KAVIEN’s BIOGRAPHY

What you are reading here is a reflection on Kavien’s all too brief life; although he lived for a relatively short time – only 27 years – he lived fully, embodying love, kindness, beauty, fairness and friendship, all humane values much needed in such a chaotic world. Through his various actions, he contributed towards humanitarian efforts seeking to create a better world. As Professor Gill Hague, who knew him well, writes in her memoir: “Kavien came like a shooting star and illuminated us all, but quickly disappeared.”

At a time when gunshot sounds of civil war could be heard everywhere, Kavien was born in Koya town. Like any wartime child, he experienced life amongst the torment and sufferings of war. In 1997, his family fled abroad when Kavien was three and a half years old; since then Kavien, along with his parents and grandmother Rehan, lived as refugees in the Netherlands.

Fleeing war does not necessarily mean that war ends for any individual; it is internalized and often manifested in different ways among different people. War-torn families and refugees everywhere suffer isolation, dislocation, discrimination, loneliness, and the constant threat of poverty.

Kavien’s parents separated when he was seven years old. Kavien was brought up by his single mother, who managed to finish her studies, find a responsible government job, and take care of her only son. She truly dedicated her life to him. Grandmother Rehan and aunt Nazand also played a role in filling the gap of the absence of his father. But they lived in different countries, too far away geographically, and could not provide him with a responsible male role model.

After passing through adolescence, a sensitive age with many challenges and difficulties – especially in a liberal Western country such as the Netherlands – Kavien became a mature, understanding and intellectual young man, elegant, kind, fair and generous. He threw himself into studying, reading philosophy, literature and history to a level which well exceeded the norm at his young age, making him more mature and productive than his fellow peers.

In addition to studying at one of the most prestigious universities in the Netherlands, the University of Leiden, he was an ardent advocate for human rights. He fought against intersectional oppressions experienced by Kurds, striving for equality, justice and peace. He also advocated against honour killings and gender-based violence, against unsympathetic official treatment of refugees, and against the capitalist system. He campaigned for recognition of the Anfal and Yazidi genocides. He even fought against the anti-Semitism of far-right movements in Western Europe. His deep understanding of injustice led him to feel he carried the pain of the whole world and of humanity on his shoulders. Kavien’s big heart could accommodate everyone and anyone.

Dear reader, what we are expressing here is not merely a form of praise for our darling son whom we lost at such a young age. All his studies, advocacy and activism are enshrined in his works and writings. They resonate in the memory of those friends and people who met him: they all recognized these qualities in their messages of condolence, some of which are published on this website. International Criminal Court Public Prosecutor, Simon Minks (who successfully prosecuted Frans van Anraat, the Dutch business man who had sold chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein), has initiated and founded an organisation called ’Kavien’s Foundation for Justice’.

Simon, to whom Kavien provided assistance as a young Kurdish student, expressed his sorrow, saying that he knew Kavien closely and was familiar with his enthusiasm for justice: “Every day when I pass by the café where we used to meet, I wish what happened had only been a nightmare.” With the family’s aid, through this foundation, Simon hopes to extend Kavien’s legacy and realise his dreams for justice. The Foundation will give out an annual prize to a student or young advocate in the field of justice in his name. (more information about this foundation below).

Kavien’s various activities for justice and human rights are clearly reflected in his study, written works, poems and articles about honour killings, Kurdish and Yazidi genocides, capitalism, and state inactivity on environmental and climate change issues. When taking all his articles and assignments into consideration, it is crystal clear how intelligent, aesthetic and intellectual he was. From Marx, Durkheim, Hannah Arendt, Elie Wiesel, Rumi and T. S. Eliot to contemporary writers, Kavien had read their works and was familiar with their philosophy, poetic line, thought and ideology. The bibliography attached to his works shows how he surpassed not only his peers but us too. It was not surprising that he felt himself to be a stranger, alone in this world. Despite this, his passionate work gave meaning to his whole being; it drove him to rebellion, like Albert Camus’ Outsider Meursault. He was not pessimistic, but rather too realistic.

Kavien, in Camus’ terminology, was a rebellious and just person; the philosophical multi-faceted rebel, encompassing historical and metaphysical dimensions. His quest for justice, for equality, for freedom, and for harmony between human beings, was a reflection of his historical form of rebellion. This, according to Camus, is a revolt against all sorts of oppression: slaves against their masters, women against patriarchy, Kurds against Turkish, Persian and Arab states, black people against racist whites, Jews against Nazis, and humanity against capitalism.

As for his metaphysical form of rebellion, Kavien was aware of the deep-rooted sorrow of human beings. He felt the absurdity and meaninglessness of life. Against this form of suffering, one has to embody rebellion not against a political system, but against the creator, against God. He embraced life passionately, until he caught COVID. During the pandemic, human suffering took another dimension, and Kavien experienced existential pain more profoundly. His passion for life diminished and he decided to go.

With all this sorrow, Kavien could not wait for death, so he faced it by ending his own life philosophically. His suicide was not so much running away from life, but more like standing against that unseen force which annihilates humans, transforming them into soil and ashes. Before his act, he freed himself from anger and hatred, being prepared to forgive his father.

We, as the mother and close family, are proud to have had a son like Kavien. It is true that he is no longer with us physically, but his soul breathes within us. He is beyond, flying like an angel pouring words of wisdom, of kindness, compassion, justice, beauty and freedom upon us. Thus Kavien’s soul is liberated, and, with that great grief and trauma, we continue our lives with his memory, trying to embody his values on a daily basis.