All language subtitles for Commander.Arian. A.Story.of.Women.War.and.Freedom

I miss everything.

I miss my comrades,
the fighting, the war.

Sharing the pain
and the difficulties

and the joy of liberation.

To enjoy freedom after suffering
is an incredible feeling.

But if I lived an ordinary life,

then I’d end up being afraid
of death.

-Let me see.
-No, leave it.

What will you do with it?
I can smell urine, can't you?

-It's mine.
-But it smells bad.

It's my body.

I'm a bit unpleasant.

-My clothes smell.
-It’s you that smells.

That's all right, isn’t it?

It looks better, comrade.

I was wounded by five bullets.

While we were on a mission.

A man from Daesh hidden
in a hencoop shot me.

A bullet entered my spine.

Another one shattered my elbow.

One bullet injured my lung.

Another hit my sacrum.

My sacrum broke and the bullet
was lodged in my stomach.

When they removed the bullet
I lost metres of intestine,

and it’s still open.

-Should I apply it here?
-Yes.

-Those pills are good at night.
-I left them here.

Open a new box.

My comrades and the doctors
were afraid I would die.

I always told them no, I'll live.

I must live.

There's still a lot of work to do.

How many days
have I been wounded?

It has been
one month and 17 days.

-A month and 17 days?
-Yes.

That means 47 days.

Yes, 47 days.

Oh, the bones
should have healed then.

Yes, they should have healed.

But my back is giving me bother.

Your doctor will give you some
exercises to do.

Yes.

We have people
in even worse situations.

Our world has been destroyed.

We have martyrs.

I hope everything goes well.

OK.

It was 2015,

we had started the liberation
of the villages surrounding Kobane.

Can you hear me?
Bring my field glasses.

The enemy is approaching.
Spread out!

Our land was in the hands of Daesh.

All roads were blocked.

We couldn't get
any help from outside.

Kobane was under siege.

Daesh wanted to suffocate us.

Come and shoot here!

They attacked, we retaliated,

and now they are all
coming at us like animals.

Look at them running!

Now they are all
spreading out.

Look out, they went
into those houses.

We set up an independent army.

A female armed forces.
The YPJ.

If you are attacked,
you have to protect yourself.

Wear your boots.
No make up or perfume.

Bring simple clothes.

Come on, girls.
It's late.

We have to get all this out.

Do you know anyone
with a big car?

All our stuff is ready to go.

Thank you.

The Daesh fighters are savages.

They want a society,
a life without women.

To them, a piece of fabric
is worth more than a woman.

That's why we, the YPJ
are fighting against them.

To stop them being a threat towards women.

We'll fight them till
there's not a single one left.

Oh! Mother why are the whole world’s
problems on my shoulders?

We are destroyed
and exiled in this world.

We are destroyed and exiled
in this world.

They burnt down our house, mother.

And our country, mother.

We’ve got no home to go to.

This is a struggle for freedom.

Kobane has great
sentimental value to us.

It's our city, our land.

People say we women
are taking up arms to make war.

But if you are attacked,
raped and cut into pieces.

Why don't you kill them
before they kill you?

Now our comrades are there,
and we set off from here.

This is Tell Abyad.

Our target is 25 km away.

The red dots are Daesh.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

6 villages controlled by Daesh.

We should advance in this direction.

All these areas are mined,
so don't send anyone there.

It’s best to follow this line.

So we can block the road here.

We secure one village,
and we move on to the next.

We advance in two wings
until we meet.

To break the siege of Kobane,
we had to open a corridor.

We had to clear Daesh
out of all the villages,

all the way till Tell Abyad.

We, the East front
went from the edge of Kobane.

The other front went from the West.

If we can meet, all the civilians
can go back home.

Everything ready?

Kobane,
you are the heart of Kurdistan.

Hello Arian, how are you?

When you were wounded
I was in Cezire.

A comrade showed me your photo.

I hope you get well soon.

You are young,
don't even think about dying.

My arm hurts.

The worst is my left arm.

The one I used to use
to shoot my Kalashnikov.

My fingers aren’t working properly.

They’ve got no feeling.

Move the plate closer to her.

We've finished
and she’s hardly eaten.

Mind your own business.

I always dreamt of
becoming a female guerrilla.

When I was little
I looked at the other girls.

All they wanted was to fall in love,
get married and have kids.

I asked myself:
"Is this what I want?"

When I was in 4th grade,

a girl was kidnapped
from my neighbourhood.

