When I heard that Senator Lindsey Graham had passed away, I felt a sorrow unlike the grief of losing a martyr, yet it was sorrow all the same.

Graham did not die defending Kurdish rights. He passed away peacefully in his home in the United States, surrounded by comfort and security. But for many of us watching from exile, from refugee camps, and from the forgotten margins of the world, his death felt like the loss of one of the few voices that truly listened to the suffering of the Kurdish people.

For years, while much of the world overlooked Kurdistan, Graham stood with the Kurds. He introduced the Save the Kurds legislation, advocated for military assistance to the Peshmerga, and repeatedly called for support for the Syrian Kurds. He was a rare figure in American politics a politician who sought to turn his words into action and legislation. I never had the chance to meet Senator Graham, and I probably never would have. Yet what he did mattered to people like me to Kurds living in exile, to Kurds who continue to struggle, and to a generation that has learned not to expect the world to care. What set Graham apart from countless politicians who offer little more than words of sympathy was that he acted. He used whatever influence he had to stand up for a people the world has too often chosen to forget.

That is rare. And it is worthy of remembrance.

The Kurdish people have lost a friend. The world has lost a voice. And for those of us who are still waiting, still hoping for justice and dignity, the silence feels just a little louder today.