Anna Campbell has died in Afrin

Published 10th April, 2018
Dreams become homeless anywhere people are dying, and this is especially the case when they are giving their lives in a struggle for freedom. I was in touch with Anna for many years via letters; she lived in the UK and was involved with ABC (Anarchist Black Cross), amongst other things. To start with, she wrote to me under a pseudonym, Daisy, and from 2015 onwards as Anna.
I recall a young, lively, critical woman who suffered my poor English with patience. Her letters were illustrated with fun drawings and she always seemed full of humour and warmth.
When I found out a few weeks ago that she had been murdered in a Turkish bombing in Afrin (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ma/19/briton-kurds-anna-campbell-dies-fighting-turkey-syria-afrin), a comrade sent me this news article, my heart was full of grief.
For the person who is dying, death means the end of their time, and for those who are witnessing it, time also stops, at least for a moment.
With the many reports of injuries and deaths in Rojava and Afrin, a personal connection to someone who was fighting there makes the suffering much more tangible.
So many family members, friends, comrades miss Anna; I will not be getting any more letters with fun drawings from her anymore.
Was it a nice life she had, a full existence? This is a question anyone should be asking at the end of their life.
From what I knew of her, and her friends, she certainly had a full life: one embracing it completely.
And she was prepared to put her life on the line for a struggle to make the world a better place.
Anna is not alive anymore, but she lives on as a memory in so many hearts.

Thomas Meyer-Falk, c/o JVA – SV-Abtlg., Hermann-Herder-Str. 8, D-79104 Freiburg
https://freedomforthomas.wordpress.com
http://www.freedom-for-thomas.de