They raped her and she got pregnant.

She was 12 or 13 years old.

When her family got her back
and realised she was pregnant,

they killed her.

I felt really scared and wanted
to escape that kind of life.

I wanted to do something
to change things.

When the revolution started
I saw women were joining too.

They took up arms
to fight for freedom.

What mostly got my attention,

was their wish to liberate
women from slavery.

"Me too", I told myself:
And here I am.

I've massaged my hand
and spoken to comrades from Kobane.

How are you?
Is your arm better?

It's better,
but the screw fell out.

I don't know why.
I'm a bit worried.

It has been like this
since yesterday.

Wait till it heals.

This part is all swollen.

-Was it ok before?
-It wasn't like this.

-Arian, do you want some tea?
-No thank you.

I want Coca-Cola.

The hose doesn't reach.

As a woman, Nupelda,
what do you want to achieve?

Look at me.

Why did you join?
What was your goal?

What seemed unacceptable to you?

Why are you with
the Women’s Protection Units?

Heval Rojda?

What kind of woman
do you want to be?

What do you mean, Arian?

How long have you been here?

-Around 10 months.
-10 months, ok.

During these 10 months,

what kind of change
have you experienced as a woman?

What's different here
from living with your family?

There is a goal here.

Within my family
there was no such thing.

You just grow up,
go to work, get married.

But here,
everything is different.

Comrade Rivan?

When I came here,
it was awful for me.

I didn't believe in myself.

But as I got involved,

I started to see things
from another perspective.

That beauty is not
related to the body.

And I want to learn more.

How to enrich my thoughts

and be free.

We all need to ask
ourselves this question:

I'm Arian, what should I do?

What should I do in the future?

What kind of woman
do I want to be?

Surely, if you don't
fight for your goals,

you will live like slaves.

Always behind a man.

Giving birth to children,
taking care of the house.

I always say this:

As women we have
no choice but this life.

-Did Daesh take that village?
-Yes, it's occupied.

-Behind it there’s another village.
-Daesh is there too.

And in the village
on the left.

That's our situation.

Look, there’s people there.

Civilians?
Oh, God!

Tell Abyad is our target.
That's the mission.

Arian is already on her way
with her group.

When I see these villages
I feel very sad.

-For your village?
-Yes, for all villages, mine included.

Yes, comrade,
I’m on my way.

I will organize the comrades
and get back to you.

Daesh is on the other side of town.

One group gets into the village.

You gather all the people
in one house.

Some of you guard that house.

The others go
and check all the other houses.

Off we go.

We got one with images of Daesh
on his mobile.

Let me show you.

-Is he young?
-Yes.

Are those his?

Let me see.

What's your name?

He says he found the SIM card
on the floor.

He says the pictures
are from the internet.

Some of the pictures
he took in town.

They are all Daesh related.

They won't surrender easily.

Daesh enjoys killing and destroying
everything.

In many villages we found
dead civilian’s left on the floor.

They use landmines everywhere,
in the fields and in the houses.

I'm the governor of the village.

Okay.

We are the army,
we're here to protect you.

We are all on your side.

-Are they from the village?
-We are all together

Listen, we’ve got the ones
who are with Daesh.

But we can't frighten
the other villagers.

Take them to the garden.
Don't let them go anywhere.

Ok, take them all.

Please go inside that house.
Nobody’s going to hurt you.

Search them first.

Come on.
Yes, you can go.

Everybody please move over there.

Don't cry, dear.
It's all ok.

When I rescue a woman
That feels defeated,

a weak, vulnerable
and humble woman,

for me that is freedom.

-Hello mum.
-Hello my love.

-How are you?
-Fine, and you?

If you're ok, I'm fine.

I'm glad you're happy.

I can't talk very much.
I’ve got people here.

For now I just wanted
to hear your voice.

Can you talk tomorrow
around five o'clock?

We'll see.

If I don't go out, I'll call you.

-Going out?
-I go out by myself now.

-Really?
-Of course!

-Alone or do you get help?
-I walk on my own.

Thank God!

Say hello to
everybody there!

Ok, I'll send you some photos.

The day my comrades
came home to pick me up,

it was hard for my mother.
Though she tried not to show it.

Her daughter was leaving for ever.

When I walked into the room
I noticed the silence.

My mother had been crying.

A comrade was sitting
next to her.

I sat down.

The comrade said:
"Let's go to another room."

We went and she said:
"Arian, are you ready?"

I felt over the moon.

