Kurdistan is the land of the brave. On this soil, together with the seeds of wheat, the seeds of heroism have also been sown.
The honorable children of this land, who ate from the bread of dignity and drank from the water of honor, never accepted the filth of betrayal or the impurity of occupation. As they went forth, those bright stars gave their radiance to the land of fire and sun, becoming stars of hope for an oppressed and deprived people. They became the rain of honor falling upon this soil so that the flower of longing would not wither. They watered the sapling of freedom with their blood. They became the soul of life. They became the qibla of the hopes and aspirations of all four parts of Kurdistan. On the path of the heroes, they became travelers and followers of their footsteps. At times, they stepped onto the stage of history as valiant fighters and commanders, taking the names Egîd and Zîlan; they became companions of slopes and summits, comrades of rocks and cliffs, the story of streams, springs, and rivers. At other times, with the spirit of young militants, they became a mountain of volcanoes. They took the name Baxtiyar and became a symbol of faith and resolute stance.
“He Stands Up for the Values of His People”
Bextiyar Gabar opened his eyes to the world in the Şax district of Wan, within a family bound to the values of its people. He was born into a world where no place had been left for the Kurds. Their existence and identity were denied. The dominant powers asserted their own existence on the basis of denying theirs. Bextiyar, too, as a member of the patriotic Ertûşî tribe, was confronted from an early age with the policies of assimilation, denial, and annihilation. At only six years old, he was cut off from Kurdistan for his education and went to the metropolises of Turkey. As an intelligent young man, Bextiyar studied in Istanbul while also working to support his family. In exile, he felt the pain of oppression more deeply. He saw up close the pressure and coercion of the assimilation system. For him, this meant entering into a search at the very beginning of his life and refusing to accept the existing tyranny. Although he was physically far from Kurdistan, his heart and mind were always searching for a free homeland. He stood up for the values of his people and wanted to live with his own culture and identity.
His curiosity and search for freedom brought him together with the freedom movement. The attacks of ISIS gangs on Rojava, his homeland, deepened the anger in his heart toward the enemy. The martyrdom of his cousin in the historic Kobanê Resistance had a great impact on him. He decided to join the ranks of the guerrilla and shared this decision with his brother. In 2015, in Botan, the land of heroes, he turned his face toward the free mountains and took the name Bextiyar Gabar.
“He Turns Every Moment of Life into a Moment of Education”
When Bextiyar reached the mountain areas, he became joyful and fulfilled. He began his march of freedom in a place where the heart of the guerrilla had been beating for years. Guerrilla life in the North of the homeland became a great chance and opportunity for him. He welcomed the new life with enthusiasm and excitement. He wanted to learn the art of guerrilla warfare and organizational life quickly, and for this he showed great effort and dedication. With his youthful spirit, like a flowing stream, he entered life and created a great excitement. In order to deepen himself in the style and tactics of the modern guerrilla and in the paradigm of Leader Apo, he crossed into the Medya Defense Areas and joined a specialized training.
To become an answer to the process, he turned every moment of life into a moment of education. Despite his young age, through the experience he gained in the field of practice, he created within himself the power of solution. He became an exemplary and pioneering personality. He approached revolutionary tasks and responsibilities with the spirit of victory. He gained the trust of the organization, took part in many important and strategic works, and successfully fulfilled his duties. As a militant of the era, through his life and struggle, he wrote a history of fire.
Bextiyar saw himself as fortunate to take his place, as a young Kurd, among the ranks of the guerrilla. For him, every day was a new resurrection. Guerrilla life was like an everlasting celebration for him. He became attached to this life with heart and soul. In order to be worthy of this sacred life, he was ready to make every sacrifice. From then on, Bextiyar became a part of this magnificent life. At times with his labor and sweat, at times with the smile on his lips, he gave meaning to life. Through his honesty and gentleness of heart, he found a place in the hearts of all his comrades and became a young commander. He drew his strength from hevalti and adorned life with the love of comradeship. The garden of his feelings grew ever brighter, and flowers of hope blossomed. He united his young spirit with the mountains. The pen falls short; only the mountains can tell his story and his journey. He himself became a golden page in the history of the revolution of freedom and love.
“With His Smile, He Makes Life Simpler and More Beautiful”
The Apoist Movement became the qibla of hopes in Kurdistan. Bextiyar, too, as a militant of the cause, revolved like a moth around the qibla of hopes, searching for truth. Despite his young age, as an intelligent and experienced guerrilla, he reached the conviction that truth had hidden itself within the moments of this life. Only those who know the value of this life and look upon it with the eye of the heart can see this truth. Bextiyar sometimes saw this truth in a spring flower that gave the good news of a new life. Sometimes he saw it in the smile on the face of a cheerful comrade who carried the love of a people in his heart; and sometimes in the eyes of a brave commander looking toward a distant horizon, seeing a bright future in a free country.
Days passed, but for him no day was ever repeated. He welcomed each day with a different enthusiasm and excitement. With his smile, he made life simpler and more beautiful. Wherever he went, with the fervor of his youth, he left his traces in the hearts of those around him.
Every day, Bextiyar added a new experience to his accumulation of knowledge. With every new comrade he came to know, he gained a new experience and created within himself the spirit of renewal. He both learned and taught. He was both student and teacher. He lived the ideas and philosophy of Leader Apo and made them live. As a disciplined and capable guerrilla, he became a concrete example for all his young comrades. Because of his sacrifice and commitment, he was loved among the guerrilla. In his comradeship, he was sincere and honest. Despite all difficulties and hardships, he never experienced hesitation and never took a step back. He had locked himself onto the goal and the purpose. His march, with firm steps and self-confidence, always moved toward the goals and aims. In order to be worthy of the comradeship of Leader Apo and the martyrs, he showed great effort and dedication.
“Through His Life, He Enters Everyone’s Heart”
When Commander Nûredîn Sofî came to visit his comrades in the mountains, Guerrilla Bextiyar accompanied him. With his courage and intelligence, Commander Nûredîn Sofî saw him as a knight and called him by the name “Knight.” On April 6, 2021, in the Garê region, in the defense area, as a result of an attack by the occupying Turkish army, he reached martyrdom together with Commander Nûredîn Sofî and joined the immortal caravans of Kurdistan.
Wherever, in any part of this country, the heart of a Kurdish child beats for freedom, he is there. In those moments when a revolutionary, inside a ring of fire, defeats surrender and death and creates life and resistance, Bextiyar is there. In the longing hearts of grief-stricken mothers who welcome their pure martyred heroes with zılgıts, Bextiyar Gabar is there. Through his labor and struggle, he becomes joyful and blessed; for an oppressed and dispossessed people, he becomes support and beloved companion. For a distant and difficult road, he lifts his weapon, gear, and burden. He marches toward the mountains, rocks, and cliffs.