Europe, USA, Australia and all other countries that share similar beliefs about equality and freedom to make sure that all Kurdish people participating in the resistance are properly equipped and supplied to continue the fight; I beg them to make sure that all Kurdish people have access to medical supplies and proper aid. I beg these governments to understand exactly who the real terrorists are. I beg them not to get distracted. Please don’t turn your faces away.

Here in the UK what can we do? Well, there are at least seven thousand people here tonight. That’s seven thousand Kurdish voices. If everyone here writes one letter to their MP that will be almost every MP in the country who will be made aware of the issues. If every person here asks to meet with their MP and talk to them to discuss these issues, that would be seven thousand meetings across the country. The MPs may not be able to change anything yet but not one of them would be able to say that they don’t have a clear understanding of the and they would not be able to get away with ignoring it. It doesn’t matter whether you are a citizen of the UK or not. It doesn’t matter if you can speak and write English well or not. Your assembly can give you a letter to copy and you have the right for your voice to be heard.

There are approximately fifty thousand Kurdish people in the UK. If just thirty thousand of you write a letter to a Minister- let’s say, for example the Deputy Prime Minister, or the Secretary of State for Defence, that is a lot of letters for his staff to open and they have to answer every one of them. But imagine- if each of those thirty thousand Kurdish people gets three non- Kurdish friends to also write that is ninety thousand letters. If everyone sends all these letters in one week-wow! Even if the government doesn’t take any action this time it will start to wake up and it will have to take notice. We can use this power to pester the government and let them know that we will not be silent and we will not go away.

My son has lit a fire in the hearts of the Kurdish people. His death has directly touched hearts across three countries. Every one of you can keep that fire burning and continue to make the difference. Every one of you can light a new, small fire underneath your MP and the government and with those fires you can light the way together. Every one of you can reach out and tell your story. Every one of you can spread the message and make sure no-one forgets about the Kurdish people.

Thank you.

Newroz pirosbe. 

Talk given at Kurdish reception after Erik Konstandinos Scurfield's death

I wrote and gave this talk at a reception in Parliament shortly after Kosta's death.

I would like to start by taking this opportunity to thank the Kurdish people from the Rojava region for looking after my son and honouring him and for their support in his repatriation and the financial assistance they’re giving us for this. I’d also like to thank the people from the Kurdish region of Iraq and particularly the Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani for their support of my husband during this difficult time and for pulling out all the stops to expedite the paperwork so that we can bring Kosta home. It is heart-warming to see Kurdish people coming together over a common goal and it bodes well for the future. I’d also like to thank the Foreign and Commonwealth office and the police for their advice, support and encouragement and my MP Dan Jarvis and his office for their unstinting support, advice and empathy which helped keep us strong; my family, friends, acquaintances and even total strangers for their hugs and exceptional support which have helped ease our grief. We’d also like to thank the media in the UK and Greece for the respect and dignity they have shown in their discussion of Kosta.

Kosta was not a mercenary. He wasn’t an out of work soldier looking for an adventure or something to do to pass the time. After fulfilling his obligation to Greece by doing his national service there, he joined the Royal Marines and only left his well-paid job there in order to go to Syria to fight against so called IS. He wasn’t paid a wage as a reward for going out to oppose IS; he gave up a wage to do it.

As a Royal Marine I was told Kosta was exemplary. While serving in the Marines and on exercise in Nevada, I am told he saved the life of a colleague by administering timely first aid. He was also one of the first on the scene when Luke Island lost his life in the Cairngorms and he insisted on keeping a long vigil at Luke’s side until the necessary authorities arrived. While in Rojava he worked alongside thousands of Kurds to create a corridor so that the trapped Yezidi people whose plight touched the heart of the British nation could leave mount Sinjar and escape to relative safety in Rojava. While participating in this he administered first aid to an injured colleague and carried him down the mountain to safety, saving his life. When Ashley Johnston fell Kosta went to retrieve his body. We are told he was a positive motivating force and always first to volunteer. Kosta would never ask someone to do something that he himself wasn’t prepared to do first.

Ashley Johnston and Kosta. Both served in the same YPG unit and both died within a week of each other.

