A festival, contributing towards awareness of femicide, ecocide (the destruction of nature) and cultural genocide was organised in Turkey’s eastern province of Van (Wan) by the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Mesopotamia News Agency reports.
The festival began on 21 August with a photography exhibition, a performance of folk dances and a concert by the JİN MA music band and Nuray Balık in the city of Van.
On the second day, a concert was staged at the site of the fairy chimneys in Başkale (Elbak) district. The eagerly awaited concert by Aryen Kom was preceded by a cheering crowd of young people who danced and sang.
The festival was supported by the Free Women’s Movement (TJA), the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), the Aryen Culture Centre and the Mesopotamia Culture Centre.
A film screening and a performance by a group of dengbej will be taking place on the third day of the festival.
Dengbej is a Kurdish music genre in which the performer tells a story through the medium of music. The dengbêjs [performers] have historically been persecuted for singing in Kurdish: they can still face prosecution on ‘charges of terror propaganda,’ depending on the government’s policies of the moment.
