Remembering guerrilla Aryena Botan

Aryena Botan, who joined the guerrillas in 2014 and became a commander in the mountains where the Kurds lived for thousands of years, left a long and bright path to women and youth.

Aryena Botan was born in Girkê Legê, one day before the 1995 Newroz. She grew up in a patriotic family, so she got to know the party at an early age. Aryena had 9 brothers and 7 sisters and grew up with the culture of the Botî tribe. The Botî tribe is a tribe present both in Bakur and Rojava. Aryena Botan was an intelligent, bright woman who spoke and used her mother tongue fluently and also learned and used Arabic, the compulsory language at school.

Aryena's dream and goal was not to live a cheap life. Aryena loved to research and read and was at the forefront of the revolution right away when the Rojava Revolution began. She saw all her hopes, dreams and the rest of her life projected in the Rojava Revolution. She left her family, friends, and her whole life, heading towards a new life. A life that will liberate Kurds, Kurdistan and humanity.

Aryena took part in the work of Ciwanên Şoreşger (the Young Revolutionaries movement) for a year. She gets to know her reality, her society, Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan and the PKK within a year. She developed herself further and joined the guerrilla ranks in 2014. She received education at Martyr Çekdar Amed and Leyla Şaylemez Academy, then joined the ranks of new fighters. Transforming the tribal woman's personality and building a military will in her personality, Aryena becomes a candidate for the women's commandership in the PKK.

Aryena Botan led a successful struggle and became a guerrilla walking towards freedom. She saw freedom, justice and morality in the PKK. After a while, she became a commander in the mountains of Kurdistan. Words are not enough to describe Aryena Botan's struggle. Her untimely departure had created a great void between her friends and comrades.

Aryena Botan fell as a martyr together with her comrades Hêlîn Cûdî and Rûken Botan on 28 May 2019, as a result of the brutal attacks of the Turkish state. She is still remembered fondly among her comrades in the mountains of Kurdistan.