Aeffia Feuerstein
Filmmaker, Writer, Activist
"Right to Rojava"?
The Syrian City that Might Be Creating Urban Citizenship
Thesis | Urban Studies | Columbia University
See
this
dot?
There is a city in Syria which is conducting
an experiment.
The government is communes! It's a democracy,
without a nation state...
The City's Name?
Qamislo
—or in Arabic:
Qamishli.
They implemented a direct democracy! It's unique...and creating a new kind of citizenship!?
It's my thesis at Columbia University. Expect: a hefty paper and a fantastic video!
Read on to learn more about my process
BACKGROUND. In 2014, Syria had a revolution. People know about the war, they know about the Islamic State, but do they know about the democratic revolution?
Northern Syria, also known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria or Rojava ("west" in Kurdish) declared independence in 2014, and in a short period of time, developed a grassroots democracy. Residents, regardless of whether they are a legal citizens of Syria, are able to directly participate.
How? The government is a collection of local communes which each fulfill a different purpose. In a city like Qamislo, this system is particularly special.
The city is diverse! Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Armenians, and Turkmen live there. And...it hosts a commune of international volunteers—
Are they creating a kind of Urban Citizenship?
Is this an example of Henri Lefebvre's Right to the City?
METHODS. There are two parts to this:
1. Interviews
2. Analysis of articles, archives, governmental reports, and social media.
FACT-CHECKING. Studying this topic, even touching a subject like this, is, of course, an exercise in fact-checking. When it comes to Syria, almost all sources have an agenda. Either they ally with Turkey or the US or Iran, and there is certainly money behind a lot of the reporting. That's why crosschecking information and examining streams of bias is critical to this thesis.