Asik Temeli: ‘I Want to Come to Kurdistan to Kiss the Holy L

[Aslan]

GERMANY – Next year, after he retires from 38 years working at a tractor factory in Germany, Kurdish revolutionary singer and writer Asik Temeli wants to record the hundreds of songs and poems he has written but not yet recorded. And, he says, “I want to visit the Kurdistan Region when I retire and kiss my holy land.”

“I have written 2,000 poems and more than 300 songs. I want to record these poems and songs when I retire,” says Temeli who, besides composing and singing many revolutionary songs about the Kurds, has authored six books, with titles like The Regrets of a Thousand Years and more recently, Our Language Our Heart.

In 1975 Temeli recorded his first cassette, The Voice of the Laborer, in Europe. Later, he recorded more cassettes such as The Voice of the Revolutionary Democrats in 1977, and Long Live the Brotherhood of the Kurdish and Turkish Nations in 1979.

Temeli has not recorded any new songs since then, but that does not mean he has not been working on them.

“I have poems ready to be made into songs. I will try to professionally compose melodies for the new lyrics and record them in compact discs,” he says.

Born in 1948 in the Turkish village of Daliqawakhy near the city of Kaysari, Temeli lived in his village until he was 16. He was active in the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) between 1964 and 1966, when the number of PKK supporters increased by 80 percent in those regions.

From 1966 to 1973, he was involved in syndicate activities in Istanbul city, where he also recorded many revolutionary songs. He moved to Germany in 1974 and has been living there ever since.

Temeli’s life has been full of memorable experiences. For example, Deniz Gezmis, the leader of the Turkish Leftist Movement, often repeated Temeli’s famous song, Long Live the Brotherhood of the Kurdish and Turkish Nations. Gezmis, who was hanged by the Turkish government, was a close friend of Temeli.

His revolutionary songs gained Temeli many friends among the guerrillas, Kurdish artists and the Kurdish political parties such as the PKK and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Temeli also has close friendships with many Kurdish leaders, and intends to write his memoirs. “I know many people and have many things to tell,” he explains.

He also recalls how he began a friendship with Jafar Mustafa, who is now the Peshmarga minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

“Sheikh Jafar was once injured and stayed in our house for one month. He invited us to the Kurdistan Region some years ago, but we could not go because my wife got ill and passed away,” Temeli says.

“I want to visit the Kurdistan Region when I retire and kiss my holy land,” he adds.