Epilogue - Brussels, a song of exile

Some friends meet in a small house in the outskirts of Brussels. For old time's sake, they choose to sing a tune from their homeland. "Gündüz Gece", written in Turkish, which talks about a weary man "who walks in a two door caravanserai, day and night, day and night,..."

▼

The small show comes to an end, and it's time for everyone to get their share of homemade köfte ekmek (rather filling meat sandwiches). I sit alongside one of the singers. His name is Ufuk Lüker. He is not Kurdish, but he has remained close to Kurdish freedom movements in the past. He once played in Grup Yorum, one of the first Turkish bands to openly support and sing about the Kurds.

While he is performing in Germany, bad news reach Ufuk. His appeal is rejected and he must choose between exile or four years in jail. He chooses the former and leaves his friends behind. He will return to Turkey only fifteen years later.

— I requested asylum in the Netherlands. I already knew the government officials over there. I'm now a Dutch national. I have since moved to Belgium and I'm working in Antwerp.

 During the 1990's, Ufuk and Grup Yorum wrote songs about the Kurdish guerilla. One of the songs, named Misri Kiz, talks about a young girl who wants to join the guerillero she loves in the mountains. "While we were playing a gig, I told a western Turkish audience that nothing can stop love, not even the government" Straight after the performance, the police came to arrest him.

— I have been over ten times to the Istanbul police department. They tortured me many times. One time, they hung me from the arms and I couldn't go to the toilet.

Six months later, Ufuk is free. But not for long. While he was still locked up, prison officials caught him writing to political prisoners of the DHKP-C (the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, an illegal far-left organisation in Turkey). Ufuk is sentenced to another four years "for belonging to a terrorist organisation".

—We only talked about music really. They helped us write songs and gave us more perspective. We helped them too because they had no right to speak for themselves in prison.

'Police often told me to stop playing by saying "We can fight guns but not your music"

Click to listen Ufuk

                ▼

Belgium

Brussels

Istanbul

Turkey

There's some news from Kobanî...

▼