Kosta was determined to make a difference and although this is not a way that many of us would have had him choose, it was the way he considered the best for him and I am proud of him for finding the courage to do this. He went out to oppose so called IS of course but really he went out to support the fundamental rights of every human being to live in their own country, with a government they have chosen rather than one imposed on them by religious ideology, the right to worship the God of their choice, in the way they choose, to celebrate their own culture and language, to read and speak freely, to make music and enjoy art or play football without fear of brutal execution. In other words he was a humanitarian who, in his own words, wanted to help.

We have found the support of so many people stunning and inspiring. We welcome it but we must remember that he is not the only person to have died at the hands of so called IS. He is not the only hero. I am not the only mother who is grieving. We mustn’t forget Ashley Johnston, Ivanna Hoffmann, James Foley, Ali al Sayyed, Steven Sotloff, David Haines, Abbas Medlej, Hervé Gourdel killed by an affiliated group in Algeria, Alan Henning, cameraman Raad al-Azzawi, Peter Edward Kassig, Haruna Yukawa, Kenji Goto Jogo, Hujam Surchi of the Peshmerga, Moaz al-Kassasbeh of Jordan, 21 Coptic Christians, 500 Kurdish men and women combatants, the victims of Charlie Hebdo, the Iraqi soldiers executed and dropped into mass graves, the group of 13 year olds executed for playing football, and the thousands of civilian women and children sold into slavery or brutally murdered for being the wrong religion or race. There are many more who we don’t know about and can’t name.

Does any human being really believe this self-titled IS is Islamic? Does any rational person really believe it is a state? It has repeatedly proved through its actions that it is a gang of genocidal, mass murdering, and sex trafficking terrorists and we should give them a name that reflects this. To call them anything else lends them credence.

Kosta may not have been supporting British political interests with his actions but he was certainly supporting British values. Values that are pretty standard across the Western world and that we take for granted. Values that make me grateful every day that I live in Europe. He was born on the day of the Deal bombings and in the year that the Berlin wall fell. He saw the Balkan wars, the Afghanistan war and the Iraq war. He was brought up in a multi-cultural, multi lingual family. He was taught to value Democracy, religious freedom and the rights of women. He watched while the Western world joined wars to promote these values and then he watched while genocide and brutal executions took place, while women were sold into slavery, and those same governments did nothing. Being brought up to think critically and having acquired a set of specific and valuable skills he decided that it was cowardly to stand by on the sidelines so he went to do what he could and what he believed was right. In our family we have always believed that if something needs to be done you step up and get it done, rather than wait for someone else to do it and he did exactly that, in the end giving his life for these values.

He was one small drop in a massive ocean but he has caused big ripples and now I ask that the governments and media across the world turn their attention to so called IS. Shine the spotlight on them so brightly that there is no shadow deep enough for them to hide. Name and shame every government and politician that supports this organisation either covertly or overtly and ensure they are sanctioned, name and shame every organisation that sells them weapons, buys their oil or does any business with them at all and ensure strong penalties. Self-titled IS needs two things in order to continue their foul work. They need people and they need money. Let’s think creatively about how we can cut off their supplies of both even if it means rethinking treaties.

Not everyone can be a Kosta but there are elections coming up. If you are feeling politically apathetic but have strong feelings about self-titled IS, then here is a cause and a clear reason to get involved. Ask your MP what their view is on so called IS. Ask what they are going to do about it. Ask what will be done to immediately secure a humanitarian corridor into Rojava so that the refugees who Kosta helped can now have the aid they need. Ask what our government is going to do to support the work of Mogens Lykketoft, the Danish MP who says that strong action is needed to ensure thousands of women who have been taken captive and are being sold to rich businessmen are returned to their former lives. Ask your MPs what they are going to do to ensure that pressure is put on countries where these women are being trafficked to ensure that it ceases and they are returned. Ask why we are not supporting the Kurds at the frontline in Syria by, at the very least, equipping them with defensive equipment such as bullet proof vests and night vision goggles. These Rojavan Kurds are the 300 Spartans fighting the massive Persian army; they are inadequately equipped but armed with spirit, conviction and the desire to protect home and hearth, they have shown that the so called IS is not invincible and they have halted its advance. We owe them as much help as we can. Let’s stop standing by and let’s instead think creatively about grinding down and putting out the biggest threat to the world since the Nazis.