A special relation between the town of Kreuzberg in Berlin and the city of Derik in Rojava has led to an international friendship between books. The Oh21 Library in Kreuzberg has decided to work with the Manesa Library in Derik city.
The municipality in Friedrichshain–Kreuzberg district in Berlin, had decided in November 2017 to be a partner of the municipality of Derik city in Rojava’s Jazeera Canton. In the draft signed by the two sides, both municipalities highlighted the similarities between the two regions in the area of a multicultural society and people’s support.
Later on, in order to implement the cooperative programs by both municipalities, a committee was formed under the name of ‘The Union of Partner Cities of Friedrichshain–Kreuzberg and Derik’. The heads of this union paid a visit to the city of Derik in November 2018, and they were interested by the one and only library in Derik, the Manesa Library.
In order to further introduce and promote the Manesa Library, the union proposed to be a partner of the library. The Oh21 Library in Kreuzberg officially announced their partnership with Derik’s Manesa Library.
In Oh21, books on the social and political status of Rojava could be found. Meanwhile there is an effort to raise the number of English books in Manesa. It is written on the posters inside the Oh21 Library that they are a partner library with Manesa in Derik, and numerous books on the life and struggle in Rojava have special place in the shelves.
‘We would like to support women’s leadership’
The staff members of Oh21 which is located at Oranien Street in Kreuzberg, said: “Through our joint projects, we would like to support the self-administrations in northern Syria, particularly the women’s leadership. Moreover we discuss the developments in Rojava with our book readers.”
The joint projects between the Oh21 Library in Kreuzberg and Manesa Library in Derik could be seen in details via the following link.
