PODCAST: Canadians fight for socialism and gender equality in Syria

Jenna Cocullo on the underreported revolution in Rojava

April 20 2017

Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the region of Rojava has been embarking on a radical experiment in socialism and direct democracy. Located in northern Syria, it has become autonomous from the Assad regime while fighting off ISIS and other extremist groups. In Rojava, a coalition of four million Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians and Turkmen groups are fighting to create a new society of secularism and gender equality on the front lines of the conflict against ISIS. It's one of the most underreported stories of our time.

Leftist volunteers from around the world, including dozens of Canadians, have joined the more than 50,000 militia defending Rojava as members of the International Freedom Battalion. One of them, 24-year-old Nazzareno Tassone of Edmonton, was killed in an ISIS attack last December.

Jenna Cocullo, a Montreal-based journalist and activist, joined a memorial for Tassone at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa in January. In this podcast, she discusses the Canadian contribution to an underreported revolution.

Click here to download the podcast or subscribe on iTunes.

Listen to “Canadians Fight for Socialism and Gender Equality in Syria” on Spreaker.

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