Aysenur Ezgi Eygi has never seen an injustice that did not affect her personally.
That’s how her friends remember the Turkish-American activist, who was shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank last week. They say she was known for her empathy, her joyful presence and her willingness to support oppressed people, no matter who they are or where they are.
For many members of Eygi’s community in Seattle, Washington, Aysenur – pronounced Aysha-Nour – was a name synonymous with laughter and compassion.
“She was a light in any room,” said Kelsie Nabass, a friend of Eygi.
“She always had the biggest, biggest smile on her face. She was the friend of the room, making jokes and little side comments and making sure the atmosphere was always fun. She was very warm and very, very welcoming.”
Eygi was 26 years old. She had big dreams and wanted to study law at university. Her life was cut short when an Israeli soldier shot her in the head while she was taking part in a protest against an illegal settler outpost on September 6. Israel acknowledged that its forces “probably” fired the fatal bullet.
“She went there to see the Palestinian people and their struggles,” Nabass said. “She was committed to Palestinian liberation, and I think that’s what drove her to come there in the first place.”
Friends say Eygi has been involved in protests throughout her life, dating back to 2016 when, as a teenager, she joined activists at Standing Rock to reject an oil pipeline that threatened the drinking water of North Dakota’s indigenous people.
“From a young age, she has been a warrior for social justice. She has always fought against inequality,” Nabass said.
“I know that the Palestinian people were very important to her because of the oppression that they have faced for 75 years. And I know that she stood for the liberation not only of the Palestinian people, but of all people.”
“Big Sister Energy”
Eygi was born in Turkey, but grew up in Seattle on the west coast of the United States, where she attended the University of Washington (UW).
Those who knew her say she had a remarkable ability to bring people together, creating community around her hospitality, food and advocacy, especially during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Her murder was deeply felt in the various social circles she frequented and came into contact with.
UW student Bitaniya Giday lamented that she will no longer be able to hear Eygi’s stories and learn from her activism.
“It’s a great tragedy,” Giday told Tel Aviv Tribune. “I’m deeply saddened that I’ll never get to know her better… She had a very strong network. In the wider community, we’ve lost a comrade. We’ve lost a lawyer. We’ve also lost a sister. And for me, I feel like I’ve lost a mentor.”
Juliette Majid, another friend of Eygi, noted that the activist cared about the rights of marginalized people in the United States and around the world.
“She wore her heart on her sleeve and she was very caring,” Majid said, adding that Eygi had “big sister energy.”
Eygi’s dedication and easy-going nature were evident even to those who knew her in passing, such as Lubna Alzaroo.
“She was a very, very cheerful person, that’s what I thought of her,” Alzaroo, who met Eygi only once, told Tel Aviv Tribune. “She was very kind, had very kind eyes and a very beautiful smile. She was very easy to talk to.”
Calls for responsibility
Friends of the Turkish-American activist say nothing can fill the void left by her absence or make up for her loss. To ensure accountability, they want the US government to heed her family’s call for an independent investigation into her murder.
Earlier this week, the Israeli military said Eygi was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally.”
After the Israeli assessment, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Kamala Harris both called the killing “unacceptable,” but stopped short of supporting an independent investigation.
Additionally, the family has not heard from President Joe Biden, who has a history of calling the relatives of U.S. citizens killed abroad.
“We have been waiting for President Biden to pick up the phone and do the right thing: call us, offer his condolences, and let us know that he is ordering an independent investigation into Aysenur’s murder,” Eygi’s partner Hamid Ali said in a statement earlier this week.
Eygi’s friend Majid said she could only amplify the family’s demands for an independent investigation.
“She was an American citizen. She deserves it, and her family deserves justice, and that’s what I want. I want the American government to take this case seriously, to bring justice to Aysenur, and to hold the perpetrators accountable,” Majid said.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and other officials appear to be using unusually direct language when criticizing Israel for the killing, but Giday said anything short of meeting the family’s demands is “not enough.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Senator Patty Murray sent a letter to Biden and Blinken demanding “an immediate, transparent, credible and thorough independent U.S. investigation” by the FBI.
Sixty-six Washington state lawmakers also made a similar request in a joint statement this week.
In memory of Ezgi Eygi
The northwestern state has already experienced the suffering of a resident killed by the Israeli army: in 2003, activist Rachel Corrie was deliberately crushed and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza.
Although no meaningful accountability has ever been secured for her death, Corrie – who was originally from Olympia, Washington – has become a symbol of Palestinian rights activism in the United States.
More than 20 years after her brutal murder, it is not uncommon to see posters of Corrie at Palestine solidarity protests.
Eygi’s memory will also live on, his friends promise.
“We will talk about her forever. I know I will carry her memory until the day I die, whether I am in Seattle or not. I will carry her memory in every space I enter. We will always remember her,” Giday said.
But she struggled to find the words when she thought of her friend as someone who would be remembered but not physically present – like Corrie.
“I have heard about Rachel for a long time. It is difficult to think of Aysha as a martyr now,” Giday told Tel Aviv Tribune.