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Ali Ali 6 posts 0 comments

Ali Ali is a Kurdish journalist, researcher, and photographer from Rojava. He has previously worked as a contributor and head of public relations at the Rojava Information Center, and has contributed to North Press Agency, Arab News, the Kurdish Peace Institute, and Orient XXI.

The Struggles & Triumphs of People with Disabilities in Rojava

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 […]

Celebrating Rojava on the Streets of Vienna

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 […]

Everything Felt Possible: Remembering Leila Mustafa

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 […]

Traumatized by Turkish Airstrikes: Testimonies from Rojava

Children searching around for their father’s head. Cats running away from homes and refusing to return. Fires so bright they turn the night into day and resemble the surface of the sun. Terrified children who have gone mute out of fear. Fainting mothers who awake and do not recognize their children. Six young friends lying […]

A Tourist’s Guide to Rojava’s History

Any cursory google search of “Rojava” or “northern Syria” will likely leave you with a litany of articles, videos and photos consisting mostly of soldiers, war, and destruction. This one-sided media coverage of Rojava often fails to address the human side of the local society. Those who wish to take a deeper dive into Rojava […]

The Children of ISIS: KCS Reports from Roj Camp

On February 16th, 2023,  the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a press release expressing “grave concern” about reports that the male children of ISIS fighters, some as young as 12, had recently been removed from the Roj Camp in Rojava (northeast Syria), 13 kms from Derik. In the wake […]