Mehmet Aksoy (filmmaker)

Mehmet Aksoy
Mehmet Aksoy in Syria after joining the YPG
Born1985 (1985)
Elbistan, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey
Died26 September 2017(2017-09-26) (aged 32)
Raqqa, Syria
NationalityBritish
Other namesFîraz Dağ
Alma materQueen Mary, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London
OccupationFilm Director

Mehmet Aksoy (February 1985[1] – 26 September 2017), also known as Fîraz Dağ, was a Turkish-Kurdish filmmaker and activist. Aksoy was killed while covering the battle to retake Raqqa in Northern Syria from ISIS. He was embedded with the People's Protection Units when ISIS fighters overran a base where he was staying on 26 September 2017.[1][2]

Life and work

Aksoy's family are from the Kurdish Alevi community,[3] and were originally from the Elbistan district of Maraş (East Turkey).[4] They moved to London from Malatya in 1988, and Aksoy's interest in the Kurdish independence movement began in 2004 when he first visited the Kurdish Community Centre in North London.[5]

Aksoy became politicised as a result of his involvement with the Kurdish community in London and was influenced by the writings of the Black Panther George Jackson as well as Abdullah Ocalan's prison writings on Democratic Confederalism.[5]

Aksoy studied filmmaking at Queen Mary, University of London and later Goldsmiths, University of London. His short film Panfilo, made for his MA course, was released in 2014,[6] and won awards in the Italian Short Film Festival and the UK Student Film Awards.[7]

Aksoy did not inform his parents of his plans before travelling to Rojava (North Syria) in June 2017.[8] He did not want to fight with the Kurdish forces in Syria, but instead wanted to tell the stories of Kurdish fighters through his films. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the website Kurdish Question.[4]

His uncle, Firaz, had been killed fighting for the PKK militia during its conflict with the Turkish military in the 1990s. Aksoy went by the nom-de-guerre 'Fîraz Dağ' in honour of his uncle.[2]

After his death, more than 2,000 people turned out at a community centre in north London to pay tribute.[9] Aksoy is the fifth British citizen to be killed in Northern Syria while fighting ISIS.[10] He was buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery in London on 10 November 2017.[11]

Aksoy's grave in Highgate Cemetery, London, carved by Teucer Wilson.

References

  1. ^ a b Matt Blake, "British film-maker killed by Isis militants in Syria". The Guardian, 27 September 2017. Accessed 4 October 2017
  2. ^ a b Vardy, Emma (27 September 2017). "British documentary-maker dies in Syria". BBC News. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Kürt Alevi Gazeteci Mehmet Aksoy Rakka'da şehit oldu". alevi gazetesi (in Turkish). 27 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b "The honourable child of his country, Martyr Fîraz Dağ | English". www.ypgrojava.org. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Mehmet Aksoy: The life and death of a Kurdish hero". The Independent. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  6. ^ Aksoy, Memed (25 January 2014), Panfilo, Antonino Anzaldi, Brando Chiostri, Pietro Faiella, retrieved 27 September 2017
  7. ^ "Panfilo, An Apocalyptic Fairy Tale". Elena Toccafondi. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  8. ^ "London filmmaker 'killed by Isis' while documenting Syria fight". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  9. ^ Emma Vardy, "Syrian funeral held for British man killed by IS". BBC News, 3 October 2017. Accessed 4 October 2017
  10. ^ Ensor, Josie (27 September 2017). "British filmmaker killed by Isil militants while making documentary on Kurdish militia in Syria". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Farewell to YPG's Mehmet Aksoy in London".