homage to rojava-AI-s2

Chapter (2) Two

Deir Ez-Zor, Syria

On November 26th, 2017.

At the Green Village Outpost contact line.

Sometimes I close my eyes and remember your lips. Late into the long trips home. I have no home, it was your home only. Only my ungly little flats around the Brooklyn Soviet. Rented in desperation, vulnerability, an admission of poverty. And I will never go back to that humilating life. I will never see you again, or see Russia, or Cuba, or Mehanta or any other type of slavery life. Your lingering Goldy. It forever remains. 

Now deployed about ten days ago to the Soutehrn front near Omar Feilds. Daesh is nealrly finished they say. Assigned first to Tabor Shihad Lawrence, five quickly died by snipers and mines in the first night of the operation. 

The twenty internationalist volunteers are all drifting in different directions. They prefer we not all die at the same time. There are supposedly around 500 international fighters in Rojava, mostly from the U.S. and Europe, also Turkey. But numbers and time to the Kurds mean absolutely nothing. So maybe there are 500, or maybe just 50. Who knows Heval, who knows!

Daesh is nearly defeated. The Islamic State once size of Great Britain at its maximal, poised to take Baghdad and Damscus is reduced to the wasteleands of the deep desert and a strong of indefeinsible towns along the Euphrates River south east. From the North the Syrian Democratic Forces supported by the Western Coalition advance. We are part of that force. On the other side of the Euphrates the Russian Army, Lebanaese Hezbollah, and the Syrian Army advance. We all try and not shoot at each other, at least until ISIS is finished. Over the border in Iraq ISIS has been largely crushed; the SHi’a Populualr Mobilization Forces, the Iraqi Army, the Iranian Pasdaran, and Western advisors and Special forces have all but driven ISIS from Iraq to the Syrian border.

The name I have been given is Heval Kawa Zivistan which means “Comrade Black Smith Winter.” I am a Paramedic in civlian life and therefore one of the highest medically trained foreigners in the brigade.

  Heval Shoresh from Brooklyn, I have known him since child hood. He has a child back in America. And I judge him for being here were it my right to judge. But this palace this revolution is irresistible to us both. He is a gardener back home. Here he carries a heavy duty long range, high power rifle called a X which is about twice his size. Hard to aim.

There is Heval Sasson from Austria. He was an EMT who once travelled with his girlfriend all over Africa on a motocycle. He is quiet, ideological, principled and socialist in disposition. With also is Scottish Heval Ciya a former British solider. Also the mad man possible career criminal kicked out of the French foriegn Legion called Heval Sivan, who although he claims he was also a British solider can’t hit a target with an AK to save his reputation. He hasn’t let up for many days talking about the Order of the Knights Templar, talking aboutthe Knights of Malta; actually engaged in an unending pressure of speech manic diatribe about the new crusades, that we are allegedly in. There’s also Heval Azad from Albania, something of a gypsy, a besepckeld intellectual; an anarchist. 

There is also a French Legionaire of enormous size, amost a giant. He is called Heval Gabar and speaks only of the Legion, reveals nothing of his life. He isn’t very well liked by the other internationals. There is also a young kid who loks not more than 16 but is allegedly 18 his name is Max. One of the few held back in the Academy because of minor injury. He is dbbed Heval Maslum, but evryone just calls him Max. And that is how he introduces himself. He’s allegedly from Salem, Oregon. No matter what sems to happen he just repeats, “I don’t care.”

After the 5 Arab conscripts were blow apart the first night they broke the internationals nto smaller groupings. Ciya and Sivan were sent to a YPG Cadro Tabor based on being British military they were sent to the front. Soresh, Maslum, Gabar were merged into an Arab unit and sent to the front. Sasson and I were attached to Kurdish Red Crescent outpost in the Naqta in Omar Fields. Gabar and Maslum dubbed “pizkereks” or problem makers were sent to guard a fox hole on the edge of some useless “liberated village”. No one knew where Heval Azad was sent, but Albanians are very tough craft bunker people.

“He will turn up and be fine!” Heval Sasson says, ever an optimist.

***

Then night came and Sasson and I were  quartered in a farm house. The commander invited us over to the field command for tea. The mood was the war with Daesh was almost over and very soon we would all be fighting  Turkey in the north and or Assads forces right over the river.

The Commander is named Heval Azadi. They basically cycle out the same 50 Kurdish code names for everyone seems like.

The commander in very broken Enlgish invites us for black Tea in one of the many pillow rooms they like to build. 

“Trump say, no more guns for YPG,” he tells us the SDF is the brand the YPG uses to appear more inclusive, a little less Apoist, an little more not the PKK, but the commanders almost always say YPG or PKK, theres a lot of little acronyms for small armies out here. The YPG, or the People’s Defense Forces make up 80% of the SDF; the Syrian Democratic Forces. All the best commanders are Turkish Kurd PKK trained.

“Daesh done in Iraq. Two towns left,” Azadi tells us.

“24 little Gundes to take along the river,” he says. A Gunde is a village.

“In Moscow, the PKK make a deal with regime, “ he says, regime meaning Assad and Syrian Army, “Iran, regime, Russian make deal on autonomy and oil rights.”

We are engaged in an operation to seize Syria’s oil fields, Sasson had explained. There were not many ISIS fighters lift after Mosul and Raqqah fell. This all now about who can take as much oil fields as possible to negotiate the final settlments. This seems to discourage Heval Sasson.

“Really all that is lef now, “says Commander, “NUSRA Front and HDS in Idlib.” 

“Al Qaedas Syrian brand,” Sasson tells me.

