Lorenzo “Orso” Orsetti

Dear friends, family, and beloved ones of Lorenzo, Orso, or Tekoşer as he was known to us.

We send greetings to all friends who gathered here today, from the place where Lorenzo and us spent one year and half together. We lived a prolific life together, there were joyful times, but also troubled times, we learned, we labored, we rested; and together we endured the cruelties and hardships of war, yet continued to find inspiration and strength from the struggle for freedom of the people of Rojava.

There are no words can describe how indispensable he had became to us, how our everyday life has changed ever since his passing. His memories still echo back into our mind in every steps of our way. We still remember how we would talk and joke about everything, especially we would play national stereotype jokes on each other. We have not forget the taste of the homemade egg pasta, gnocchi, cheese sauce and ragú that he would spent hours to make, so to boost the morale of everyone. Or how much he loved puppies, that he would hug every single one of them; or how he would tell everyone how much he missed his dog. There are many more stories of him that we want to offer you, if only the whole world will stop and listen.

It is incredibly important for us to let everyone know that Lorenzo did not come here just because he was bored of his life or because he craved the thrill of combat and killing. Lorenzo was an anarchist and believed that no person should rule over another, but rather co-exist in agreement and mutual aid. As Lorenzo wrote in his last will, “Only by overcoming the individualism and selfishness in each one of us, can the difference be made.” Yet we all know that we are living in an atomized society, where money and capital overwritten our humanness, system of hierarchies and authorities dictated how our life is organized.

Many may have turn away and concede that there is too much evil in the world. After all what is the point of giving up the only meager little comfort that we have to stand against a formidable tide? But Lorenzo with his own action proved that it is wrong to think in such way. Lorenzo considered himself a soldier, a militant, a man who walk along the revolutionary path; and he acted as such. On the battlefield, he was always the first to risk his life for others, and he was always the last to retreat. On many occasion he volunteered for the most dangerous tasks, even putting himself in grave danger to retrieve bodies of fallen comrades. Lorenzo never gave up, even when everything seems lost. Just like during the resistance of Afrin, even when drones flew over us, airstrikes rained down around us, Lorenzo would always face it with a smile no matter how daunting the situation was. No matter how difficult it was, all he needed was a cigarette to keep his morale up.

“And I hope that you too one day decided to give your life for others. Because it is only like this that the world can be changed,” Lorenzo wrote. In the end of the day, if we do not live our lives for others — if we choose to be oblivious to each other’s suffering, if we choose to remain idle then we are complicit in perpetuating the continuation of sufferings of the world. Never give up on the hope of change, never give up on the people around you. As Lorenzo told us, “keep on finding strength and inspire it in your comrades. It is exactly in those darkest moments that your light helps.” Thousands across the world had gathered to celebrate Lorenzo’s legacy, his words inspired and will continue to inspire many more. He is the proof that the seed of change begin with no others but ourselves.

Recognize our own desires, feel where our passions lead us, yet never forget that we are part of something bigger than oneself. Be ready to act in defense of our aspiration and those in need; fight for justice, equality and freedom, even by paying the highest prices... That is one of the hundreds ways to explain what it means to be an anarchist, as Lorenzo had demonstrated to us.

Lorenzo and us had mutually explored and learned from the fruits of the struggle of Rojava that an anarchist could possibly find. He fell how any of us could fell, and as some of us have fallen indeed. He fell while believing in what he is doing until the last moment. What more can one wish, other than standing his own ground and act according to his heartfelt desire, passion and conviction until the last breath?

Lorenzo used to joke that he had missed the chance to receive the highest honor of being the first Italian international martyr of Rojava. But for those of us who gathered here today, he achieved much more than that. We will forever cherish his memory, we will always hold dearly his legacy. With the spirit of his sacrifice, we are carrying the legacy of people’s struggle for free life and happiness. Let it be one of the most beautiful things that he had bestowed upon us. Let us constantly remind ourselves of these words, “every thunderstorm begins with a single drop, try to be this drop.”