Siwan Meriwan;
“Neither heartily nor spiritually, even for a single moment I have been separated neither from these mountains, nor from the comrades who dwell in them. They have both been my mate. Although my name is ‘Oysal’ but recently that I am living among the guerrillas I have changed it to ‘Chiya’ (mountain). Though I am not in a position of being honored by such a name, but I try to deserve it.”
These words belong to Xelil Oysal known as Xelil Dagh; a journalist, film director and a guerrilla who was Turkish by origin. He lost his life in 2008 in Besta region.
Xelil Dagh was born in 1973 in Izmir, Turkey. His life journey began in Izmir and ended in the mountains of Kurdistan in 1st April 2008. An interesting point is that the day that Xelil Dagh began his struggle as a guerrilla was also 1st April.
In 1995 he travelled to Syria as German cameraman assistant to pay a visit to the Kurdish national leader Abdullah Ocalan in Damascus. Later when he travelled to the mountains of Kurdistan as a correspondent of Shey he never came back.
During his life as a guerrilla he had always carried his camera, pen and notebook. Although he used his camera recording the events of warfare, yet recording of the guerrilla smiles delighted him the most.
During his life in Germany, he was teaching photographing. During his guerrilla life, the photos he took and the films along with the footages he produced were all in the service of what he described as, “Those things that are happening in the mountains I want to record in the memories and the hearts forever, because these are the most heroic youth of the Kurdish people. They, by the way of their lives and their appearances, and me by the photos I have taken, have set a bridge among ourselves.”
Xelil Dagh whose name became known after Beritan movie, produced six films during his guerrilla life time. All of his movies were produced in the mountains and the actors were the Kurdish guerrillas.
Pointing to his life in the mountain, at a point he said; “I only brought my body to the mountains but what I have taken from the mountains are numerous.”
Lately, he was intending to work in Botan region producing a series of films titled as the Passenger of Agri Mountain. In description of this piece of work he observed, “Travelling toward luckiness, even if I don’t fulfill this aspiration, I will keeping travelling toward Ararat similar to the ant that is losing its life in the way toward Kaqba.”
Xelil Dagh’s final journey was analogous to the common dictum saying; “even though death would be late, yet it is soon”, and he lost his life on 1st April 2008.
He outlined a meaningful life and death as follow; “instead of babbling at the sideline, it is better to move to the core where the heat could be felt. If there is life in these mountains let be how it is, and if there is death let it be how it is.”