“The PKK make a deal in Moscow, we will end up terms with Assad. The HDS, the Nusra, the Deash all the Islamist proxies in Idlib, Bab and Jarabalus City they must be eliminated to close the gap.”

Closing the Gap we learned in the Academy was about pushing through the Islmists into Turksih Hatay Province to gain sea access for Rojava. The Gap also being closing the lines between Afrin and Kobane. Afrin Canton is hard to resupply and will be the first thing the Turks attack.

“As soon as Deash war is over Turkey will attack, you will fight with Turkey?” they all wanted to know that. Would we we all stay and fight the second biggest army in Nato.

“Of course we will,” Kawa claims, but Sasson knows is suicide and also problematic when they rertun to their home lands.

“When Daesh is done there will be no ceasefire. Turkey will attack immediately. 45% of call Syria now in Rojava. In SDF hands. Turkey will waste no time.”

We all sepcualted about “Fighting the Turks near Afrin” while in the Academy. It will be slaughter. A cadro boasts that “We have peace deals with USA and with Russia maybe also China!” But the dependency on the U.S. airpower is real. 

“The Regime will not ever accept Rojava in any form, it is just too weak to defeat it right now.”

“Russia will never abandon the regime,” someone says in Kurdish.

“It is like America and Israel, you have Syria and Russia. The Regime gives Russian Medditteranian Seport access, the Regime is only alive because of Russia and Iran.”

“There are many factors. Russian is loyal, America is not. When Daesh is over there will be no more guns, no more air support.”

“How many Western volunteers do you think are still in Rojava,” Sasson asks the commander.

“50, maybe less,” the Commander says. “50,000 came to fight for Daesh, maybe over time 2,000 came to help the SDF. 1,500 leftists from Turkey and 500 from the West. Now, in country still, 50 maybe.”

“The airports in Erbil and Sulymania are still shit down because of the independence referendum. For now you are here to stay. Who knows what will happen. PJAK is now fighting in Iran again. Maybe soon more fighting between Iraqi Army and Pesh Merga. And Turkey! They are coming trust me heval.”

Goldy wrote that she might have to marry her rich ugly patron. Polina wrote she is leaving me since I am “on the other side of the planet now” Chanie is back with Charlie, so probably I will never hear form her again. Anya, my attache, sends me some news from Baghdad. “They are arresting Western volunteers without good paperwork coming back from Rojava. Slemani and Erbil airports are down everyone ahs to go out rom Baghdad.” But I have good paper work. I called my parents the other day. An Arab had sold me a Syrian SIM card. They seem proud that I’m there.

I hope  I can hold it togeter and reach ‘the moutaintop’.

Like in my dreams, the EMT Program of Kurdistan is just a means to an end. An after thought, the G.C.C. barely useful or functional any more out here. My so called partners Andrew, Forti, Jessica, Matthew Smith, Ovid all have defected and left me out here with no help. Can I count on David Smith, Kaveh, Jonah, or Dr. Wagner, probably not or only for a little.

Everything here is an assault on my senses! 

Daily, I mist learn ideology, discipline, war, Arabic, Kurmanji, keep Sasson and I from stepping on mines, dying in airstirkes, gettting enough water. Sasson has said he is willing to help me run the EMT program if only we can get authorization to do so. The Kurds don;t believe in time, they don;t believe in space, and they don;t believe in foreigners.

The others we trained with, the twenty are all dispersed to different positions. Ten to Afrin and ten to Der Ez Zore. They must chose their own adventures in Rojava. I do hope that Soresh stays alive for the sake of his 6 year old child and yong wife. Ciya and Sasson signed the G.C.C. paperwork, the cover contracts that they will claim later to the government sof Austtria nad Scottland that when they did out here was purely medical. But, its not so much will they stay 6 months to train an EMT program it s more will the war ever actually end to allow the time and space to justify one.

It’s impossible to know how far up the mountain any of us will really ever go. Heval Barron was there almost a year. The German heval said little good or bad about it, he barely said much.

So many ways to die out here. We or most of the 2,000, or 500, or 50 shared a noble goal. Deafeat Daesh, defend the Revolution in Rojava. 

In the mean time Sasson and I have been training Arab fighters in life saving skills. We try and stay sane. I am sure I will have to use this AK-47 before this is all over. The thought doesn bother me but I don’t delight in the thought of any killing. 

Today, a villager “gundi” handed me their sick infant and I listed to its lungs and heart, and helped prepare some pedilite mix. The child was sick but dehydrated and stable, the Arab comrades keep telling people an American doctor is in the camp. But even in Syria I am still just a a paramedic not a doctor at all.

So much responsibility is on my shoulders. They all have varying medical issues. Infected toes, rotting death, abdoinal pains. I do what i can. The Party purchased me huge rolling duffle bag of medications and medical supplies. So we saty as busy as we can.

I day dream, and hope Goldy thinks about me more than sometimes, but probably only Chanie does when she is allowed to. Goldy sometimes whatsapps me cute photos and sometimes Anya, the attache flirts from Baghdad. I have been sending Chanie letters via the U.S. Special Forces were run into coming thorugh the camps. 

I realize that G-d or no G-d, Abdullah Ocelan is writing about a universal truth. This is the last stand. The last chance we will ever have or get again. 

“Deash is all wiped out,” the Commander repeats, ‘BUT THE TURKISH ARMY IS COMING FOR SURE. To burn all we have built to the ground,” he sighs, “Serkaften, we will fight them too.”

So we all still probably have a lot more bleeding left to do no matter what happens.