Caro Sommer, one of the young people who came from Europe to Turkey under the leadership of the Peoples’ Caravan Initiative in response to the siege of Kobanê by gangs affiliated with the HTS-backed Syrian interim government supported by Turkey, and who made a statement in Suruç despite all police obstructions, spoke to ANF.
Political awareness through the “Women Defend Rojava” campaign
Caro Sommer, who came to Suruç from Leipzig, Germany, in solidarity with Kobanê under siege by jihadist groups, said her politicization process began in anti-fascist groups. She stated that there were many shortcomings within anti-fascist organizations regarding women’s issues, which she had consistently criticized. Most recently, by joining the Women Defend Rojava campaign, she had the opportunity to engage both with the Kurdish issue and the women’s issue.
Through this campaign, she realized that the Kurdish struggle embraces a broader perspective that includes ecological, anti-fascist, and women’s struggles. “During this process, I learned about the struggle of the Kurds. The leading role of women in the struggle in Rojava deeply impressed me. Through this, I also experienced a significant awakening regarding my own identity as a woman. I realized that in Germany, within the male-dominated system, men also do not question their own masculinity. In the end, they too are forced into certain molds and are actually oppressed within this system. But they tend to perceive this as a problem unique to women and prefer to position themselves merely as supporters in solidarity with women,” she said.
Emphasizing that in an era when fascism is on the rise worldwide, the model in Rojava holds a very valuable position, Caro Sommer said she does not believe that internationalist movements in Europe have yet fully grasped this reality. She noted that she undertook this journey both to stand in solidarity with Kobanê and to convey the importance of the Rojava model for peoples, women, and nature to younger generations in Europe like herself. She added: “I don’t think the Rojava model is well known in Europe. Otherwise, the humanitarian awareness and mobilization we see for Palestine would also apply to Rojava. The media also plays a major role here. For example, Al Jazeera is widely watched in Europe by Syrians and Arabs. Unfortunately, in the latest attacks against Rojava in Syria, they reported in a biased way, and Arab nationalists in Europe generally supported HTS. As a result, Rojava’s voice was suppressed. That is why, for me, it is not only about solidarity with Rojava. It is about embracing the egalitarian, pluralistic, democratic, and ecological social model built under women’s leadership in Rojava and ensuring that this vision spreads,” she said.
Mobilizing is important
Caro Sommer underlined that those who applauded the Kurds for their fight against ISIS but now turn their backs while Rojava’s status is under threat once again reveal the hypocritical character of Western states. She noted that after the fall of the Assad regime, the race among states to control the Middle East has intensified further.
“Imperialist powers with major interests in Syria have their own agendas for the Middle East. Therefore, it is not surprising that states applauded the Kurds yesterday for fighting ISIS and abandon them today. Imperialist powers always act according to their own advantage. What truly matters here is how peoples respond to this siege. Rojava is precisely today an alternative to the capitalist, fascist, colonialist, monist system, a place where peoples can live together without exploitation, without war, in peace. We set out to raise greater awareness among young people in Europe about the Rojava model and to spread this alternative,” she stressed.
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