The border is a floating pontoon bridge stretched across the Tigris River. The current is strong, water is running high. We leave Iraq and enter Syria. On both banks of the Tigris there are Kurdish flags. We have left the self-governing Kurdish region of Iraq and arrived in Rojava, in Syrian Kurdistan.
Recent rains have turned the low hills green and scattered across the landscape are oil pumps. As we descend onto the plains, the terrain opens into farmland with vast wheat fields. We pass villages and small towns, the streets are busy with people.
Schools have been turned into shelters for refugees, most of them Kurds fleeing the Syrian army. They have seen the images from Aleppo and northeastern Syria — Kurds subjected to killing and violence. They chose to escape before it was too late.
Everyone remembers what happened when ISIS terrorised the region just over a decade ago. Many fear history could repeat itself. Extremist jihadist groups are now allied with the Syrian army.
Kobane is once again under siege. The city is crowded with refugees, and Syrian forces have cut off electricity and water to its Kurdish residents.
It was the Kurds who defeated ISIS. Thousands of young Kurdish men and women gave their lives in that struggle. The world had a sigh of relief when the terror caliphate was finally stopped. The turning point came in the besieged city of Kobane. Today, that same city faces siege once more.
A fragile ceasefire holds — for now. The alternative would be an all-out war. Kurdish forces have pulled back to their core territories. An agreement exists to integrate Kurdish self-rule into the Syrian state, but the atmosphere is tense, the calm uneasy. Rojava’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ilham Ahmed, tells us that Damascus has already violated several treaties.
The Syrian regime is Islamist and conservative. The Kurdish administration is progressive, built on principles of equality, respect for ethnic diversity, and women’s rights. The Syrian government does not even accept the Kurdish practice of always appointing both a woman and a man as co-representatives.
Nor do they accept female soldiers.
Under the agreement, the disciplined and battle-hardened Kurdish forces are to be integrated into the Syrian army. When we meet the commander of the all-female Kurdish self-defense force, YPJ, Rojhilat Afrin, she tells us they do not know what their future holds. Many YPJ fighters are veterans of the war against ISIS.
The commander of the Kurdish-led forces, Mazloum Abdi, appears tired but gracious when we meet him. He works around the clock organising his troops. He has negotiated directly with the President of Syria, al-Sharaa. At the negotiating table, he says, the tone is constructive — but distrust runs deep on both sides. Historically, Kurds have been oppressed and marginalised by those in power in Damascus.
Everyone we speak to stresses that international support is crucial. In other parts of Kurdistan, solidarity with Rojava has been overwhelming whenever it has come under attack. We see convoys of trucks carrying aid. The border with Iraqi Kurdistan is a lifeline to the outside world. Turkey keeps its border closed, determined to crush Kurdish self-rule.
We now encounter American troops leaving the country.
In the past, the Kurds enjoyed a measure of protection from Western powers, their allies in the fight against ISIS. Now those forces are departing. Kurdish leaders urge the EU and countries such as Sweden to pressure Damascus and to condition any support on clear demands for democracy and respect for minorities.
Amid the anxiety, there is profound determination. If necessary, they will defend themselves. There is also deep hospitality: we are offered more cups of tea and coffee than anyone could reasonably drink, and we gather with new and old friends around home-cooked meals served on the floor.
The future is uncertain. But one thing is clear: the Kurds will not stop fighting for their rights and for a better tomorrow.
* Jonas Sjöstedt, Member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Left Party, and Yekbun Alp, Member of the Executive Committee of the Swedish Left Party and Commissioner for External Relations, travelled to Rojava from 17 to 19 February. This is a report on their experiences, written for Yeni Özgür Politika.
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