Dîkmedaşê

THE VILLAGE OF DÎKMEDAŞÊ

20/7/2016

The village of Dîkmedaşê is one of the villages of the Şera district, located about 10 km east of the town of Şera and 28 km northeast of the city of Efrînê, and 13 km west of Kilis, and only 500 m south of the border of Northern Kurdistan.

The name of the village Dîkmedaşê is a Turkish name meaning ((upright stone – daş = stone, dîk = upright)). That is, previously a black stone and a white one were standing on top of each other in the village.

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The foundation of the village's people is from the village of Qurnê, and it is said that a person named Reşo bought the site of the village, where there was previously a ruin, from the Ottomans, and later the name Dîkmedaşê was given to it.

There are many villages around Dîkmedaşê whose names are Turkish, such as Ereb Wêran, Yazibax, Îkîdam; previously they were all affiliated with the Kilis region across the border.

The village of Dîkmedaşê is only 2 km from the city of Ezazê, so the relations and connections of the village people with Ezazê were very strong, and they got all their necessities from there, but after the attacks by gangs on the villages of Efrînê canton, this connection was cut.

There are 4 main families in the village:

The family of Mihmedok, Henan Koçer, Sefero, and the family of Erifê Hemzo. These families are not from one family, but they are all Kurds.

About 125 houses and nearly 800 people are from the village.

The people of the village make their living from agriculture, and like many villages in the canton, the cultivation of olive groves is of primary importance, along with walnut, almond, and grape trees, and the cultivation of za'atar, for which the village is famous. They plant it in their courtyards and enclosures and sell it to merchants.

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Because za'atar is mostly found on the border, and the farmers' efforts to harvest it, many people from the village have lost their legs due to mine explosions.

Along with them, sumac is also grown to a good extent in the village, and cherry trees have also been cultivated by the villagers in recent times.

About 15 people go to Efrînê daily and work in various factories. 5 people also work as employees in the institutions and bodies of the Autonomous Administration.

To the north of the village of Ereb Wêranê and the Kewa valley, to the east is the Seqerdepe mountain or Serî Gazê which is all rock, the border of Northern Kurdistan and the village of Ze’delîn across the border, to the south is the Parsê mountain and the village of Qestel Cindo, and to the west are the village of Omera and the Gur valley.

It is worth mentioning that all the people of the villages across the border (Ze’delî and Selebiyan) are relatives of the people of Dîkmedaşê, and their relations and connections with each other are still ongoing.

The Lower Well is an ancient well to the west of the village, and the people get their drinking water from it. The Village Well is to the north of the village, but due to the abundance of new wells, its water has decreased. The Spring Well is near the village's shrine, but it is not used.

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There are 5 ancient caves in the village, which are used as storerooms or as places for sheep and livestock.

There is a primary school, an olive press, and a mosque in the village.

There are 3 martyrs from the village, and their pictures adorn the village:

Martyr Haron Efrîn, Piling, and Martyr Mehsûn. The village commune has been named Ş. Piling.

Some of the notable people in the village are:

Mihemed Dawûd: works as a prosecutor in the People's Court of the Efînê canton.

Darîn Xezewî: is the co-mayor of the Dêrsiwanê municipality.

Reşîdê Xoce: was one of the village's mullahs and was known as a teacher. In the villages of Omera and Yazibaxê in the 1955s, he taught students to read and write.

It is worth mentioning that the Turkish state sometimes bombards the village as a show of anger against the people of Rojava.

Because the village is near Ezazê, it faces many attacks from gangs. One of them was in the 10th month of 2013,

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an attack by the gangs named (Asîfet Eşşemal) came upon the village, and as a result, all the people of the village took up arms and, with unparalleled resistance alongside the YPG and YPJ fighters against those gangs, they broke those attacks, and the gangs fled and were defeated.

Also, in the war of Qestelê in the years 2013, 2014, and 2015, the people of the village, both young and old, joined the resistance war and protected their region and villages.