I quickly went and took
my mother's hand.

She looked at me and said:
"Look at my life"

"Do what you think is best for you."

The new comrades have arrived.

Working together is good.

Caring, helping
and supporting each other.

If you have any problems
tell your female comrades.

It's prohibited to discuss
any problems with male comrades.

The male comrades
are your comrades in war.

-What about going home?
-What?

Home?
That’s a delicate subject.

If you think about home a lot,
it will distract you.

When I think about home,
I get melancholy, so I try not to.

Hello Baran.
Can you hear me?

Hi, how are you?

I'm fine, do you know
where you're going?

Well, the revolution is spreading.

The revolution is getting better.

When the next mission begins,

I might be sent
to the Arabic region.

Be careful Baran.

Be careful.

Of course, darling.
Or I won't get to see you.

I want to see you.

I always wanted to see Baran
in an army uniform.

When I first saw him,
I hardly recognized him,

but I knew he was my brother.

We had two days together
and I was so happy.

Those Daesh fighters
are young boys and old men.

When they attacked Kobane,

there were more than a thousand
of them.

It was chaos.
We couldn't count the corpses.

My sister was captured.

They beheaded her.

What was that?

I can't hear you properly.
What's the situation?

The comrades were attacked.
It's gone quiet now.

-Was it a land mine?
-Yes.

After the explosion,
Daesh retreated.

They hide behind the houses.
We don't know which ones.

The weaker Daesh get
the more violence they use.

Every time we reach the next village,
they attack us again.

They have killed
many comrades with car bombs.

Get him off the street, comrade.

Don't you see the digger?
What are you thinking?

It's fine, continue.

Should we shoot at the house?

At the house and the bulldozer.

Shall we take position in the house?

Yes, then we can shoot from
both sides.

Even if they are 15
we can still handle them.

We’re sending a car.

But we’re running low on bullets.

Everyday the same thing.
Daesh kill or behead somebody.

Yes. Sometimes it's hell.

They attack
village after village.

You said your father
fought for eight years.

What happened when he came back?

He lost all his teeth in jail.

He’s only got one left.

-Did they torture him?
-Yes.

Did you leave your boyfriend
because of your father?

Yes, our families
didn't see eye to eye.

His family didn't like me
singing in political meetings.

He told me that
he understood and agreed.

Then I told him
I was going to fight.

He said:
"Let's go together."

-Both together?
-Yes, I believed him.

His brother found out.

He tied him up,
and took him to another city.

I called.

His brother answered,
and said my boyfriend had gone.

I called and left messages
many times but no answer.

One day he called me.

He said that he
wouldn't leave his family.

Then I smashed the SIM card
and came here.

I told the commander
to send him my ring.

The other day in the car
I cried because our song was playing.

If God doesn't take your life,
you don't die.

Go back, get it and come here!

Arges, Arges!

Arges, go back to point 12.

Tell them 23!

There are three cars coming.

Get out of there!

-This does not look good!
-No, no!

Stop, that's enough.

Comrade, come!

There is a car coming fast!

Comrade, get back!

Don't cry.

You shouldn't cry.

Oh, my soul.

You are

the love of my life.

Oh, my soul.

My love quenches my thirst.

To prove your love
you need to sacrifice.

Love can't be as simple
as getting married and procreating.

If the land where I set up
my home is under threat,

how can I protect that love?

We fight to let people live
with their culture and their rights.

Together,
within a democratic Syria.

Men and women together as equals.

For all this I need to fight.

To free myself.

To free my thoughts,
my society and my gender.

And not to get weak
under any circumstances.

If I become weak,
we all become weak.

Good morning, comrades.

Good morning.

Good morning, get up.

Where is Cicek?

Get up, don't hide there!

Get up!

Do you want to say something?

Comrade Sozdar?

What do you want?

How come you don't
want to say anything?

-Comrade Nuda?
-It's not good to say:

"I want to get shot
to end my life".

It's so bad.
We all get angry sometimes.

You can tell us
that you are suffering.

But it's not good to affect
people around you negatively.

Your selfish attitude,

your unwillingness
to share with your friends,

or saying:
"I want to get killed",

are bad ways
to approach life here.

Ok, you want to see your mother.

But I don’t think
you can stay with her.

And give up everything.

A mother is sacred to all of us.

But this doesn't mean
we're under her control.

So first you think about your life,
Comrade Sozdar.

What kind of life do you want?

The life of a slave?
A life with no meaning?

A life where nobody
appreciates you as a woman?

