CISDA in support of Kurdistan

The history of CISDA’s commitment to Kurdistan originates in January 2015, when three CISDA representatives met in London with some Kurdish militants from the local community. From that conversation, in which political visions and experiences intertwine and increasingly reveal themselves to be consonant, was born the project of a delegation to Kurdistan made up of CISDA comrades and journalists and other activists, a delegation which actually materializes in the first fifteen days of the March 2015.

The meeting in London was not accidental: for months, since autumn 2014, CISDA had been carefully following the demonstrations that were multiplying in Afghanistan in support of the heroic resistance of Kobane in the face of the advance of ISIS.

The delegation therefore had the task of building a bridge between Kurdish political militants and militants of the Afghan democratic movements, with the aim of mutual political support. Furthermore, they wanted to bring economic aid to the exhausted Kurdish population of Kobane displaced in Suruç.

• Between 1 and 15 March 2015, the delegation organized by CISDA then delivered the funds collected in Italy (10,000 euros) dividing them among the following beneficiaries:
• Rojava Solidarity of Suruç, for the purchase of basic necessities for the displaced people of Kobane hosted in the city’s refugee camps;
• Kobane Municipality, for the reconstruction of the city;
• Refugee camp near Diyarbakir, for displaced Yazidis;
• HDP party, for activities in favor of the displaced people of Kobane (setting up and maintaining camps);
• Women Peace Initiative Center in Istanbul, for the payment of travel expenses of volunteers who go to work among the refugees of Kobane for periods ranging from three to six months;
• Heyva Sor (Kurdistan Red Crescent).

CISDA intends to continue cooperation with these Kurdish political realities, without detracting attention and commitment from the activities of the associations it has always supported in Afghanistan. It will therefore keep communication and exchange open with the UIKI (Italian Kurdistan Information Office), with the Kurdistan Red Crescent and with the comrades of the Kurdish Liberation Movement, also continuing to raise funds and organizing initiatives in favor of Kurdistan.

This political openness to Kurdistan is not only shared, but indeed decidedly encouraged by the Afghan democratic movements with which CISDA collaborates.