International martyrs of the Rojava Revolution - III: Emir Qubadi

Persian fighter Emir Qubadi is another hero of the streets of resistance. He set off from Russia in October 2014 after the mobilization call for Kobanê. “I am here until Kobanê is liberated,” he said.

Emir Qubadi from Iran was one of those who took part in the struggle for victory in the resistance city of Kobanê. Rojvan Kobanê was his nom de guerre. Qubadi was born in 1991 in the city of Mashhad in the Khorasan province in north-eastern Iran. Qubadi then went to Russia and lived there. When Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, whom he described as "the great world leader", said that "All humanity must defend Kobanê", he decided to go to Kobanê. He set off from Russia in October 2014 and arrived in Rojava. He said: “I join the YPG to defend the dignity of the peoples of Kobanê and the world. The blood of honourable people is being shed here.”

PARTICIPATION IN STRUGGLE

Qubadi went to Kobanê during the most intense attacks. He fought together with Kurdish and Arab fighters in the resistance streets of Kobanê. In the beginning, he couldn't speak the same language as his comrades, but he impressed them with his stance, assertiveness and morale. In a short time, he established candid relations with all his fellow fighters on the front and contributed to the collective life. He quickly got a good grasp of the Kurdish language. He was so devoted to his comrades that he improved his language skills within a month to further strengthen relationships with them. He participated in the struggle with great enthusiasm and efforts, challenging all the difficulties.

MARTYRED WHILE RESCUING HIS INJURED COMRADES

Qubadi was one of the first fighters of the internationalist struggle that started in Kobanê and has continued for ten years. He was the first Persian international to die in the ranks of the resistance. As an Iranian, he did not recognize the persecution and dictatorship of the Iranian regime and went to Kobanê in an act of protest. He resisted in the spirit of the international revolutionary struggle. He was 23 years old. He was martyred on December 22, 2014, while rescuing his comrades who had been injured during a military operation to liberate the culture and art centre in Kobanê downtown. Before he fell, he had said that, “My happiest moment in the Kobanê battle was to save an injured comrade from an armed conflict.” He was ready to sacrifice his life for his comrades.

HE URGED ALL IRANIAN PEOPLE TO JOIN THE REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE

In a video he shot while fighting in the resistance positions in Kobanê, he urged all peoples in Iran to join the Kurdish revolutionary struggle. He said that the Kurds and the Persians are brothers and sisters and have a common history of 3000 years. In an interview with Fırat News Agency (ANF) on December 18, 2014, four days before he was martyred, he said: “We did not come just for battle. We came for a superior ideology, an ideology that insists on humanity. I am here until Kobanê is liberated."

INSPIRED BY ÖCALAN’S PHILOSOPHY

His comrades, alongside whom he fought in Kobanê, described him as follows: “He was a man with sophisticated ideas and a strong ideological perspective for the brotherhood of the peoples and the freedom of the peoples of the Middle East. He was a comrade who participated in the struggle under difficult conditions with great enthusiasm and effort. He was always very eager to fulfil his duties. He participated in this resistance for the freedom of all oppressed peoples and displayed great will in a short time. He was reading Öcalan’s books and trying to apply his ideas to real life. He was a good follower of Öcalan's philosophy to offer a solution and will in any condition."