Jinwar newsletter May 2022
Dear friends, dear supporters of JINWAR,
It’s already three months since the last newsletter from Jinwar in February 2022 was published. We
wanted to give you a little overview of the spring that we spent here with a lot of new energy and
hope that you will also be a part of it and the spring sun arrives also to you too.
Since April 17, 2022, we are in a warm phase of war here again. This means that the attacks by the
Turkish occupation forces are increasing everywhere, in the Medya defense areas, in Shengal and in
Rojava too. For us, this means that it is precisely in such phases that we move even more strongly
into a self-defense position, with this we mean also the ideological self-defense. In this the
development of social self-government structures play an important role. The Jinwar Women’s and
Children’s Village is part of this practical implementation of how the ideas of a free and equal life
can be put into practice. That is also where the biggest struggle takes place. If you are at war at the
same time, you become all the more aware of the values that need to be defended and how we till
the earth and sow seeds, build irrigation canals so that the plants can grow and thrive in the same
breath, then you realize how complex defense can look like. Jinwar is about making it possible for
the women and their children to live a collective and self-determined life over four seasons with a
long-term perspective.
So what have we been mainly busy with for the last three months? The earth was dug up again, rose
bushes were cut, many new trees were planted, gardens were laid out, water canals were dug,
seedlings were grown and in the evenings we followed the news, read books and sometimes
watched films together. This balance of mental and physical activity is the spice of balanced village
life and the bond of being in struggle and building up at the same time.
In the months of March and April there were big celebrations, on the one hand March 8th, which
was celebrated by the women here together and sends a political message over the world to found
many Jinwars all over, to protect their own earth, to join forces to find together a free thinking, an
organized and collective everyday life in an ethical and aesthetic way to lead an ecological life and
to engage politically for a life in dignity and freedom for every woman in the world.
The Newroz Festival here on March 21st has a similar meaning of resistance and new beginnings.
We celebrated it with a cultural program and with a common fire around which people danced and
sang. For Abdullah Öcalan’s birthday on April 4th, we planted 100 new trees in the village. For the
Ezîdî New Year (çarşema sor – red Wednesday) we went together with the Ezîdî mothers and
children from Jinwar to a celebration in an Ezîdî village and learned there what an old tradition this
festival has for the Ezîdîs and the importance of it . They celebrate their New Year over three days.
It is always celebrated on the eve of çarşema sor with painting eggs together and making a specific
bread.
The summer warmth has penetrated here directly after the New Year celebration, we have removed
all the “sobas” (the stoves heated with petroleum) from the houses, washed all carpets, seat cushions
and blankets diligently and prepared the mud houses for the very hot summer here. Luckily, the clay
bricks keep out the heat in summer and the ground is cool and, at least in May, still provides
pleasantly cool air.
The animals have also looked forward to spring and multiplied, there are now five young geese,
three small puppies, newborn kittens and hopefully soon newly hatched chicks in Jinwar.
Unfortunately, the rain didn’t go so well with the sowing phase, there was no rain during the time
when the fields had to be cultivated, which means that new irrigation systems were built and canals
dug with a lot of effort, but then the first heat wave came a lot too early and has dried up some
fields in the Jinwar area so that there will probably only be a small harvest this year. Our flour for
the village’s own bread is now also mixed with corn flour, because the effects of the embargo andthe drought of recent years can be felt everywhere. On May 1st the rain and the cold came back
again and now the hot summer months are approaching…
For the ŞîfaJin healing center we received an oil press, which the healers want to use to produce oil
themselves from black sesame, nettle seeds, olives or linseed, so that they can then process it into
ointments and creams.
A sewing workshop was opened as an atelier so that the women from Jinwar can learn to sew and
make their own clothes, as well as those of their children. Four sewing machines were donated and
a mother from Jinwar is now offering a two-hour sewing class every day to the other mothers.
Of course we are also happy to hear from you what you have create these months, what your further
plans and projects look like and whether there can be more cooperation with the Jinwar village. We
are always happy to receive feedback, ideas and suggestions from you. So feel free to write to us if
you want to share your thoughts and questions with us.
And we wish you a lot of strength for the near future!
JINWAR, May 2022
E-Mail: [email protected]
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jinwarwomensvillage/
Donation Account: MIKA
Asociation de sororidad internacionalista
Reference: JINWAR
Bank: Caixa d’engenyiers
IBAN: ES4230250025201400027571
SWIFT: CDENESBBXXX