The symbol of the YPJ, the Women's Defense Units of Rojava, is emblazoned on one of the houses on Hafenstraße, the so-called block of six. The residents of Hafenstraße want to express their solidarity against the persecution of the Kurdish movement in the Federal Republic, as well as their attachment to the fighting in Afrin and Rojava.

On Friday, a scaffolding was set up to carry out the painting work. On Saturday the mural was painted and Monday morning, the new mural was unveiled and the scaffolding was dismantled.

In particular, the attack on the Mesopotamian Publishing House (Mezopotmamien Verlag) in Neuss was the impetus for the solidarity action, according to one of the residents. The Federal Republic supported the fascism and the cultural destruction in Kurdistan, he explained.

As early as 1994, the facade of another house at Hafenstraße 116, was painted with the ERNK flag, today's PKK flag, in protest against the ban on Kurdish organizations in 1993 and the murder of Kurdish youth Halim Dener. At that time, the facade was painted shortly before the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth, a touristic event that attracted tens of thousands of visitors. The police could not take action because of the many tourists, but came shortly thereafter to paint the entire symbol with black tar paint.

In a few days, the port birthday is just around the corner. 25 years later, the trees in front of the houses are much taller than in 1994, but many visitors will still see the mural.

Today, the legal basis is different, the houses belong to a cooperative, and without a legal basis, the facades could not be painted over by the police today, "on the other hand, we would defend ourselves legally," said the inhabitant.

Below we document the statement of the residents:

Solidarity is a weapon!

Afrin - Rojava - a rare place in the war zone

We designed our south facade with a symbol of Women's Defense Units (YPJ) in Syrian Kurdistan. This expresses our anger at the state repression experienced by the Kurdish movement in Germany.

An attempt of self-government and a coexistence of very different peoples and groups of the population has been stifled in Afrin since January 2018 by the Turkish army and their Islamist supporters. Many people - civilians and fighters - have died resisting this attempt. More people were expelled or fled from the Turkish army.

The Turkish army has led its campaign with weapons and equipment of the Federal Government and other NATO countries as well as the approval of Russia. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the police have placed the symbols of Kurdish self-government in northern Syria under the general suspicion of the PKK ban. Accordingly, protest and solidarity have been and continue to be obstructed and muzzled. During demonstrations, flags, banners and posters showing symbols of the YPG are seized. Apartments and shops with pro-Kurdish explanations are searched. Kurdish literature and phonograms are also confiscated. Freedom of speech and assembly are obviously not a matter of course when it comes to post-colonial statehood, arms exports, state rationale and deals between the EU and Turkey.

We have designed our facade with a symbol that is sometimes more, sometimes less, a reason for seizures, police operations and investigations. The police have already made a mockery with their "Soko - wall and paint". The prohibition of the PKK does not help anybody except currently President Erdogan. The foreign policy hypocrisy of the federal government and its business dealings with Turkey does not suit many people here.

In northern Syria, the Kurdish population has taken the opportunity to build up their own self-government, to strengthen civilian structures and to start emancipation projects. Women have increasingly taken opportunities to shape their life situations themselves - far beyond the conventional framework. Many women can now help to define social neighborhoods, economic developments and social cooperation. There are women's percentages of 40%, which are not realized in the Federal Republic.

In the midst of the collapse of the post-colonial order and the war fronts in the Middle and Near East, this is not a conflict-free process. Unfortunately, the opportunity was not given to local people to develop their projects and structures free of war violence, military logics and economic misery. However, taking his life into his own hands is a motive that many things can start with.

We use our house wall as a great banner of solidarity and hope that Rojava and the Kurdish self-government still gets a real chance and not like Afrin is sacrificed on the altar of geopolitical interests.

Today, the situation in Kurdish Syria is in the center on this wall of houses. Tomorrow we will speak on another wall of the racial profiling of the Hamburg police around our homes and racist murders in that republic. It is needed and there are still many walls to paint.

Use your wall. Let the color run.

Tenants from St. Pauli-Hafenstr.