After 29 friends were arrested by Turkish police on Friday evening, they were all deported to Europe today by various means. A friend who was deported to Hanover reports mistreatment in prison: “Some of us could no longer walk,” she says. “But we will not stop fighting—for a free Kobanê, a free Rojava, and also a better life here in Germany. We will fight against German support for Turkey and the war in Syria, we will fight against arms deliveries.”

The youth delegation, which was arrested shortly before and deported to Germany on Friday, also reports psychological and physical abuse and sexualized violence in Turkish deportation detention. They had been arrested after participating in a demonstration in Nusaybin. Among them were several journalists who were reporting on the protests on site. In Bakur, the Kurdish part of Turkey, protests against the war in Syria and in solidarity with Rojava are organized daily. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested by Turkish police last week. The charges are mostly “membership in a criminal organization” or “propaganda for an illegal organization” and, in principle, “terrorism.” Numerous house searches are also taking place, during which houses are ransacked and mobile phone PINs are obtained through torture.

This is the daily reality of the Kurdish people in Turkey and their resistance against oppression.

Most of the participants in the “Peoples’ Caravan for the Defense of Humanity” are now back in Germany. Others are making their way to Rojava to draw attention to the dramatic situation there and to break through the ongoing siege of Kobane by the Islamist Syrian government and Turkey. The “Rojava Delegation for Humanity” with participants from Switzerland and Germany has arrived in Rojava. They are drawing particular attention to the situation in the health sector: the Aykûr Children’s Hospital, for example, is on the verge of collapse due to a dramatic shortage of fuel, food, and oxygen. It is feared that under these circumstances, healthcare for the population cannot be maintained for much longer.

A delegation of Kurdish artists and musicians has also made its way to Rojava to meet with civil institutions and connect with the local community. Resistance has many facets. Art and culture are also an important part of the Kurdish struggle for a free life.