Received anonymously:
“For years I had heard all these stories about Rojava – great stories of resistance, heartbreaking stories of comrades falling Sehid (martyr), being remembered through tears, laughter and action, and of difficulties. It had always caught my attention; this place, so far away from our reality. A place where I don’t need to fear the police raiding my house, but instead fear the bombs and drones Turkey sends over. The hope that shines in people’s eyes when they talk about Rojava and the fact that many of my beliefs are being put into practice there, was also something that had always caught my attention.
Now, I am here, living many of the things I had only heard about previously. In just the short time I have been here, Turkey has assassinated several comrades, including two YPJ commanders who were part of the famous resistance against ISIS in Kobane. They were wounded there and had been living in a house for comrades wounded in war. Yet, there is silence from the so-called democratic western states admit such clear war crimes. Only days later, I went to a march demanding the freedom for Abdullah Öcalan; we were thousands marching together through the city. And most beautifully, the same wounded friends who survived the attacks only days before were leading the march, showing the spirit of “no pasaran! Em nacim! You will not get through and we will not leave!”.
The revolutionary spirit cannot be denied here, whether it is in the streets talking to people, visiting families who have been part of the Kurdish movement for decades or spending time together with the small team of internationalists who have traveled a long way to get to know the Rojava Revolution.
So, I will try to write a small regular update on Rojava, the developments here, and how I connect it to the broader anarchist and liberationist political movement that we are all part of.”
