Turkish troops crossed the border to hit the Kurdish movement once again, on 9 October. Just shortly after Turkey announced an invasion in Rojava/Northeast Syria, people all over the world organized and took to the streets for Rojava, which in the last years has become a dawn of hope for social and ecological movements, feminists, anarchists and socialists in the Middle East and all over the world.

In the cities of Bari, Bologna, Bolzano, Catania, Cosenza, Empoli, Florence, Genova, Milan, Modena, Naples, Padova, Palermo, Pisa, Reggio Calabria, Riace, Rimini, Rome, Siena, Torino, Trento, Treviso, Udine, Venezia, Verona and many more cities, rallies organized by wide solidarity networks took place, with thousands of people participating.

Various movements, organizations and individuals declared solidarity for the people of Rojava and their radical democratic project, among them the feminist network of Non Una Di Meno, CISDA (Italian Coordination for the Support of Afghan Women), the National Association of Democratic Jurists, the political party of PAP (Potere al popolo), the Women's international league for peace and freedom (WILPF), the Feminist Proletarian Revolutionary Movement (Movimento femminista proletario rivoluzionario), the Anagrafe Nazionale Antifascista and many more. The family of Lorenzo Orsetti, who recently fell martyr of the Rojava revolution, also wrote a letter to the public, calling for the people of Italy to defend what their son and brother had fought and died for.

Besides dozens of rallies all over Italy, activists called attention to Turkish state fascism through various creative actions. Among other things like graffitis, spreading flyers and hanging posters, activists, i.e. in Naples, blocked the Check-In of Turkish Airlines. Under the slogan “Boycott Turkey, No to Turkish invasion in Rojava” activists successfully blocked a flight to Istanbul at the Capodichino Airport. On Saturday, the local group of Fridays For Future in Napoli disturbed an event of the Foreign ministry to call for a stop of military support for Turkey.

In Florence, activists blocked a bridge and the traffic for at least one hour to call attention to the attacks on Rojava. On Saturday, the entry to the Uffizi museum of Florence was blocked in solidarity with Rojava.

In Rome, Florence and Milan, hundreds of people protested in front of the Turkish and U.S. embassies. 

In many of the actions and rallies, activists drew attention the role of Italy in supporting the Turkish state, for example revealing the connections between banks and companies, e.g. Unicredit which owns Yapi Kredi, the most powerful public bank of Turkey, or the Leonardo S.p.A., an Italian armaments group which participated also in the so-called “Operation Olive Branch” which destroyed the Afrîn region of Rojava.

Further actions and central rallies are being planned for the upcoming days and weeks.