Or a life with difficulties,

but that belongs to you?

A life where you can
represent yourself.

It's your life, Comrade Sozdar.

The only thing we can do for you

is to help you find your way.

As a woman,
I don't want you to become weak.

That's all.

Which life do you prefer?

I will think about it.

No need for sacrifice for no reason.

It's just for a while.

Then I'll come back.

So make your decision.
If you can’t go on, deal with it.

But don't say "I will stay",

and spoil our lives
or hate your life here.

This is the life of martyrdom.

My back hurts.

Where, here?

Let me see.

Here?

The pain goes from
the back to the leg.

Tell me where it hurts
when I touch you.

It hurts everywhere
in the back.

Tell me where it hurts
most when I touch you.

No, further up.

Wait.

-I'm staying today.
-Really?

We should let her rest.

I really slept a lot.

Ouch, My God!

All the liquid has come out.

-Really?
-Go to the bathroom.

It's all in my pants.

Oh my! You’ve changed so much.

I don't feel like
I've been away nearly a year.

-Where were you injured?
-Kadiriye.

That sneaky Daesh guy
was hiding in the coop.

He could see us easily.

So he shot Yasin
in the arm and stomach.

Yasin was bleeding a lot.
Like a tap running.

Believe me,
it all happened in a second.

I took off my scarf
to tie up his wound.

I went to do it
but before I could tie it up,

I fell to the ground.

The funny thing is
that a comrade sent me

a brand new uniform
she had sewn,

with lots of dedication.

It was beautiful.

I only used it twice.

The day I was attacked
was the second time.

When they cut it with scissors
at the hospital in Kobane,

I couldn’t help thinking:
“Oh, my uniform”.

We're organising
the operation to Raqqa.

-When is it starting?
-In about 10 days.

-Are you leaving today?
-Yes.

-Can't you stay?
-We have work to do.

I didn't plan
to spend the night here.

Ouch, it hurts. My ass.

-You have no shame.
-My ass hurts.

Sometimes that bag
makes noises like farts.

I have to tell my friends
that it wasn't me.

It was that thing
they’ve put in my belly.

Can you use your hand?

Yes, I do everything with it.

But the fingers have got no strength.

I can't write
or even hold a pencil.

My fingers are numb.

It will probably get a bit better,
they say.

They say it will get better
with exercises.

That’s enough about my health!

I want to take part
in the Raqqa operation.

Seriously, I would feel
a lot better in Raqqa.

We have enough fighters.

After Raqqa,
I'll go far away from here.

Where? To the mountains?

I don't know
where the hell I'll go.

Comrades say: "Arian you can't
use your weapon anymore."

I say: "Yes, I'm YPJ."

I know I can and I will.
I just need more time.

I know my comrades need me.

How far away are you?

About 5 or 6 km away.

-5 or 6 km from our side?
-Correct.

We are opening
the gate of Tell Abyad.

Yes, we're on our way.

You come from that side,
we meet you from this.

How many fit in this car?

How many are getting in?

Six, seven, eight.
Get in the car.

What are you doing there?
Come here!

Get in, get in!

Get in the back.

Get in front of us!

We’re moving forward.
I don't know the name of the village.

But it's on the road to Tell Abyad.

-Comrade Azmin, spread out.
-OK.

Is there anything else?

Just say hello to everyone and take care.

You too.

They stepped on a landmine.
Cemshid's troop was in front.

The bastards used remote-control.

-How many down?
-Five.

We have to be very careful.

Don't go further.
There are mines ahead.

It's an explosion site.

The cars exploded here.

-What’s happening?
-Something is moving.

Did you see it?

-I saw them
-Two people are coming out now.

Now there are three.

Look at them running.

The one by the tree
is running away.

He doesn't know which way to go.

They are running.
They know they're dead men.

You killed the ones that were running.

Did you see them?

-Did you see them?
-Yes.

Comrade Arian?

-My bag is from Daesh.
-Really?

From Daesh, yes.

This is my old washcloth.

Wow, this is my smell
before I got wounded.

-Before you got wounded?
-Yes.

My smell has changed.
I don't know why.

My smell also changed
after I got wounded.

Smell it, my smell before
I got wounded.

Before I was wounded
we killed eleven Daesh.

3-4 wounded ran away.

Daesh spread information about me.

That there was
a commander named Arian,

who is going to lead
the Minbic operation.

Comrades warned me to be cautious.

"Arian, they want your head."

I said: "What can I do?"

