Snow

In the last weeks it has been snowing in Rojava. Especially in Êfrin there was heavy snowfall, in Rajo the snow reached a thickness of 40 cm. After the snowfall had stopped, children went outside to play. Even the soldiers took advantage of the snowfall and had a snowball fight. For the farmers the heavy rain and snowfall is good news, as it gives their crops a boost for the next two seasons. The snowfall caused a stop of traffic, but this was quickly solved in most parts. Main roads, some small roads and roads in bigger cities were cleared from snow by the municipalities.

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Kobanê border crossing opened

On the first day of the border crossing being open over 100 people returned from Turkey to Rojava. The border crossing will be open Monday to Thursday, between 11.00 – 16.00, but only for people returning to Rojava.

The Dirbêsiyê‎ border crossing used to be open only once a week. Now it is open Monday – Friday, but with a limit to the amount of people who are allowed to return. It’s also not allowed to go to Turkey via this border crossing. In 2016 alone, so far over 500 people have returned to Rojava through this crossing which previously had time limits and allows a limited amount of crossings per day. Most other border crossings remain closed, and crossing the border into Turkey from Rojava remains illegal everywhere.

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Polio Vaccine

Over 7000 children under the age of five were vaccinated against polio recently by Bihar Relief Organisation. This was done in cooperation with Êfrin’s Local Health Council. The goal of the organisation is to vaccinate children in Syria and to deliver aid where it is needed.

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Liberating Tishrin

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) liberated Tishrin Dam and surrounding areas last month. Some groups in the SDF have stated that their next goal is liberating the city of Manbij, but the SDF has not made an official statement about a next offensive yet.

The majority of the population west of the Euphrates is happy about the arrival of SDF. The people in the region share information with the SDF about locations of ISIS-planted IEDs, IED factories, and stockpiles of ammunition and weapons together with coordinates of ISIS fighters and posts to help with the liberation of the region.

When talking to SDF members or media, people in recently liberated areas always have stories to share. Abdul Rakim, a 44 year old Arab, said “ISIS can do everything while we are deprived of the most basic rights”. Another woman tells them:

“We did not get out of our homes because we feared ISIS. We have lived in a state of fear since the beginning of 2013. When we [women] go outside, we will be punished for being inappropriate. When our men go outside, they will be kidnapped and forced to fight for ISIS”.

Another said “We thank all of you who liberated us from ISIS, we hope the liberation of all of Syria will follow!”. A 10-year old girl talked about how she was prevented from going to school and deprived of education for more than a year. She barely got outside because she feared ISIS would kidnap her.

Tishrin Dam

The dam at Tishrin is a vital source electricity for the region. Directly after its liberation from the hands of ISIS, 5 groups of workers started work on the maintenance of power lines between the dam and Kobanê. The total length of these power lines is slightly less than 80 kilometres. In 11 days, the workers have already finished around 60% of the work. At the time of writing, the workers face delays due to IEDs and mines littering the area in which they have to work. The dam itself and its generators are functional, however.

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Refugee camps

You might not expect it, but there are refugee camps inside Rojava. Rojava does not receive any money for doing this, unlike neighbouring Jordan, Turkey or Lebanon. The refugee camps for those who flee from other areas of Syria to Rojava are built, maintained and supplied by the state of Rojava. This aid includes: tents, blankets, carpets, heaters, food and clothing. Recently one of the refugee camps near Êfrin has annoucned that they are searching for help from international organisations. More people arrive daily to these refugee camps.

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Ancient Artefacts

The local Asayish police have prevented someone from trading an ancient artefact as part of their “heritage and civilization protection” campaign. What we see is a part of a statue of a woman made from clay. The piece is from the Hellenistic period (300 B.C. – more than 2000 years old). Similar statues were found in Egypt and Lebanon according to an International Antiquities Researcher.

Female Assyrian police

Since last month the Assyrian police, also known as Sutoro, has started female police units. They are meant to do the same things the male Sutoro units do, which is protecting Assyrian areas.

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Health Care Centre opened in Kobanê

The International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organizations (ICOR) opened a Health Care Centre in Kobanê. Over 170 people from 10 countries helped build the centre, which offers services such as: Women’s health, maternity section, podiatry, dermatologist, diabetes section, blood pressure and X-ray room.

Rebuilding

All over Rojava, rebuilding continues. In Êfrin, public investment went towards roads, sewers and power lines. In Kobanê, new apartments are being built, roads repaired. All across Rojava, everyone is working hard to rebuild and clean everything.

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School

More than 16 thousand students in 145 schools are taking their mid-term exams this month. A Dutch foundation crowdfunding campaign raised Over €36.000 for a school bus in Kobanê.

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Armenian church reopens in Rojava

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