Ali Ali

Liberating a place politically is a quicker and easier process than solving all of its problems socially, which can be culturally rooted and require a transformation in mindsets. Since the first cities of Rojava began to free themselves from the Syrian regime in 2011, there have been several simultaneous movements pushing for the rights of oppressed groups in Rojava.

On the 12th anniversary of the Rojava Revolution, Kurds and their supporters held the 2nd annual Rojava Street Festival in Vienna. For two days, Kurds and their friends took to the streets of Austria’s capital city. The first day of the festival was held outside the Kurdish Democratic Society Center of Vienna, stretching over two blocks. The streets thumped with the sound of Kurdish artists singing traditional songs and the melodies of traditional Kurdish instruments such as the tambur.

What does it mean to repair a destroyed city? Is it merely the construction of buildings or the restoration of collective hope? Leila Mustafa, former co-chair of the Autonomous Administration-affiliated Raqqa Civil Council, passed away from medical complications on November 23rd this year. For six years, Mustafa had worked tirelessly to rebuild from the ashes a once-great city that had been first defiled as the capital of ISIS and then reduced to a heap of rubble.