By Ivana Benario
Dedicated to the 33 lives of Suruç
In 2015, the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) in Turkey launched the campaign “We defended it together, we will rebuild it together” as a practical expression of the idea of “being in the right place at the right time.” Inspired by the spirit of the Gezi Uprising, a mass movement in 2013 that began as an environmental sit-in at Gezi Park in Istanbul and quickly evolved into a democratic people’s uprising, and the Revolution of Rojava, the campaign mobilized youth across the country to support the war-torn city of Kobanê in Rojava, Northern Syria.
The SGDF has a rich history of solidarity and activism in this regard. Revolutionary ideas and collective thinking have been evident in various campaigns, from the Kardeş Üniversite (Sister University) initiative, which connected the western part of Turkey with the Kurdish Dicle University, to human shield actions against colonial aggression targeting the Kurdish people, and the reconstruction of the bombed Zap Bridge, a symbol of the struggle first rebuilt by the ‘68 generation revolutionaries. Additionally, the campaign against the NATO Missile Shield, as well as the commemoration of the Roboski Massacre, are examples of the ongoing youth resistance against colonial aggression. This consistent struggle against colonialism and imperialism remains a central agenda for the socialist youth in Turkey.
After the Democratic People’s Revolution began in 2012, as a continuation of the Arab peoples’ uprisings, Rojava became a beacon of resistance. With countless people joining from Turkey and across the world, Rojava heroically defended Kobanê through a self-sacrificial struggle that not only drew international attention to the Kurdish question but also garnered solidarity and sympathy from peoples around the globe.
The SGDF launched their campaign following Kobanê’s successful resistance against ISIS. Students, workers, doctors, teachers, artists, lawyers, and countless others prepared to take part in the city’s reconstruction. It was about defending and sustaining a revolution through united struggle and revolution. The Kobanê Reconstruction Campaign revealed the beauty of internationalist solidarity and the role of youth in building fraternity between peoples. The desire of hundreds of young people, many of whom had never seen Rojava except on the news, to come and take part in rebuilding a free society left a deep impact, especially on the youth of Rojava.
The Turkish bourgeois state, which had supported ISIS throughout the war against the people of Rojava, clearly recognized the power and potential of this act. It feared that the arrival of youth onto the soil of the Rojava Revolution would spark greater energy, inspiration, and unity, not just among the Kurdish people, but across the peoples of the region. The youth were becoming a bridge between peoples, a bridge between the revolution in Turkey, expressed by the Gezi uprising, and the revolution of Kurdistan.
That is why, on July 20, 2015, in the border town of Suruç (Kurdish: Pirsus), a massacre was carried out during a press statement by the activists. A member of ISIS detonated a suicide bomb among the group preparing to cross into Kobanê. 33 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured. While the wounded were being assisted, police targeted the remaining people with tear gas.
This massacre marked the beginning of a new historical period of aggression and dictatorial restructuring by the Turkish state, followed by other massacres and state aggressions such as the Ankara Train Station Massacre in October of the same year.
But the dreams and hopes entrusted to these young activists were not destroyed by the massacre. On the contrary, the campaign became a meaningful example of transformation. It evolved into a struggle for justice, carried forward with the slogan: “Our dreams have never and will never be left unfinished.”
Since July 2015, socialist youth have succeeded in turning grief into resistance; mourning into revolutionary commitment, while survivors and their supporters demonstrated immense resilience. The actions “Justice for Suruç” became part of a united struggle, one that is not limited to the Suruç Massacre but connects with all struggles for justice in a country whose history is marked by countless state massacres against oppressed peoples, religious groups, and political enemies. It connected the question of femicides, the killing of workers through workplace neglect, child killings, lack of political freedom, and all the demands for freedom and dignity in the country, marking an important example of youth struggle.
In the run-up to each anniversary, anarchist, socialist, democratic, autonomous, and anti-fascist youth organizations mobilize collectively for commemorative demonstrations. Despite persistent police violence and repression, they carry out a wide range of actions, from leaflet campaigns and human chains to demonstrations and panels.
The annual commemoration campaign is also shaped by the Suruç Families Initiative and legal platforms, which fight to expose the state’s responsibility in the massacre and its ongoing attempts to cover up accountability. Alongside these efforts, a variety of commemorative events continue to take place, both in Rojava and across Europe, marking the internationalist character of Suruç.
All these actions are not limited to isolated events but form part of a broad mobilization tied to strategic goals within a general anti-fascist, anti-colonialist, anti-imperialist, gender-liberating, and democratic struggle for political freedom. Linking activism to strategic goals and adapting to new conditions, even in the face of the most brutal oppression, as exemplified by the Suruç massacre, represents one of the most important lessons from the Suruç campaign. Furthermore, the entire campaign, both before and after Suruç, not only revealed great political significance but also an ideological one, which nourished the spirit of revolution and internationalism, setting a powerful example and making history.