Öcalan’s poem to children: You came with the breath of spring

At an event organized by TJA and the Peace Mothers Initiative in Amed, a poem written by Abdullah Öcalan, inspired by letters sent to him by children, was read for the first time.

In Amed (tr: Diyarbakır), the Free Women's Movement (TJA) and the Peace Mothers Initiative gathered at the Bağcılar district office of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on the occasion of Mother's Day. The event, where a banner reading “The best gift for mothers is peace” was displayed, was attended by women from TJA, Peace Mothers, members of the Association of Those Who Lost Their Loved Ones in Anatolia (ANYAKAY-DER), and many other women.

At the event, Abdullah Öcalan’s poem, inspired by letters sent to him by children, was shared with the public for the first time.

The poem dedicated to children reads as follows:

“To all children,

One morning, we met

When the cold door with a metal bolt opened

The guard standing there as usual

With a pile of newspapers in his hand

I asked him, “Have any letters arrived today?”

“There are 195 letters,” he said in a low voice

195 letters. Inside each letter, there were 195 children

All of them are my visitors today

In this tiny, four-square-meter space

Welcome, children

You brought flowers to my cell

My big-hearted friends

You brought the whole world to my airless cell

You came with the breath of spring

You released all the colors into the sea

Breathing the children in

I hug them one by one

Then, while leafing through the newspapers

I caught sight of a corner

The pictures of children from Urfa

Lined up in rows

On a black-and-white background

Children, all dressed in white

Standing in rows before the camera

Each glance like a word, an action

In the smallest ones, a whole world

My gaze is fixed

For half an hour without interruption

I went to the children, to the place where 195 children had gathered

I went with those children

To all the children of the world

Those gazes, nameless novels

Today I walked on little hands

I gave my hand to the children

They took me away, to freedom, to the sky

Freedom begins with them, ends with them

Today I embraced the scent of the sea, of the earth

I was always a child

Hidden in the world of children

Lost in conversation with my little friends

Startled by the sound of the iron bolt

An hour in open air

Walking step by step

To the swans gliding in the sky

I raised my hand

And said “hello” with a voice from my heart

Say hello, swans, say hello to 195 children...

Tell them,

To learn beauty, to learn science

Tell mothers and fathers,

Not to let them go hungry

Tell, the cranes; tell them

Tell the children of Urfa that I kiss them

Say hello to all the children

Tell them that Rêber will live for them

Tell them that I love them very much

Tell them that I kiss all their eyes

Rêberti.”