Anna Campbell
Anna Campbell | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Anna Campbell | |
| Other name(s) | Hêlîn Qereçox |
| Born | 1991 Lewes,East Sussex,England |
| Died | 15 March 2018 (aged 26) Afrin District,Syria |
| Allegiance |  Rojava |
| Service/ |  Women's Protection Units(YPJ) |
| Part ofa serieson |
| Anarcha-feminism |
|---|
 |
Anna Montgomery Campbell(1991 – 15 March 2018), also known asHêlîn Qereçox,was a Britishfeminist,anarchistandprison abolition activistwho fought with theWomen's Protection Units(YPJ) in theRojava conflictof theSyrian civil war.She was killed in Rojava by aTurkish Armed Forcesmissile strike.[1][2]
Ancestry and early life
[edit]Campbell was born inLewes,East Sussex, England, the daughter of progressive rock musicianDirk Campbell.[3][4]Her mother was Katherine Emma "Adrienne Katie", born Bridges, her father's second wife.[5]
Campbell had military forebears, with ancestors serving in theRoyal NavyandRoyal Artillery.Her grandfather served inThe Royal Tank RegimentinWorld War II.
She was educated atSt Mary's Hall, Brighton,then went to study atUniversity of Sheffieldbefore moving to Bristol, where she worked as a plumber.[6]Campbell was involved with many political actions, including the2010 United Kingdom student protests,theHunt Saboteurs Association,Anarchist Black Crossand other anarchist and abolitionist organisations and projects, including international ones such asZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes.[1][7]
Involvement in the Rojava conflict
[edit]During theRojava conflict,Campbell fought with the YPJ in theDeir ez-Zor campaign,an attack on theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levantstronghold ofDeir ez-Zor.She was also involved in the YPJ's activities in support of women's rights inKurdistan.According toThe New York Times,she was moved by the defence of "an autonomous, mostly Kurdish region in northern Syria, known as Rojava, whose leaders advocate a secular, democratic and egalitarian politics, with equal rights for women".[8]
Death
[edit]Campbell was killed by aTurkish Armed Forcesmissile strike during the Turkish military operation in theAfrin Canton,Operation Olive Branch.[2][9]The YPJ announced:[10][11][7]
Our British comrade Hêlîn Qereçox (Anna Campbell) has become the symbol of all women after resisting against fascism in Afrin to create a free world. We promise to fulfill Hêlîn’s struggle and honour her memory in our fight for freedom.
She is the first British woman to die fighting for the YPJ.[12]
Following the announcement of Campbell's death, her father started a campaign to recover her body, which could not be located by aid organisations until a ceasefire was in place in the area.[13]Dirk Campbell accused the British government of 'a total lack of proactivity' in helping to recover her body,[14]which is yet to be recovered from the battlefield as of 2021.[15][16]
In response to Campbell's death there were various protests around the world, protesters from the Bristol Kurdish Solidarity Network (BKSN) and friends of Campbell blocked the offices ofBAE Systemsin Bristol, the city Anna lived in previously. Activists accuse the company of supplying weapons to Turkey which have been used against civilians in Rojava.[17]Another protest in Bristol was held a year after Anna's death. It was reported to have blocked a large roundabout and caused traffic problems in the local area.[18]Graffiti has also sprung up in the city showing solidarity, particularly in theEaston, Bristoland St Pauls where many of the anarchist projects she was part of are based.[19]
As well as the local protests support has been shown from many other individuals and projects across the world.
References
[edit]- ^ab"Rest in Power Anna".Empty Cages Collective (prisonabolition.org).Archivedfrom the original on 29 March 2019.Retrieved21 March2018.
- ^abBlake, Matt (19 March 2018)."British woman killed fighting Turkish forces in Afrin".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 28 April 2019.Retrieved30 March2018.
- ^Martin, Laura (25 June 2019)."Anna Campbell: What happened to the woman from East Sussex who went to fight Isis in Syria".i.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2019.Retrieved21 December2019.
