Fallen martyrs of Afrin resistance
Our comrades, Kendal Breizh and Baran Galicia, two of our internationalist fighters, who took their places at the forefront of the historical resistance against the fascist attacks of the invading Turkish army and its allied gang groups against the Canton Afrin, were martyred in the clashes with the occupiers at the Jinderise front on February 10.
Our comrades Baran and Kendal have joined the struggle to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people at a time when the peoples’ revolution in Rojava Kurdistan and Northern Syria, created by blood and labour, was attacked by invading reactionary forces. They were determined to protected the revolution and its gains at the expense of their lives. These comrades, who are part of this magnificent resistance that our struggle has embarked on behalf of human dignity in the Middle East, have become symbols of the internationalist revolutionary spirit and struggle for democracy in the Middle East. Comrades Baran and Kendal came from thousands of kilometres away, from Brittain and Spain to participate in the struggle against ISIS barbarism in Rojava and proved their commitment to the struggle and universal socialist values until their very last moment.
Comrade Kendal came from Brittain to Kurdistan and Comrade Baran came from Spain. In summer 2017 they joined the ranks of the People’s Defense Units (YPG) and played an active role in the battle against ISIS reactionism. These two comrades gave great efforts for the liberation of the main bases of ISIS, such as the cities Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, and they participated continuously in the war lasting for months. On January 20, when the invading Turkish army and many jihadist terror organizations like al-Nusra and ISIS started their joint attacks against the Canton Afrin, they came to this region with many internationalist friends upon their own suggestions. They were determined to participate in the struggle of humanity that has been led in Afrin against the barbarian occupation forces. Our comrades Baran and Kendal resisted just as they did in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, against these terrorist groups that share the same mentality and inhuman practices as ISIS. The salafist groups ISIS and its ally Al Qaeda that have been sponsored and commanded by the fascist AKP regime in Turkey, are one of the most dangerous threats not only to humankind in Northern Syria and Rojava Kurdistan. They are threatening at the same time the values of democratic socialism and progressive societies as well as humanity as a whole. By participating in the struggle against these forces our comrades defended the paradigm and the values of a democratic, ecological and women liberated society. Our comrades were convinced by this paradigm as a universal principle and as the only hope for the future of the Middle East. In the lives of both comrades the principle of “understanding requires action” found concrete expression, which our understanding of struggle and life philosophy are based on. Instead of expecting others to carry out what they understood, they undertook their responsibilities showing a vital and courageous attitude as internationalist revolutionaries.
As a part of our commitment towards our comrades efforts and as a characteristic of our struggle history, we promise to take up the fight of our comrades Kendal and Baran until the darkness of Turkey supported ISIS and Al Qaeda groups is completely drowned in this region. By commemorating the names of our comrades Kendal and Baran, we once again express our respect and gratitude to all the internationalist martyrs of our struggle. We offer our condolences to the families of our martyrs, to their loved ones, and to all the progressive people.
Şehîd Namirin!
Victory will sooner or later be the victory of the resisting peoples!
The ID details of our martyrs as follows;
Name Surname: Samuel Prada Leon
Nom de guerre: Baran Galicia
Date/Place of Birth: Ourense, 1993
Date/Place of Martyrdom: February 10, 2018 – Afrin
Name Surname: Olivier François Jean Le Clainche
Nom de guerre: Kendal Breizh
Date/Place of Birth: Malestroit, 1977
Date/Place of Martyrdom: February 10, 2018 – Afrin
By Doug Helman, Executive Director —There are many things that I appreciate about our affiliation with Kendal, our Quaker heritage being one, and sharing of ideas being another. I was fortunate to see those two areas of appreciation intersect at a previous meeting between other Kendal Executive Directors and Kendal corporate staff. A topic on the meeting agenda asked Executive Directors to describe how their community inculcates Kendal’s Values and Practices and Quaker heritage into the employee orientation process. It became evident in the conversation that most communities were doing something similar, but none were doing exactly the same thing … fortunately that’s pretty true with anything Kendal, which is something else I enjoy about “The Kendal Way”! Kendal at Granville takes a similar approach to many other Kendal communities in that I and other Executive Directors are the individuals covering Kendal’s Values and Practices and Quaker heritage during “in-class” employee orientation.