Call for Rojava
Recently, an ongoing political process in Rojava (West Kurdistan) is radically and deeply transforming the local society.
Since the Syrian conflict escalated and resulted in a civil war, Kurd movement in Syria, leaded by the PYD (Democratic Union Party), has gained control over almost all the Kurd region in the north of the country.
In 2013, PYD announced to be ready to declare autonomy and proposed a constitutional document called Charter of the Social Contract. Thus, an autonomous region resulted from the popular revolution. The Rojava autonomous region is constituted by three self-governed and democratic cantons. All cantons declared independence in 2013: Cizire, in January the 21st, Kobane in January the 27th and Efrin in January the 29th. Each canton is autonomous, ruled through a popular assembly and has got defense forces both mixed, YPG, and composed of female members only, YPJ.
After a long period of indifference of mainstream media toward the Rojava situation; Kobane city gained sporadic attention of the media in the last few months because of the IS siege on the city. The IS siege on Kobane lasted 130 days and has recently concluded. Kobane city is now free, but combats have not ended yet. Neither, the Turkish and other regional powers collusions with IS have ended.
We are aware that the ongoing war is not against the region or its inhabitant, but it mainly is a struggle against the opportunity represented by the Rojava autonomy experience. It isn’t a State for a people, but it is a self-ruled regime of governance among people and communities living in the area.
Kurdish aren’t fighting for a State, a flag, a border, a law and order, they are fighting to build up a “democratic confederation” for all people to be free to govern them-selves.
In the last months of resistance and attacks, Rojava society has kept struggling against gender discrimination and to overcome a sexist and patriarchal system. It has kept taking responsibilities to protect the environment and defend it from capitalist overexploitation of natural resources.
Since the war has began more than 100 thousand people left Kobane and other 30 thousands left surrounding villages. In the Urfa province (Turkish South-East) are displaced more than 150 thousands persons. The Suruc-Aligor area hosts more than 50 thousands. Survival needs of deplaned persons are handled through self-disposal solutions, supported by small scale local organizations. Five refugee camps are already operative in the Suruc area and a new one is already hosting more than 10 thousand people while other 20 thousand live on the street or with host families.
Refugee camps are in need of all first necessary goods, to respond to this need we are willing to lunch in our town active forms of solidarity to the West Kurdistan ongoing revolution. For this reason we set up an open assembly to support the Rojava fight and self-governance experience, called “Caravan for Rojava”. We are building solidarity coherently with our principles, through self-management and fight.
The most urgent needs we are aware of concern health and care, along with economic resources. We are going, together with other Italian and Kurdish entities, to identify the better ways to respond to these needs. We are willing to travel to the area next spring in order to set up, together with local people, the best ways to support their revolutionary experience. Moreover, we are organizing a series of meetings and events to counter-inform and collect funds to be invested in the projects we will identify as urgent along with people living in Rojava-Bakur area.
We are supporting the Rojava popular resistance, we support the displaced persons in the Turkish territory, and we support this fight, because we believe in the underling political and social vision and goal. We are organizing real solidarity able to be political and social practice in itself, because we are aware that there isn’t Solidarity without Uprising.
