Kurdish Democratic Community Centre in Sydney - Fundraising event for Earthquakes Victims

On 11/02/2023, The Kurdish community organised an event at the community centre in Blacktown to raise urgent funds for Earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria (Bakur and Rojava).

Through the shared grief, the horror of the unfolding crises, and unyielding hope that solidarity can and will prevail, the Kurdish community and our friends and supporters in Sydney came together to honour the victims and gather support for their survivors and families.

At this event, we heard from community leaders and key figures on the ground, who gave us a clear overview of the scale of devastation, the broader context under which earthquake survivors were already suffering (including poverty, displacement, occupation), and their lived experience of the aftermath of other recent earthquakes in the region.

The key take away from their message was this: we cannot rely on the state - who has displaced us, occupied us, taken away our rights, diverts and blocks aid - to help us now. As history has bitterly and clearly shown us, it is the strength, determination and will, the genuine solidarity of our people and our friends that we can begin to hope and rebuild again.

Notable guests included Reverend Bill Crews, Australian Greens MP Jamie Parker,

Inner West Councillor Kobi Shetty, Australian Labor Party candidate for Leppington Nathan Hagarty, Australian Labor Party candidate for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda.

While Greens Senator David Shoebridge was unable to attend in person, we are grateful for his message of solidarity and support, which you can read here.