Listen here to our daily update:
Dear comrades, friends and sisters,
we are reaching out to you from Rojava, were life is being defended.
The heart of this defense and resistance, stays Kobanê, both symbolically and physically. In the city, that is still under siege, 400.000 people are without access to electricity, water, food and medical supply. The situation is getting worse every hour and is far beyond a humanitarian disaster. In the same time the resistance stays decisive. The counsel of the Firat Canton, in which Kobanê is placed, made a statement today, saying: “The city, that defeated ISIS in the name of humanity, is today again – in front of the eyes of the world – besieged and attacked. These attacks have no difference in their brutality to those by ISIS in the year of 2014.” Furthermore they evaluate, that the attacks are aimed against the political and societal structure of North and East Syria (NES), that has been built up on the values of self-governence, gender equality and democracy, and say:
“Our revolution will continue, until we have archived a free and dignified life.”
With these statements they make clear once again, that this war is not about resources and not limited only to NES, but concerns the whole humanity, as it is about understanding and defending life. As women that struggle for freedom, as people that struggle for change, we should always remember this: That the question to ask is: How to live? And that the answers to this question are our actions of defense right now.
A ceasefire agreement has yesterday been extended by the STG. But despite this this morning the forces of the STG, the Turkish state and the jihadist groups tried to advance around Kobane again. The SDF prevented this and fought back.
Later in the day the SDF published an Update:
“A child was killed and three others were injured as a result of ongoing artillery shelling carried out by Damascus factions on the village of Al-Qasimiya, West of Kobani, in a clear violation of the ceasefire extension agreement. “
The Self-Administration called the ceasefire a pretext which is not decreasing the threat of war, that the STG is waging against Rojava, but also expressed their continuing readiness for dialogue. They said, “The unity of the people and the spirit of resistance are the foundation of our steadfastness”. And that is clearly seen in the streets of the cities and villages of Rojava, where the people continue to organize their self-defence.
The situation of the refugees is not just in Kobane disastrous. In the cities of the Jazira canton schools, institutions and so on, have been emptied for the thousands of families that are seeking refuge, as well as many families have taken in their relatives. The wider society takes part in the caring, but there are big difficulties of supply, like electricity, which adds to the already existing difficulties to keep the places warm in these cold times.
I also want to say something about the situation in Rojhilat/Iran, which cannot be seen disconnected to the war in Rojava. The numbers of murdered are rising continuously, while the protests are not getting less. These days the massacres are especially happening in Kurdish areas, which calls for unity in struggle across state borders. Especially women and their call for freedom are being attacked. Also in Turkey the protests are going on, and are answered with hundreds of arrests, accused with terrorism charges. Which calls clearly for the old question: Who are the terrorists here?
The struggle continues. Lets defend our revolution! Jin jiyan azadi! Greetings from Rojava
