YPG internationalist fighter Agir is from the Americas. He spoke to ANF about why he joined the YPG-International, his impressions of Rojava.

How do you get to know Rojava?

I first heard about Rojava during the Kobanê War and was following in the news the development of the fighting against ISIS. So slowly I came to understand what was happening and what the YPG and YPJ were fighting for.

What are your impressions?

In my time here I have been developing a better understanding of the situation on the ground, concretely how people live and what it means to be here, something that is very difficult to understand from outside.

There are many problems, especially in regard to all the needs and conditions imposed by war that stands in the way of development. Most of the budget of the Autonomous Administration goes to the war effort. And this is a problem that needs to be confronted by the international community. Official recognition of the AANES, stopping terrorist attacks and threats and declaring all the region a No Fly Zone can help to bring stability and peace. It's also time that all countries took back ISIS foreign fighters who are imprisoned so they can be judged and condemned.

And despite all of this, despite the fact that change takes time, in only 10 years the society of North and East Sirya reached a point of no return. We are used to seeing the Middle East consumed by inner divi-sions between tribes, ethnical groups and religions; but here the tendency is going in the opposite direction, and we are seeing that tolerance and inclusion can be concretely achieved if its wanted. We are very used to hearing terrible statistics about violence and inequality against women, but here, despite the gender issue is far from being definitely overcome, every day there are more women taking the place they want in society. In culture, politics, military, economy, science, medicine, sports etc; and when I say taking place, I do not mean being integrated by an existing male-system, but by creating their own structures. And this has a huge difference and an inimaginable impact, not only for women, but I also feel for men. If we lose the fear of women's autonomy and freedom, it can also increase our own possibility of freedom.

What do you think about the ideology of Rojava?

I think the ideas of Rojava are needed and important at this moment for the Middle East, but also in a more general sense, for all of the world. To pursue a real democratic system that starts from the bottom of the people with inclusion of all ethnic groups and religions – and not of assimilation under the false flag of multiculturalism; womens liberation and autonomy as well a search for a different type of masculinity; and the need to seek ecological balance with the earth; is something that I deeply feel talks to my homelands and myself.

What is the value of Ocalan’s ideology for the world?

Abdullah Ocalan once said that Kurdistan could be like the oven for global change. And this is really true, especially when we think about all the thousands of people that passed through Rojava coming from all continents.

Until now, we have seen how Rojava defended the world against ISIS and how the world came to see Roja-va. Now is time for this experience to expand and spread across the world, and I believe we are gaining more maturity to understand how to realize this process and that little by little it can become stronger and more consistent.

So the value of the Ocalan's paradigm, I think, lies in this pattern of keeping going further the way he is showing us, to crossing it with other roads that are going parallel, expanding his ideas not as it would be an intellectual talking to others but to put it inside a collective dimension.

What can people in your country do about the conspiracy?

I think that there isn't a lot that we can do to put pressure to achieve freedom for Mr. Ocalan and support a peace process in Kurdistan. We are very far away in a geographical sense, but also on the periphery of geopolitics. Nevertheless, if they want to silence the voice of Ocalan and of the Kurds, we can't stay idle and need to do our best to multiply this voice, in order to bring to failure the structural reason for his imprisonment.

What is the meaning of 9 October?

Well, 9 October marks the day when Che Guevara was killed. 

This day also marks the beginning of the International Conspiracy against Abdullah Ocalan. In this sense, it is important to never forget that everything is globally tied. But also, we need to relate these events to what today is the increasing impact of Ocalan’s thinking in many places of the world where there is the growing feeling for the need for an alternative to a world that looks like it is going to end in the next decades. So this date is like a call to everyone to not only try to understand and learn the ideas of Ocalan and others, like Murray Bookchin, but also to do more and develop his paradigm for a new and sustainable world.  

Also, on this same day in 2019 there was an offensive against Serekaniye and Gire Spi that resulted in a short but heavy 10-day war. At the time, internationalists marked their commitment and solidarity in the field, doing medical work and giving martyrs.

Is there anything else you want to add?

I want to send a big hug to everyone that is reading this. I also want to honor the memory of all the people that sacrificed their lives to build a better world.

We live in a period where it looks like war is our constant reality and destiny, that war is our inescapable reality. War is a big waste. Waste of lives, waste of resources, waste of intelligence, of time… a waste of everything. And we have reached a moment where humanity will not be able to keep living in this world if there is not a deep change in the course we have been taking in the last millennia. So let's loose the fear and at least try to do something, together.