Ey Raqîb: An Anthem of Kurdistan

Hey enemy, the Kurdish nation is alive with its language
Can not be... defeated by the weapons of any time
Let no one say Kurds are dead
Kurds are living
Kurds are living, their flag will never fall

Ey raqîb her mawe qewmî Kurd ziman,
Nay sikên danery topî zeman
Kes nelê Kurd mirduwe
Kurd zîn duwe,
Zîn duwe qet nanewê alakeman

We, the youth are the red colour of the revolution
Watch our blood that we shed on this way
Let no one say Kurds are dead
Kurds are living
Kurds are living, their flag will never fall

We are the children of Medya and Keyhusrew
Both our faith and religion are our homeland
Both our faith and religion are Kurd and Kurdistan
Let no one say Kurds are dead
Kurds are living
Kurds are living, their flag will never fall

The Kurdish youth have risen like lions
To adorn the crown of life with blood
Let no one say Kurds are dead
Kurds are living
Kurds are living, their flag will never fall

The Kurdish youth are ever present and
Forever will be ready to sacrifice their lives
Sacrifice each life they have, each life they have

Lawî Kurdî hazir û amadeye,
Giyan fîdan e, giyan fîda her giyan fîda,
Giyan fîdan e, giyan fîda her giyan fîda


‘Ey Reqiîb’ is an anthem of Kurdistan written by Yonis Reuf, who is also called ‘Dildar’. Yonis Reuf is born in 1917 in the city of Koye. After finishing school in Kirkuk, he moves to Baghdad and here he studies law. ‘Ey Reqîb’ is written in 1938. At the time, he is in jail in the Kurdistan province of Iran.

‘Ey Reqib’ means literally ‘hey guard’, the title is more often translated as ‘hey enemy’. It is the song of the short-lived republic of Mahabad in Iran in 1946 and is still sung across all the borders of Kurdistan.

It has also become the song of the Partiya Karkarén Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in its struggle against the Turkish state. In Turkey and across all the borders of the Kurdish people, their rights have been denied. The language and culture of the people, their right to self-determination has suffered under continual state denial and prosecution.

This time must end. The Kurdish people must have the right to be themselves: to speak and to write and to work and sing their own song.
By:Patrick Mac Manus