- ^Blake, Matt (1 April 2018)."Anna Campbell's father: 'I don't think I had any right to stop her fighting in Syria'".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 5 April 2019.Retrieved2 April2018.
- ^"Adrienne 1960–2012".Archivedfrom the original on 29 September 2020.Retrieved8 November2020.
- ^Gibbons, Katie; Spencer, Richard (18 March 2018)."Anna Campbell killed fighting alongside female Kurdish unit in Syria".The Sunday Times.ISSN0140-0460.Archivedfrom the original on 17 July 2021.
- ^abSweeney, Steve (26 October 2019)."Bring Anna Home".Morning Star.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020.Retrieved14 July2020.
- ^Pérez-Peña, Richard (19 March 2018)."Drawn to a Cause, British Woman Dies Fighting Alongside Kurds in Syria".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on 29 March 2019.Retrieved28 March2018.
- ^Norton, Alexander (20 March 2018)."I fought with the YPG and I'm upset by the patronising reaction to Anna Campbell's death".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 6 April 2019.Retrieved30 March2018.
- ^"British woman killed while fighting in Syria was 'fearless and noble'".Shropshire Star.19 March 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 15 July 2020.Retrieved14 July2020.
- ^"Memorial for YPJ martyr Anna Campbell in London".ANF News.1 September 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020.Retrieved14 July2020.
- ^Blake, Matt (23 March 2018)."'Thousands could die': female British fighter urges support for Syria's Kurds ".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 29 March 2019.Retrieved27 March2018.
- ^Warburton, Dan (24 March 2018)."Dad of a Brit killed fighting ISIS launches desperate bid to bring home her body".mirror.Archivedfrom the original on 29 March 2019.Retrieved27 March2018.
- ^Evans, Martin (21 March 2018)."Father of British woman killed in Syria demands more help to repatriate her body".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Archivedfrom the original on 29 March 2019.Retrieved27 March2018.
- ^King, Susan (24 October 2019)."Grieving Lewes father of Anna Campbell takes legal action to bring her body home".Sussex Express.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2019.Retrieved21 December2019.
- ^Edwards, Matty (19 May 2022)."'Help me bring my daughter's body home': Dad of Anna Campbell speaks out ".The Bristol Cable.Retrieved20 July2022.
- ^Cork, Tristan (23 March 2018)."'Anna is with us' – Protest blockades BAE office over death of activist ".bristolpost.Archivedfrom the original on 29 March 2019.Retrieved27 March2018.
- ^Grimshaw, Emma; Chipperfield, Daniel (16 March 2019)."LIVE: Large police presence as protests block busy Bristol roundabout".BristolLive.Archivedfrom the original on 29 November 2020.Retrieved4 March2021.
- ^Smith, Joseph (24 March 2018)."Graffiti, signs and messages of love for Anna Campbell spring up across Bristol".BristolLive.Archivedfrom the original on 18 January 2021.Retrieved4 March2021.
Further reading
[edit]- Dearden, Lizzie; Osborne, Samuel (19 March 2018)."British woman killed while fighting with an all-female Kurdish militia in Syria".The Independent.Retrieved3 October2021.
- Gibbons, Katie (29 March 2018)."Anna Campbell's family: 'We were seven, until she went to Syria'".The Sunday Times.ISSN0140-0460.Archivedfrom the original on 17 July 2021.
- Vardy, Emma (19 March 2018)."Briton killed fighting with Kurdish unit".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 9 April 2019.Retrieved27 March2018.
- Immortal: mourning, martyrs & murals,2019,ISBN978-1-78972-016-7
External links
[edit]- "Letter to Helin".Internationalist Commune of Rojava. 20 March 2018.
- 1991 births
- 2018 deaths
- Anarcha-feminists
- Women soldiers
- Military personnel killed in the Syrian civil war
- People from Lewes
- British feminists
- English anarchists
- British plumbers
- British military personnel killed in action
- Alumni of the University of Sheffield
- People's Protection Units
- Foreigners killed in the Syrian civil war
- Deaths by Turkish airstrikes during the Syrian civil war