Hunergeha Welat, a Qamishlo-based cultural centre, released a video clip on 13 November to highlight recent allegations of Turkey’s use of chemical weapons against Kurdish fighters.
The clip starts by showing guerrillas trying to dig break through rock with hammers to escape the fumes of chemical weapons.
Then the frame is directed to four Kurdish women cleaning sheep fleeces by beating them in harmony with the music.
The clip goes on to show how chemical weapons are affecting the daily lives of Kurdish people, including images of everyone wearing gas masks in their daily lives, right down to driving a tractor or going to school.
Although the actions of the people depict the core of daily life, most of them look through the camera out into the world with expressions of shock, as they try to deal with what is happening to them.
At the end of the clip, they all stand looking out, under the fumes of chemical weapons.
The lyrics draw attention to Turkey’s alleged use of chemical weapons against Kurdish people and point out that Turkey historically brought poison from many countries.
Using historical references, the lyrics explain how Turkish forces used chemical weapons in the cities of Serekaniyeh and Avashin in North and East Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
Some of the lyrics are as follows:
Turks in the back of Gesiya
They threw gas into the grass
In Serekaniyeh and Avashin
They brought poison
They threw it on the lives
Werxel [a warfare mountain] start to talk
Knob on the heads of the Young Turks
A generation of furious
There is no abatement of the enemies
Earlier in October, the People’s Defence Forces (HPG) released footage showing two guerrillas who had been caught in a Turkish chemical weapons attack against Kurdish fighters.
Although many demonstrations took place in different countries, no formal investigation has started until now. Turkey denies the allegations.
