To Estella Schmid and Her Friends
Our relative uncle Ahmet used to say: “Let it be little, but let it be pure; let the ears be discerning.” He was someone who had served as a village headman in seven villages. My father, on the other hand, would say, “Each of my friends is enough to rise up against a village.” To be fair, uncle Mirhasan, whom he settled in our village, pushed not only the village’s limits but sometimes my father’s as well.
In England, the so-called “Turkish left” acted like agents of the Turkish Republic, influencing trade unions, progressive institutions, and even organizations that should have remained neutral, such as Amnesty International, planting seeds of suspicion against the Kurds. Yet they could not even come close to a few courageous friends.
Harold Pinter, together with his friend Arthur Miller, organized a visit to Turkey in the 1980s to oppose the military junta. After this visit, Pinter wrote a play titled Mountain Language. We were in prison at the time, but their visit made the headlines. When I met him in London, I saw what a free-spirited, courageous, and wonderful human being he was. His wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, was like a symbol of elegance and beauty. One question he asked at a dinner held in their honour at the U.S. Embassy during the visit remains unforgettable: “Did you Americans teach these Turks how to shove batons into people?” When the ambassador said, “You are guests of the U.S. Embassy,” Pinter stood up and replied: “Ah, then I am leaving here immediately.”
Another friend was Lord Eric Avebury. Whenever the Kurds were in trouble, he would step into the arena like an elegant, combative, and noble knight. His office overflowed with books and documents; he stood not only with the Kurds but with everyone who was oppressed, from Burma to Taiwan, from the Tamils to Nepal. He was modest and self-confident enough to make fun of his own lordship. “Please call me Eric,” he would say with his saintly, smiling, and wise face. Alone, he was like a force of one hundred thousand people.
And of course, Estella Schmid… Both Estella and Schmid. From whichever theatres of Vienna and New York the winds carried her to London, from the 1980s onward, when one said “Kurd,” Estella came to mind, and when one said Estella, Kurds came to mind. Together with her life partner Micheal Banda and his brother Tony, they waged a great struggle for Kurdish rights. No matter how many writers, journalists, intellectuals, or politicians there were, once they fell into Estella’s organizing network, they rarely escaped easily. She touched people with her faith in humanity and her courage. Hundreds of world-famous figures placed their names and signatures at her disposal.
It was hard to grasp Estella’s energy and love. She reminded me of Ahmet Aydın from our town of Iğdır. Ahmet had no best-selling book, no paintings, no lofty message. But everyone who knew him would swear by his honesty and friendship. He himself was already like a book. Estella was the same. In England, she became the Kurds’ friend, mother, elder sister, and sibling. With her humble stance, silvered hair, and love-filled anarchist smile, she inspired people.
Estella, you challenge gravity and continue to resist.
For you, I am saving poems not yet turned into verses.
With your humble stance, your courage-filled soul, and your smile glowing with love, you have become a rock to lean on, a source of hope to trust in.
I greet you with love.
Hikmet Tabak
04 February 2025
Hikmet Tabak is a broadcaster and media pioneer best known as the founder and director of Med-TV, the first Kurdish television channel in history. He was also a leading founding figure behind other major Kurdish television initiatives, including C-TV in the United Kingdom and Medya-TV in France. With decades of experience in broadcasting and Kurdish media development, Hikmet Tabak has played a significant role in shaping Kurdish television in Europe. He is currently preparing to publish his first testimonial literary book in Turkish, reflecting on his personal experiences and work in media.