Look, the Euphrates River is Flowing with Blood!
"They worship the Devil, the sun, the earth, and fire, it is said.
The devil that rebelled against God, it is said.
Who did see the devil? Who did appear before God?
In some respect, Yezidis are right.
It is the earth, the sun, water and air that brings life into being and creates.
Yezidis Turn their face toward the sun and say Prayers three times a day, at sunrise, at noon and at sunset.
These people were killed, exiled, tortured and humiliated for centuries, yet they did not fear and did not end.
The might in humans does never end, rust, or die; just like the earth, light and water.
I am not a Yezidi but I love their strength to resist, their humanity and their friendship, I respect their resistance.
They don't kill man and they excommunicate those who do.
They see war as mass murder, and resist to not to join a war.
They have been drenched in blood for centuries, their blood has always flooded, endlessly.
They could find no food but grass, yet their heart did not turn black, nor did they lose their joy, living in cavities of glorious mountains like eagles, no matter in which circumstances.
They turn their face toward the sun and say prayers three times a day, I said.
And they don't have memorised prayers like ours.
Anyone, whether a child or an elder, whether a sheik or a leader, turns toward the sun and express how they feel inside at that moment.
Maybe their prayers are the most beautiful ones said by the human race so far.
Maybe the most beautiful ballads and most beautiful poems arose from these prayers.
And maybe these prayers lie at the heart of all the epics in Mesopotamia."
Yasar Kemal translated by Berna Ozgencil
