This is the story of Bedriye Taş “Ronahi” and Nilgün Yıldırım “Berivan”, who set their bodies on fire, together, hand in hand, in the Newroz of 1994.
Newroz has not only been a day of celebration and resistance for the Kurds in the Middle East, but also for those Kurds who were forced to migrate from their homeland and live as refugees in Europe.
Bedriye Taş (Ronahi) had migrated to Europe from Turkey’s southeastern province of Maraş (Mereş).
Ronahi met with the Kurdish freedom struggle and actively participated in the struggle of Kurdish women’s freedom.
Living in Europe, trying to struggle for the rights of the Kurdish people and receiving daily news reports of endless horrific rights violations that the Kurds have been subjected to in Kurdistan and in Germany, Ronahi had began to share her ideas that urgent action must have been taken to oppose these policies.
Nilgün Yıldırım (Berivan) was born in Turkey’s eastern province of Dersim, and had to migrate to Europe with her family due to the political pressures they faced.
Her path had crossed with Ronahi in their joint struggle for freedom.
Bedriye Taş (Ronahi) ve Nilgün Yıldırım (Berivan) launched an action of self-sacrifice in Germany as part of the resistance actions during the Newroz of 1994. In the city of Mannheim, Ronahi and Berivan set their bodies on fire hand in hand on 21 March 1994.