A Tribute to freedom fighter Anna Campbell

Anna Campbell decided to go to Rojava to join the Women's Defense Units (YPJ) in the fight against the Islamic State in May 2017.

Anna Campbell (Hêlîn) fell martyr on 15 March 2018 in the defense of the city of Afrin. She gave her life in the struggle for freedom. Much has been speculated about the circumstances of her death, but an eyewitness confirmed that she died when the noqta (position) she was defending was bombarded by Turkish artillery.

decided to go to Rojava to join the Women's Defense Units (YPJ) in the fight against the Islamic State in May 2017. Originally from Lewes, in East Sussex (UK), she was a plumber by profession, but she did many other precarious jobs like most youth in Europe.

Anna was a freedom fighter, who was her true vocation. She participated in many political struggles and movements. Anna identified with anti-authoritarian movements. Many describe her as an anarchist, feminist, queer and antispecist. Anna was part of the collective Empty Cages Collective, an anarchist-oriented group that fights for the abolition of prisons and against imprisonment as a business model. She actively participated in many anti-prison campaigns, such as Community Action on Prison Expansion, Smash IPP and Bristol ABC (Anarchist Black Cross). Anna believed in the abolition of prisons as part of a larger problem, that is the system of oppression in which we live.

Furthermore, Anna was also an active part of the fight against fox hunting, a bloody but common practice in the U.K. Anna tried to be as coherent as possible with her anti-species ideas, trying not to hurt or kill any animal. She sought the freedom of all living beings on this planet from a non-androcentric vision. Anna also participated in the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) union, being a "key organizer" in the words of the organization itself.

Anna arrived in Rojava just at the moment when Turkey, with the complicity of the US, launched an attack on the base of the YPG / YPJ on the mountain of Qereçox. Key members of the self-defense militias lost their lives during the bombing of Turkish aviation. For this reason, Anna was offered the name of Hêlîn, in honor of one of her companions who fell in the Turkish attack. Hêlîn means "nest" in Kurdish. Later, she would decide to choose the surname Qereçox, the same one used by all the YPG internationalist fighters who had crossed the border with her in those days.

Anna came with the intention of joining the Women's Defense Units (YPJ) and fighting against the Islamic State. She was always very clear about her objectives and never gave up despite the many difficulties and contradictions that an internationalist woman has within the YPJ. Anna had an outgoing, positive and open personality, a great facility to establish relations of friendship and trust with all the people with whom she was. All those who knew her can assert that her passion for life, her enthusiasm, were contagious. From the first moment she became interested in studying Abdullah Öcalan and read several of his books. During the perwerde (education) always tried to listen and participate, seeking to open intellectual and political curiosity to the companions with whom she shared the education of Shervana Nû (New Combatants). She made a huge effort to learn Kurmancî. All the people who knew her were surprised by the speed with which she learned the language.