International mobilisation for Kobanê

Reconstruction process and international solidarity campaign for Kobanê has gained momentum following the conference held in Amed last week.

As more and more Kobanê people are turning back to their hometown which they had been forced to leave during the war time, the reconstruction process and international aid and solidarity campaign has gained momentum following the conference held in Amed last week to discuss the concrete plans for the rebuilding of the devastated town.

Narin Gezgör of Suruç municipality, in charge of projects within the campaign for the reconstruction of Kobanê, told that many international solidarity campaigns have been launched to provide aid for the rebuilding of Kobanê and gave information about the works.

Gezgör reported that a solidarity campaign has been started in Basel Canton of Sweden under the name “Basel-Kobanê solidarity” with the participation of 6 municipalities, 2 political parties and employers. Gezgör stated that 100 houses will be built in Kobanê with the fund raised in the campaign.

She told that the tents and containers in Suruç where Kobanê people were sheltered have now remained empty with the return of their bordering kins back to their hometown. She said the Suruç Municipality is now sending these materials to Kobanê to continue providing shelter for the citizens of the war-torn town who are staying in limited number of undamaged or less-damaged houses. She recalled that 80% of the town has been devastated during the attacks of the ISIS gangs, adding that aid and solidarity is still needed in Kobanê.

Gezgör said the reconstruction work and solidarity campaigns are being organised in a more systematic and rapid way following the 2-3 May Amed conference that discussed concrete solutions and projects for the rebuilding of the town with the participation of 370 delegates.

Gezgör informed that the solidarity campaign in Basel was launched by jointly by SGK (Schweizerisch Kurdische Gemeinschaft, Swiss Kurdish Society), Med Cultural Centre and Basel-Wan Fraternity Association, and also supported by the municipalities of Basel, Baselland, Riehen, Bettingen, Birsfelden and Liestal as well as by the Social Democrat Party and Basel Communist Alternative Party.

Gezgör said a festival for Kobanê will be organised in Basel on 9 May in the scope of the campaign which aims to build a Sweden village with 100 houses in Kobanê. She stated that 20 containers have been sent to Kobanê as the first phase of the campaign, and that families of martyrs will be accommodated in these houses.

Remarking that the campaign aims to deliver at least 100 houses to Kobanê, Gezgör added that the campaign will also initiate a “sister family” project in which a Swiss family will take care of a Kobanê family.

Gezgör called on all the caring and democratic circles around the world, and the people of North Kurdistan to join the solidarity campaign for Kobanê in a spirit of mobilisation.

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