#69: Defend Rojava! Part 4, More Interviews on Revolution and Solidarity

As the news breaks of a Russian-Turkish alliance determined to stamp out Kurdish autonomy, what’s at stake in the international fight to defend Rojava? This episode continues our exploration of the embattled revolution in northeastern Syria through interviews with a variety of anarchists who have engaged in international solidarity work there. One recounts the women’s movement and the impact on gender roles of the autonomous social experiments in Rojava, while another provides an inside look at the armed forces and the struggle against ISIS. Participants in the Internationalist Commune describe their educational and ecological projects, and two anarchist combat medics serving with the SDF in the war zone describe their experiences. We hope these will deepen your understanding of this complex effort to remake society from the ground up amidst war and fascism on all sides—and strengthen your solidarity efforts, as we fight to support the resistance in Rojava. As we mentioned last time: even though we’re focusing on the crisis in Kurdistan again for this episode, let’s not forget that even as the Turkish bombs are falling, other important rebellions are taking place across the world—in Chile, in Catalunya, in Ecuador, in Haiti, in Lebanon, in Hong Kong, and beyond. We’ll have more coverage of these and other revolts through the Ex-Worker and on the CrimethInc. blog in the days and weeks to come, so stay tuned! {October 23nd, 2019}   -------SHOW NOTES------   Table of Contents: Introduction {0:01} Interview with the Internationalist Commune {5:29} Interview with Merva {12:13} Interview with Internationalist Volunteer in the YPG {23:22} Interview with Anarchist Combat Medics in Rojava {52:04} Solidarity Song: Go on Home, Turkish Soldiers {1:02:57} Conclusion {1:04:48} This episode includes CrimethInc.’s previously published interview with the Internationalist Commune in Rojava, an excerpt from a Final Straw Radio interview with two anarchist combat medics in Rojava, and this song based on an Irish anti-colonial resistance ballad reworked for Rojava today. One of our interviewees recommends that supporters donate funds to Heyva Sor, a Kurdish medical aid organization that is helping to bring urgently needed medical supplies to the war zone. Want to learn more about the situation in Rojava? Check out podcast episodes from It’s Going Down—This is America #92 includes an interview with an Assyrian anarchist in the region—and The Final Straw. We decided not to include this letter from the PKK to the American people, but we’re including the link so you can read it if you’d like. Although we’re not aligned with all aspects of their perspective, we do think it’s important to hear how some Kurdish militants are framing their struggle to an American audience, and to offer folks here who are working to mobilize people in the US against the Turkish invasion and in solidarity with Rojava tools with which to do so. IMPORTANT: over 100 groups and individuals have signed on to the following “Call to Action: Solidarity with Rojava—Against the Turkish Invasion! An Urgent Call from a Network of Organizations”. If you or your organization agree, you can email the organizers to add your names: coordination.for.rojava at protonmail dot com. This list of demonstrations around the US in solidarity with Rojava and against the Turkish invasion will continue to be updated as we learn about more events. For further background on the radical potential of the Rojava experiment, we encourage you to listen to the two previous Ex-Worker engagements with the topic, Episode 36 and Episode 39. Want to take action? Consider organizing a boycott or direct action using this list of businesses and institutions that are complicit with the Turkish war effort.