Martyrs’ Families: Our language is our existence, we won’t let it be diminished 

The Martyrs’ Families Council in Qamishlo, Amuda, Derik, Çil Agha, and Tirbespiye issued a statement to the public in response to the decision issued by the Education Ministry of the Syrian transitional government on August 27, which limited the teaching of Kurdish to three classes per week. The decision was met with rejection and opposition from the Kurdish people.

Qamishlo

In Qamishlio, the statement was read at the Martyrs’ Families Council building, in Kurdish by Rozan Sarik and in Arabic by Sherzad Ramo, in the presence of representatives of martyrs’ families.

Derik

In Derik, the statement was read by student Randa Haji in front of the sit-in tent set up by the People’s Initiative in the city, outside Yusuf al-Azma School, expressing opposition to limiting the teaching of Kurdish to three classes per week.

Amuda

In Amuda, the statement was read in front of the Martyrs’ Families Council building in the presence of a large gathering of martyrs’ families. It was read in Kurdish by Jilan Yusuf and in Arabic by Abdul Qader Sheikhmous.

Tirbespiye

In Tirbespiye, the statement was read in front of the Martyrs’ Families Council building in the presence of a large gathering of students and martyrs’ families. Student Najbir Ismail read the statement.

Çil Agha 

In Çil Agha, the statement was read in front of the Martyrs’ Families Council center in al-Rasafa. Council member Ahin Shweish read it in Kurdish, while council member Farida al-Saeed read it in Arabic, in the presence of martyrs’ families and their children.

Hasakah

In Hasakah, council member Keljin Ahmi read the statement in front of the Martyrs’ Families Council in the city.

The statement reads as follows:

“At a pivotal historic moment whose demands require rising above tendencies toward exclusion and marginalization, the Martyrs’ Families Council expresses its deep condemnation of the decisions issued by the Education Ministry of the Syrian transitional government that infringe upon the linguistic and cultural rights of the Kurdish people by reducing the teaching of the Kurdish language to marginal and fragmented classes, in a deplorable attempt to reproduce tools of national assimilation and erase their existence.

The precious blood shed by our sons and daughters to overthrow authoritarianism and defeat terrorism was never a sacrifice to perpetuate marginalization or bargain over inherent rights guaranteed by international conventions, foremost among them the right to education in one’s mother tongue. National languages are not grants to be begged for, nor privileges to be parceled out; rather, they are the essence of identity and the foundation that safeguards national and historical dignity.

Accordingly, we reaffirm the following steadfast demands:

1. Repeal of exclusionary decisions: We categorically reject all circumvention measures that diminish the status of the Kurdish language and consider such measures an explicit repudiation of the spirit of the January 29, 2026 agreement and an unjustified reversal of the recognition of the Kurds as an authentic component and partner in shaping the future Syria.

2. Constitutional entrenchment and comprehensive educational recognition: We demand the immediate reversal of such inadequate decisions and the full legal recognition of Kurdish as an official and core language of curricula and the educational process in its areas, alongside Arabic, to ensure equal opportunities and safeguard the intellectual development of future generations.

3. Protection of civil peace: Continuing policies of denial or attempts to alter the demographic and administrative character of areas and place names will only undermine the foundations of national integration and destabilize the social stability for which we have paid the highest price.

4. Responsibility of the national authorities: We remind those administering the transitional phase that the legitimacy of any authority is tested by its ability to accommodate diversity and safeguard the dignity of its communities, not by restricting cultural space and confiscating historical rights.

The Martyrs’ Families Council, standing at the forefront of those safeguarding national and popular gains, affirms that our language is the title of our existence and the fortress of our memory, and we will not allow it to be diminished. We will remain committed to the path of peaceful and legitimate struggle until all rights are secured, in full and without diminution.”

A-H

ANHA