Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Interview with Derik Municipality

In 2019, a city partnership between Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Derik was established. Since then, several projects have been realized in cooperation, including ecological initiatives, service provisions and information exchanges.

Shehmaran Health Center for Natural Medicine opened in Shehba

In Sheba, a region where thousands of people who fled Afrin because of the Turkish occupation of Afrin in 2018 have been living for the last 6 years, a health center for natural medicine was opened by the Kongra Star Health Committee on January 15, the anniversary of their foundation. This center is intended to

Days of work, thoughts of resistance

The time to prune the trees of our camp has come, actually it’s almost late but we had a lot of work to do until now. Anyway, at the end, in the last few days, equipped with secateurs and saw, we have worked on the garden of the Internationalist Commune. The friends who came before

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.

Something I Want to Make Everyone Feel

It is impossible to pass through places like Raqqa, Minbic or Kobane without confronting the reality of war, among the destroyed buildings but at the same time, the rebuilding of the cities that is still in progress. The destruction caused is still visible, but besides the fact of the destruction, what influenced me during the days of our tour to get to know Rojava, was how much the energy of this youth overflowed. This is what enchanted me the most.

The world can learn from the Rojava revolution

Let’s reflect on the great achievements of the Rojava revolution in north and east Syria in the face of great adversity: the unification of communities deliberately divided on the basis of religion and ethnicity by dictatorial states and the Islamic fundamentalist terrorist movements alike; the liberation and empowerment of women in the face of the reactionary rollbacks imposed by the later; the embryonic attempts to reorganise the economy on a cooperative and ecologically sustainable basis; and the establishment of inclusive grassroots democracy based on the democratic confederalist ideas developed by long-imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Women’s cooperatives overcome water wars and climate drought in Rojava

Ever since devastating twin earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria on the night of 5-6 February killing over 50,000 people and displacing millions, the world’s attention has once again returned to the Turkey-Syria border. A catastrophe for all affected, it has been intensified for Kurds in Turkey and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

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. 

Statement by ecology movements in Turkey- demands for immediate action

Immediately after the February 6 earthquake, one of the biggest in the history of Turkey, a broad meeting of Ecology Organizations in Turkey published this statement.