Rebuilding

Some of us may remember the siege of Kobanî. The fighting in the city left most of the place to lay in ruins. For locals, nevertheless, life goes on. As things started to look safe again, they slowly started to return to the war-torn city. Before the civil war Kobanî was home to more than 200.000 people. Most of those who sought refuge in neighbouring Turkey have returned. So far around 170.000 citizens arrived back to their hometown. The rebuilding of Kobanî is not finished, but it is slowly starting to regain it’s past beauty.



Kobanî is by far not the only city that was hit by the war. Cities like Hesîçe‎ (Al-Hasakah) and Serêkanî (Ras al-Ayn) are other examples of the damage that was caused by ISIS. Rojava today is safer and more stable than most areas in Syria are today. Next to that the People’s Protection Units and their allies are advancing southward and westward. The people of Rojava and ISIS are day by day moving further away from each other. This is one of the things that enables the region to rebuild itself. Not only International Organisations are working hard to rebuild the area, the inhabitants themselves are also involved in rebuilding their cities.



This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Daily life

Being able to go to school again, buying clothes, watching movies, having grass lawns, playing football (including Women’s teams), having Traffic Police or running a bakery. We see these things slowly return in Rojava. It is of great relief when simple aspects of normal life return after being directly in a conflict zone for years. The reconstruction is by far not finished, but that does not prevent the citizens from making the best out of the situation.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Kurdish, Arabic, Syriac

In Rojava there live people of multiple Ethnicities. You have Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen, Armenians, and so on, living together. There are three main languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac. This can sometimes bring difficulties. Like 3 different names for the same city. But recently the Rojava government started to install city signs in the three languages. Most people speak Arabic, since this was the standard language in Syria under the rule of Assad. In the Syria of Assad Kurds were not allowed to officially use their language, nor allowed to register their children with Kurdish names. Publishing books and other materials in Kurdish has also been forbidden for a long time. That’s not the case anymore under the Rojava government. This video shows one of the first official Kurdish courses in Syria.

Activism and Strikes

Something you would maybe not expect in Syria. Activists and workers on strike. A group of young women started an awareness campaign to reduce early marriages. In the city of Qamishlo, Taxi drivers went on a strike to protest against a political decision. In Hasakah, Syrian female painters tried to promote peace through an art exhibition. Elsewhere activists opened a place to assist traumatized children.

Health

Food and medicines are also being checked. Recently in Afrin tests wer done on water wells. When food or medicine is has gone bad, it has to be thrown away. When the stores are unhygienic, it needs to be changed. That is one way in which the local governments try to keep the people healthy. There is also a Rehabilitation Center. In Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) hospitals are being repaired and will soon be back to business. Health Department opened a free hospital for emergency cases in Kobanî city.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Other

A reportage showing the market in Qamishlo. Fire brigade at work. An archeological discovery in Afrin. The dismantling of Improvised Explossive Devices . The opening of a culture&arts academy .

This slideshow requires JavaScript.