A week later they attacked Kadiriye.

And Yasin got killed.

Yes, my friend.
He's a martyr.

Oh, my comrade.

These are the villages
where we were fighting.

Incredible.

It will be so hard
to visit Yasin's house, God!

Yasin is precious.

All comrades are precious.

There's Yasin's brother,
and his father over there.

-Is he the father?
-Yes.

I heard that you are back.

I'm pleased to see you.
It's as if I saw my Yasin.

I wanted to see you very much.

-Are you all right?
-Well, you know.

His death is holy.

When he was alive
we were proud of him.

Now that he's martyr
he's even more precious.

He'll be in the hearts
of millions of people.

At the hospital
when I asked you where Yasin was,

you said he was downstairs.
But he was already dead.

-Really, I didn't know.
-Yes, he was dead.

The last time he visited me
I told him:

"I want you to get married."

His commander said:
"You want to separate him from us?"

"Do you think
you can run away from death?"

His dream was to liberate
Cerablus and Minbic.

"Only then can we talk about
a normal life, not now", he said.

We are losing so much
being kind and humanist.

Our hearts are pure.
We are so naive.

To me you are all Yasin.

We liberated
the villages around Kobane.

Kobane city is free.

We proved women can fight.

It's even proven to the world
that we can.

Don't cry if I get martyred.

Be honoured

and proud of society.

Don't cry, mother,
if I get martyred.

Comrade Mahir, can you hear me?

Is the Tell Abyad border open?

Comrade Mahir.

We are on the way to Tell Abyad,
we’ll arrive tomorrow.

Good, now Daesh knows
who we are!

We played tricks on them.

Here's the good news:
We took the gate of Tell Abyad!

When I was on my way
to see my comrades,

It was a very special feeling.

Long live our leader Apo!

Long live our struggle for Kobane!

We started
this mission together.

With love, high spirits and will power
we overcame all difficulties.

Hoping to unite with comrades
we haven't seen for years.

How are you?

Well and you?

So where's Baran?

Baran is around, right?

How are you,
my ugly brother!

Don't kiss too much,
shame on you.

Our dream came true.

But it happened with the sweat
and blood of martyred comrades.

Too many comrades didn't make it.

They too were dreaming
of opening the corridor to Kobane,

and cleaning Daesh from our lands.

We fought and we paid the price.

I hope that things
work out for you.

Yes, you pray for me.

I want to work.
If I don't work, I feel bad.

They say I'm half a person.
I said: "No, I'm a full person."

They say I'm good at lots of things.

And could become
a politician or a diplomat.

I said: "Sure, I'm skilful
but my skills are only useful here".

-Let's get ready.
-We’ve got to go.

Put this on.

The tighter the better.

If you have to run it's better.

Are you ready?

Let's go, comrades.

We'll meet again, for sure.

Take care,
look after yourselves.

Keep your spirits high.

Don't break my heart, ok?

After we liberated Kobane,
I had to go to a new place.

We have to go wherever
our work is needed.

It wasn’t easy.

I think my comrades are in trouble
when I'm not with them.

Women, life, freedom!

Two months later
I was hit by five bullets.

-You were wounded here, right?
-Yes.

Keep doing your exercises.

My finger is still not fixed.

The bone is moving
and it's kind of numb.

-Are you doing the exercises?
-Yes, I’ve been doing them.

-It hurts, right?
-Yes.

In my case,
it hurt so much for two months.

But I think you will heal quickly.

You know what,
egg shells are the best medicine.

Smash the shells well
and dry them under the sun.

Mix the powder with milk
and drink it, it's very good.

You should also drink.
It's really good.

Does anyone visit,
women or mothers?

No, not really.

Are you doing everything yourself,
cleaning and so on?

Can you manage all that?

She breaks a couple
of glasses every day.

I told them to keep me away
from the kitchen.

Me with one leg and her with
one hand we complete each other.

Maybe I should join your team.

I'm well though, no disabilities.

She's limping but says
"I'm not wounded".

I'm not wounded.

She's not wounded.
Only five bullets hit her.

Where's my chips?

I brought you biscuits and snacks.

But why did I open them all?

Let's see what they have here.

Let's see here.
I'll buy something for them.

-Can you make a dress with this?
-Yes.

How much for a meter?
-1600.

1600?

I paid right?
Did you see the money?

Yes, they got the money.

Things are getting
expensive in Kobane.

Yes, because everything comes from outside.

Yes, that makes it more expensive.