I remember the first time that me and heval Botan could sit and talk with a cup of cai in our hands. We spent the morning together planting trees on a riverside, digging holes and getting our hands on the mud, dreaming about keeping the desert out of the arid lands of Rojava. It was spring 2018, Afrin had just been been occupied by the mercenaries of the Turkish State. Continue reading In memory of heval Botan
All posts by tekosinaanarsist
International anarchist call for solidarity: Earthquake in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan
The earthquakes of 6 February and their aftershocks have devastated entire regions. The death toll is in the tens of thousands and continues to rise. Access to water, electricity, gas, food and other basic necessities is reduced or non-existent for millions of people.
Anarchist Struggle in Rojava, interview with the final straw
Original post here: https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2022/01/23/anarchist-struggle-in-rojava/#AnarchistStruggleInRojava
Anarchist Struggle, or Tekoşîna Anarşist in Kurmanji, is an anarchist combat medic collective operating in Rojava since the time of the war against Daesh / Isis, though its roots go back further. For the hour, you’ll hear a voice actor sharing the words of a member of TA calling themselves Robin Goldman about the their experiences of Asymmetric Warfare waged by Turkey and its proxies in the TFSA, the culture of TA right now, the medical work they’re doing, queerness in Rojava and other topics.
You can find TA online on twitter at @TA_Anarsist as well as their website TekosinaAnarsist.NoBlogs.Org. Members of TA suggested that folks interested in queer and trans organizing in Rojava support the group Keskasor, Kurdish for rainbow and based in Diyarbakir, Turkey. It can be emailed at heftreng.keskesor@gmail.com, found on twitter via @Keskasor_lgbti or on instagram at @KeskesorLGBTI, though their social media presence was last updated in 2020.
Comrade Reşîd, we won’t forget you
We are sad to learn that comrade Reşîd took his own life in 2021. He was an internationalist volunteer in YPG for over 4 years.
In our statement we want to honor his memory and speak of the mental health aspect of the revolutionary struggle, which needs much discussion.
Tekmil: A Tool For Collective Reflection
Published in avtonom.org on 28/04/22
What Is It
Tekmil is an instrument of collective reflection. The historical root of what we know as tekmil can be traced to authoritarian communist traditions, such as Stalinism. Although, Mao was the first one among these traditions to put so much emphasis and importance to the methods of criticisms and self-criticism. Overall, we can state that critique and self-critique has been valuable for revolutionary movements in general, and has never been alien to non-authoritarian revolutionary movements in general.
In the context of Rojava, tekmil can be translated as “report” – further, one can trace the development and transformation of this meaning depending on the situation. Still, the literal translation makes sense to keep in mind – humbleness and shortness are valued in tekmil. It contains many cultural codes, mechanisms and ideological assumptions, and it requires an understanding and a solid philosophical and ideological foundation. Continue reading Tekmil: A Tool For Collective Reflection
Remembering Rafiq Şamî, Ahmed Hebeb
Lorenzo Orsetti fell in battle side by side with an Arab fighter named Ahmed Hebeb. Those of us from Tekoşîna Anarşîst knew him as Rafiq Şamî. It was not a coincidence that they were together that day. Lorenzo and Ahmed knew each other well from Lorenzo’s previous four rotations to Deir Ezzor. During one of these occasions, Ahmed stripped down to his boxers, counting out for us from head to toe twenty-seven separate wounds that he had received while fighting ISIS over the years. Lorenzo wanted to be where the action was, and Ahmed always knew where to find it. They died together, in a hail of bullets with both guns blazing, providing covering fire to a group of their comrades who were retreating in the face of a desperate ISIS counter-attack. Ahmed was beheaded. For whatever reason, Lorenzo was not.