Three German internationalists, Kevin Jochim (Dilsoz Bahar), Jakob Riemer (Şîyar Gabar) and Thomas Johann S. (Azad Şergeş) were commemorated on Sunday at commemorative events by internationalist youth communities in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main.

Activists of the youth communes said that on the fifth anniversary of Jakob Riemer's death, around 20 people came together in Leipzig to commemorate the three fallen and vowed to continue their struggle.

The event started with a short introduction about the importance and status of revolutionary commemoration in the Kurdish and internationalist freedom movement. A minute's silence was then held to pay tribute to all the fallen who gave their lives for the liberation of humanity.

A video about the life of Jakob Riemer was screened, while his friends told stories about him.

A special tribute was paid to Thomas Johann S., who died only recently. His struggle and his dreams were presented with words, pictures and videos. Afterwards, there was singing.

Internationalist Kevin Jochim was then remembered and his great sense of responsibility was underlined.

An activist ended the commemoration with the words: "The search for truth brought all three friends together and united them in the Kurdish movement."

A commemoration of Kevin Jochim (Dilsoz Bahar) and Jakob Riemer (Şîyar Gabar) also took place in Frankfurt. There will be a separate commemoration event for Thomas Johann S. (Azad Şerger) next week.

Three internationalists

Thomas Johann S., code name Azad Şerger, fell on 15 June 2023 while resisting the invasion by the Turkish state in South Kurdistan. Thomas came from Mainburg in Lower Bavaria. He was politically active in Germany until he decided in 2016 to go to Kurdistan to join the freedom struggle. After his basic training in the Qandil mountains, where he learned very quickly, he went to the Xakurke region.
On 15 June this year, he fell a martyr together with Asya Kanîreş, a Turkish internationalist, and Koçer Medya from Rojhilat after a successful action against the Turkish occupation army in the Kolît area.

Jakob Riemer, code name Şîyar Gabar, fell on 9 July 2018 in Çarçella, North  Kurdistan, as a fighter of the People's Defense Forces HPG following an air attack by the Turkish army.

He was a young internationalist born on 10 October 1994 in Hamburg. From a young age, he was concerned about the injustices of the system and was already active in various left-wing groups in Germany. In this context, he also got to know the Kurdish freedom movement and went to Kurdistan in 2013 to fight in the ranks of the guerrillas for the liberation of humanity and nature.

Kevin Jochim, code name Dilsoz Bahar, was killed in action against the Islamic State in Rojava on July 6, 2015. He was a German internationalist born on November 2, 1993 in Karlsruhe. In his hometown, he began to politicize early on and was active in anti-fascist groups. During this time he dealt a lot with Marxism-Leninism.

Over time, he began to grapple with the ideology of the Kurdish freedom movement. When the revolution in Rojava began on 19 July 2012, he went to northern Syria at the age of 19. He wanted to get to know the revolution there and defend it. In Rojava, he joined the YPG People's Defense Units and took part in the fight against IS. He fell in the liberation of the city of Siluk at Girê Spî.