‘Such a brave soul’: Friend remembers Turkish American rights activist killed by Israeli forces

​​​​​​​By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Nilan Aydin remembers the possibilities of what could have been.

For a year, her fellow psychology major at the University of Washington (UW), Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, mentored Aydin, then a junior to Eygi’s senior. Eygi helped Aydin navigate the academic rigors of the program, find research opportunities, and access accommodations offered by UW for students with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), a condition both women shared.

Despite being perennially busy, Eygi, 26, always found the time to lend a hand, a trait Aydin recalls fondly.

“She always helped me, always called me to help, always offered me help. She edited my essays. Just helped me in any way that she could. She did a lot for me. I talked about my future goals with her. She shared her future goals with me. She just helped me a lot,” Aydin told Anadolu.

Eygi graduated from UW in Seattle in June and had just arrived in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday before joining weekly protests​​​​​​​ against Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law.

She was shot in the head by Israeli forces during a protest, three days after arriving.

The Israeli military said it “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them.”

That narrative has been staunchly rebuffed by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which organizes protests in Beita -- a village outside of Nablus.

The organization maintains that Eygi, who was working as a volunteer observer, was directly targeted by Israeli forces, and denied that any rocks had been thrown.

“Some media reports have repeated false claims that ISM activists threw rocks during the peaceful demonstration in Beita. All eyewitness accounts refute this claim. Aysenur was more than 200 meters (nearly 660 feet) away from where the Israeli soldiers were, and there were no confrontations there at all in the minutes before she was shot. Regardless, from such distance, neither she nor anyone else could have possibly been perceived as posing any threat. She was killed in cold blood,” said ISM.​​​​​​​

Witnesses said Eygi was standing away from the main protest area when she was fatally shot. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, medical workers were unable to save her.

Eygi’s death raises the number of protesters killed in Beita since 2020 to 18, according to the ISM.

Beita residents hold protests after weekly Friday prayers to oppose the illegal Israeli settlement of Avitar, which sits atop Mount Sbeih, and overlooks three surrounding villages, including Beita. The community demands that the settlement be removed because it violates their land rights.

- ⁠‘A brave soul’ who deeply cared about ‘justice for everyone’

As Aydin reflected on her friend’s legacy, she admired two of her strongest traits, bravery and empathy, saying her former mentor “cared a lot” about others. That became especially pronounced when the women found solace in one another amid Israel’s war against the besieged Gaza Strip.

“I talked about how sad I was about what was happening in Palestine, and she started talking about how she was helping them, and she talked about how she's joining these protests. And I joined some protests too at UW. I really felt connected to her, because I could feel that she really cared about everyone in the world, justice for everyone,” she said.

“I think what she did, going to the West Bank and protesting for the Palestinian farmers there, took a lot of courage. She was such a brave soul,” added Aydin.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began 11 months ago. Sweeping expanses of the densely populated coastal territory have been reduced to ash and rubble amid Israel’s sweeping bombardment.

Eygi, born in Antalya, Türkiye, in 1998, studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures at UW. She was known around campus for her commitment to activism and community service.

- Eygi would have wanted to be remembered as ‘A brave person who stands on the right side of history’

Aydin said Eygi would have “liked to be remembered as a brave person who stands on the right side of history, and talks about the problems of the world, because a lot of privileged people, they do not use their privilege to speak about people who are not privileged.”

“She had a great life in Seattle. She graduated from a great school. She didn't have to go there, but she did, and that took a lot of courage, and I think she (would) love to be remembered as a person who cared for everyone, and a brave person,” she added.