Journalist Fréderike Geerdink reflects on a decade-old column amid the PKK’s recent move to end its armed struggle. She argues true peace requires reciprocal steps—disarmament must follow, not precede, political concessions. Until then, Kurdish arms remain a form of insurance.

Journalist Fréderike Geerdink criticises International Mother Language Day as a token gesture by the UN, arguing that true linguistic protection requires recognising forced assimilation as genocide. Drawing parallels between Kurdish and Palestinian struggles, she highlights how the denial of self-determination suppresses languages and cultures, framing it as a systematic process of erasure.

No conflict lasts forever. At some point in time, the full truth will come out, either via the courts or via a real peace process in which the state takes responsibility for what it has done. Don’t think it is unrealistic to hope for this. The unthinkable is unthinkable only until it happens. 

We know what Turkey wants Öcalan to say. He is supposed to announce the dissolution of the PKK and demand the YPG and YPJ drop their weapons. This much has been made clear by the AKP's coalition partner, the MHP, who think Öcalan can be lured into saying things in exchange for more freedom or even house arrest. But Öcalan isn’t in it for himself, he’s in it for the people. And if there is one thing he believes in, it’s self-defence, the right to which he will never deny his own people. 

Turkey’s persistent war crimes against Kurds are no “small potatoes”. Fréderike Geerdink examines how these actions fit into a systematic plan of erasure, drawing parallels with the Gaza genocide.

“Theater can contribute to ending the occupation”

Marina Barham is the co-founder and director of Al-Harah, a theater close to Bethlehem in Palestine. She strongly believes theater can help both children and adults not only deal with the traumas of occupation, but also to resist it.

In a constantly unsafe situation like an ongoing occupation, theater can help children feel safe again, according to Marina Barham of Al-Harah Theater in Bethlehem in Palestine. She has been involved in making theater in the occupied Westbank for almost three decades, and shares her experiences with interactive theater: “We had heard from schools that children were very inactive, traumatized, they literally wouldn’t move. We decided to talk to social workers and children psychologists about how we can help children get through the daily trauma. We developed an interactive show, with music, exercise, songs, lots of colours. We talked to the children, told them we were scared too, that we also sometimes wanted to close our eyes and just scream to get rid of the tension. Initially they hardly showed reaction, but after ten, fifteen minutes, they started to react, to move, to express themselves.”

Al-Harah Theater is deeply rooted in the community, as the name clearly shows: Al-Harah means The Neighbourhood. Barham is one of the founders, after she had worked for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) and for her own consultancy company for some years and tried to convince influential people from abroad to help end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. By coincidence, she became involved in theater. Ever since, she tries to help both children and adults deal with the trauma of occupation, and contribute to a free Palestine.

Fréderike Geerdink speaks to Viruben Nandakumar a Tamil activist based in London about the situation facing the Tamils in Sri Lanka after the genocidal attacks they faced in 2009 by the Sri Lankan army.

The revolution in Rojava, or North and Northeastern Syria, has “completely refreshed my activism”, said writer and feminist Rahila Gupta in a new episode of Avaşîn podcast. After having waged a struggle against racism and sexism, mainly focused on trying to eradicate gender-based violence against women, in London for forty years, visiting Rojava gave her new insights. “The level of commitment of going from home to home to talk to people about their vision for a new society… I am not sure if we have that kind of commitment in the west. It’s what makes a difference.”

As climate change dries out the rivers in Kenya, Winnie Cheche fights to protest the wildlife. She speaks with journalist Fréderike Geerdink about her activism.

-After the referendum about Catalonian independence in October 2017, the work of cultural organisation Omnium Cultural was expanded: suddenly they found themselves going to trails of prosecuted fellow activists, and to prisons to visit their people. Omnium international representative Elena Jiménez i Botías: “We were not familiar with that.”

-Vreer Verkerke advocates rights of trans people - and Kurds

-Since the 1990s already, vreer verkerke, who always writes their name with lower case letters, has been waging a struggle for trans peoples’ rights. The more insight they got into power structures and oppression, the more they spoke out about other peoples’ rights as well, like Palestinians and Kurds.

-Marisela Ramirez is part of the leadership of the Resistance and Popular Rebellion Block, a cooperation of several resistance groups against the authoritarian leadership of the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele. She learned to struggle for freedom from her mother and gets inspired by the veterans in the movement, who once waged a guerrilla struggle in the country. She talks about her struggle with Fréderike Geerdink, host of Avaşîn Podcast.

Avaşîn Podcast: Fréderike Geerdink talks to Lina Zedriga, the second most important leader of the National Unity Platform, the grassroots political party in Uganda that is challenging the long-time rule of dictator Museveni.

Nadja Duhacek has been part of Serbia's Women in Black for some seventeen years. She shares how she got involved, and explains in what way the Women in Black struggle against yet again, increasing nationalism and militarism.

Below are just selected excerpts, listen to the full episode of Avaşîn Podcast.

Eva (22) struggles against gentrification in Exarcheia in Greece’s capital Athens. They are the second guest in Avaşîn Podcast, in which host Fréderike Geerdink talks to people who are waging a struggle.

Listen to the whole conversation with Mike Africa Jr. about his campaign to free Mumia Abu-Jamal in the first episode of Avaşîn Podcast, hosted by journalist and author Fréderike Geerdink.