He would be 36 years old if the russian army hadn’t killed him while he participated in the Ukrainian resistance on 11 November 2023.

Many activists who participated with him in struggles in Calais, France, knew him as Joy. He carried this Joy in the battlefields here and previously in Rojava, and comrades remember him joking about the possibility of getting killed while fighting for what he saw as the rightful struggle of people in arms. He joyfully sacrificed himself for the sake of others.

In an interview he gave us in 2022, he said: “Ukrainians deserve free education and health care for what they are doing resisting the invasion here.” 

His given name was Yusef. He was a fighter, a soldier, an anti-authoritarian activist, a writer, a musician and a historian by degree — accordingly, he was a very interesting person.

You can listen to him play the guitar here.

And here, you can listen to him reciting a poem by Vasyl Stus in English (the link will be available for a week).

He was loved by many in our movement, and we continue to encounter comrades across the world who knew him. It’s always a pleasure to talk about him, as he was so kind — carefully finding ways to leave a mark on your memory with a smile or a meaningful look. Smiles tend to linger longer in our memories, but the lessons learnt must also be carried forward by those still alive.

Yusef – Joy – Marcy, a week before being killed, passed this message to one of our members:

“If people are tired of this war, tell them to come and join the fight. People are fighting and struggling here, and people need help. This is not a video game.”

Never forgive. Never forget.