Category: Mutual Aid
Mutual Aid is a volunteer-led initiative / project where groups of people in a particular area, or from a particular community join together to support one another, meeting vital community needs without the help of state institutions or NGOs. It is, by definition, a horizontal mode of organising, in which all individuals are equally powerful. Mutual Aid, in simpler words, is co-operation for the common good.
Mutual Aid – in all of its forms and varieties – is a universal practice, rather than a catch-all term, or definition. It is an evolutionary factor as old as life on Earth.
Read more about the history and current practices of Mutual Aid around the world today at our sister project: www.mutualaid.coop
The articles below are about Mutual Aid practices in both North and East Syria (Rojava / West Kurdistan) and southeastern Turkey / North Kurdistan (Bakur). You can also search for article on Mutual Aid according to region.
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Van Municipality opens budget eatery to support residents
Van (Wan) Metropolitan Municipality has opened a new low-cost restaurant, Kent Lokantası, in İpekyolu (Rêya Armûşê) district's Beşyol Park. The initiative aims to support residents struggling with the ongoing economic crisis in Turkey.
Solidarity with disabilities in Aleppo
Nûdem, an organization established to provide care and support to people with disabilities, has started carrying out activities in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods.
Shepherds give fire victims 350 sheep in an act of solidarity
Kurdish Shepherds started a solidarity campaign to give sheep to the villagers affected by the fire between Diyarbakır (Amed) and Mardin (Mêrdîn) in which 15 people lost their lives. They have already distributed 350 sheep and goats to the villagers.
Afrin-Shehba Canton Municipality continues to serve people despite attacks and embargo
Afrin-Shehba Canton Municipality does not stop its activities despite the attacks and embargo, and serves the public based on an ecological life. In 2024, solar energy will spread in the districts and villages.
Post-earthquake challenges persist for women in affected regions of Turkey
As the first anniversary of Turkey's devastating February earthquakes approaches, women in the earthquake-stricken areas continue to face a spiral of violence and poverty, with calls for organisation to address these issues, report Mezopotamya Agency's Yüsra Batıhan and Şilan Çil.
Civilians targeted by Turkey tell of their living conditions without electricity and water
In large parts of Northern and Eastern Syria, the population's supply of electricity, water and fuel has collapsed due to Turkish attacks. Women in Qamishlo talked about their living conditions.
Kurdish Red Crescent builds housing for those affected by earthquake in Shahba
The Kurdish Red Crescent is working on a project to build housing units for those affected by the earthquake in al-Shahba district, with donations made by the people of Sulaymaniyah as part of the “We Keep You Comfortable” campaign.
What do we want to re-build? Earth as the source of life, not as an enemy
Mutual support has expanded: from the families, the neighborhoods, friends in the region to all around the world. People self-organizing have proved once more the strength that we, the people, have. This proves the necessity to recover the trust in our capacities; the ability to reflect, overcome and solve problems together; the awareness of our interconnections; the relations and actions that put them into practice; the questioning of our real necessities and aims connected to life.
Neighborhood commissions established by earthquake survivors in Semsûr
The earthquake survivors in Semsûr have established neighborhood commissions to support and be in solidarity with each other. The aim of the commissions is to build a communal life.
Syria and Rojava after Maras-centered earthquake
The Maras-centered earthquakes destroyed more than a hundred buildings in Syria and Rojava. 3,581 people lost their lives and 5,348 were injured. Thousands are still under the rubble in the Turkish-occupied areas as the death toll is not disclosed.
Earthquake in Turkey: the state versus the people
The HDP’s strength lies in its ability to mobilise and organise its large network of supporters and sympathisers and like-minded community organisations. As soon as they heard about the earthquake, the party dropped all other plans, set up a central coordination centre, and dispatched leading members to the affected area. Local election centres were transformed into coordination centres, while the youth organisation concentrated on rescue work. They put out calls for solidarity and for people with shelter and food to share with those without, and they helped create a framework to allow people’s natural solidarity to find direction.
