Öykü Dilara Keskin / JINHA

ISTANBUL - As the fourth anniversary of the Rojava revolution approaches, members of the Peace Mothers say they will do everything necessary to support the people of Rojava in the face of attacks.

July 19 will mark four years since the Rojava revolution began in the cities of Kobanê, Amûdê, Efrîn and Dêrik, when Kurdish forces bloodlessly seized the cities from Assad's hands. Many Kurdish youths have left home to join the egalitarian, pro-women revolution there. Meanwhile, the Peace Mothers--a group that works for a just peace in the region, many of them with children in the YPG/YPJ fighting forces--have organized to support the revolution.

In the third year of the revolution, heavily armed Daesh members began an all-out, months-long assault on the Rojava city of Kobanê. As the attacks began, thousands of people in Turkey flocked to the border villages just across from Kobanê. The people formed an encampment, determined to prevent Daesh forces from crossing into the besieged city with the help of Turkish forces. The civilians standing watch over the border were subjected to countless attempts by the Turkish military to disperse the encampment with tear gas, pressurized water and live bullets.

The Peace Mothers were a constant presence at the Kobanê border. Many of their daughters were fighting in the YPJ, the women's defense force that became legendary for its defense of the city from notoriously patriarchal Daesh. For months, they stood guard at the border, ululating loud enough for those on the front--any one of whom might be their children--to hear.

Bedia Gökgüz recalled her days at the borderline with pain. "There was always gunfire; there were always bodies coming back across the border," said Bedia.

The liberation of Kobanê was good news for the Mothers, but as the anniversary of the Rojava revolution approaches, they say their pain and fear is not over. "We're waiting for the war to end, but [our children's] bodies keep coming. It's tearing mothers' hearts out," said Bedia.

"Our children are fighting fearlessly over there," said Emine Özbek, a Peace Mother. "We'll do everything we can for Rojava. As mothers, we're ready to give anything, even our lives."

(sö/dc/gc/fk/cm)