{"id":23671,"date":"2018-04-11T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T08:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?p=23671"},"modified":"2026-01-26T18:23:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:23:25","slug":"now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"drop-cap-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the wake of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/dont-look-away-the-fight-for-afrin-is-a-struggle-for-radical-democracy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">capture of Afrin City<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by Turkish ground troops and jihadist auxiliaries, came news of the death of Anna Campbell. Called Daisy by some friends and Hel\u00een by others, Anna, along with several of her Kurdish comrades, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/mar\/19\/briton-kurds-anna-campbell-dies-fighting-turkey-syria-afrin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was killed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by a Turkish airstrike in Afrin. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a British volunteer in the Women\u2019s Protection Units (YPJ), she had seen combat against ISIS and when Turkey launched its invasion she volunteered to fight alongside her comrades in defense of the people of Afrin. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grief, solidarity and continuing struggle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Activists across the UK mourn the loss of a gentle and courageous friend and Anna\u2019s family members, though deeply grieved, have expressed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2018\/03\/21\/father-british-woman-killed-syria-demands-help-repatriate-body\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pride and support<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for her decision to defend women\u2019s revolution in Rojava. At the same time, Kurds and allied solidarity groups have taken to the streets almost daily with massive demonstrations, protests, and direct actions across Europe, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/itsgoingdown.org\/actions-across-north-america-in-solidarity-with-afrin\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North America<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and around the world. On 24th March, London saw thousands march to Parliament Square for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/peaceinkurdistancampaign.com\/global-day-of-action-for-afrin-24-march-2018\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">World Afrin Day<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, calling on the British government to help stop Turkey\u2019s aggression against the people of Afrin and to negotiate a ceasefire in order for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/you.38degrees.org.uk\/petitions\/bring-anna-home-to-her-family?source=facebook-share-button&amp;time=1521814667\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Campbell\u2019s body to be retrieved and repatriated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to the UK. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Anna-Campbell-mural.jpg\" alt=\"A mural depicting Anna Campbell, who was killed whilst serving with the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in Afrin\" class=\"wp-image-47199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Anna-Campbell-mural.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Anna-Campbell-mural-800x400.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Anna-Campbell-mural-400x200.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Anna-Campbell-mural-768x384.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>A mural dedicated to British anarchist-feminist Anna Campbell (1991-2018), who was killed by Turkish forces in Afrin whilst serving with the Women&#8217;s Protection Units (YPJ)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2018\/03\/1005392\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United Nations estimates about 75,000 of the 100,000<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Afrin refugees have taken shelter in the town of Tal Rifaat. Turkish forces, under the threadbare pretexts of uprooting terrorists, are advancing on this traumatized population. The coming attack will only exacerbate an already calamitous humanitarian situation. A prime beneficiary of Turkey\u2019s belligerence in Afrin will be ISIS. As <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/03\/19\/politics\/syria-afrin-us-turkey-kurds\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reports suggest<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with its strongest and primary enemies distracted, the group is gaining a dangerous second wind. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dreams of the new caliphate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s aims for a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/theregion.org\/article\/13108-turkey-039-s-president-erdogan-to-assign-governor-to-syria-039-s-afrin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">complete occupation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and colonization of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey\/erdogan-says-turkey-will-clean-entire-syrian-border-idUSKBN1FH0MH\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018cleansed\u2019<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> northern Syria have been made increasingly clear. All this appears to be part of his increasingly transparent Neo-Ottoman imperial ambitions. A feedback loop between Erdo\u011fan\u2019s entrenchment of domestic power and his belligerent foreign policy seems to be at play, one amplifying the other in a vicious and dangerous cycle. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those in Turkey who bravely spoke out against the state\u2019s invasion of Afrin have been met with heavy-handed repression. At least six hundred people have been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-security\/turkey-detains-nearly-600-for-opposing-syrian-offensive-idUSKBN1FP109\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">jailed for opposing the war on Afrin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since it began. Hundreds of detained dissidents have been charged with supporting terrorism by attending anti-war protests and spreading \u2018terrorist propaganda\u2019 on social media. Those prosecuted include eleven senior members of the Turkish Medical Association because the organization issued a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bianet.org\/english\/militarism\/193827-statement-by-world-medical-association-for-turkish-medical-association\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">statement critical of the war<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As with many world leaders, for Erdo\u011fan \u2018terrorism\u2019 acts as a magical word authorizing any act of aggression, no matter how ill conceived or deadly. Not content to stop with Afrin, Erdo\u011fan has threatened in recent weeks to extend his invasion to all of Rojava and even into the Kurdish autonomous areas of Northern Iraq\u2019s Sinjar region. Ostensibly the aim is to strike at the blacklisted Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK). The PKK has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ahvalnews.com\/sinjar\/why-did-pkk-withdraw-sinjar\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced a withdrawal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from Sinjar to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For already brutalized <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/sinjars-yazidi-forces-gear-threatened-turkish-invasion-1438429563\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yazidis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, members of a minority ethno-religious group who live in this area, the prospects of Turkish backed Jihadists entering the region is especially terrifying. In 2014 ISIS marked Sinjar\u2019s Yazidis for extermination. Abandoned by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq and the central government in Baghdad, an eleventh hour intervention by PKK and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.vice.com\/article\/everywhere-around-is-the-islamic-state-on-the-road-in-iraq-with-ypg-fighters\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YPG and YPJ militias saved thousands of Yazidis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from certain death. Since this time Turkey has launched <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-39708909\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">air strikes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> repeatedly in the region. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a disturbing twist, it now appears Erdo\u011fan plans to use Syrian refugees as pawns in his colonial designs. To affect a demographic shift, to \u2018de-Kurdify\u2019 the region, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/anfenglishmobile.com\/news\/afrin-resettlement-from-east-ghouta-then-idlib-and-atme-25871\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">resettlement plans<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are underway in Afrin. Turkey announced the formation of an <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/theregion.org\/article\/13108-turkey-039-s-president-erdogan-to-assign-governor-to-syria-039-s-afrin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">administrative council<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Afrin. To provide the unelected officials with a modicum of legitimacy the council is reportedly composed of Arabs, Kurds, Christian and others willing to collaborate with the regime. This apparent diversity belies the council\u2019s singular dependency on the force of Turkish occupation for its authority.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The third world war<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kurds have come to call the Syrian conflict the Third World War. There are at least two (not mutually exclusive) ways to interpret this. In the first, quite simply, the conflict has drawn into its orbit all the major regional powers as well as all the major global powers. Syria has thus become a crucible and proxy terrain for playing out of local, regional, and global political rivalries. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second interpretation is more revealing: the struggle in Syria is fundamentally one between two competing, starkly different visions of the future. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long ago in another era of global conflict, rapid change, and facing an unpredictable future, Antonio Gramsci purportedly observed that, \u2018The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.\u2019 Turkey\u2019s resurgent statist nationalism, Erdo\u011fan\u2019s strongman posturing, and his project of a renewed Ottoman Caliphate perfectly represent the wider authoritarian turn in the global political order. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast, Rojava\u2019s revolutionary model of Democratic Confederalism, a non-state social paradigm grounded in the principles of women\u2019s liberation, communalist direct democracy, and ecological sensitivity, exemplifies the widening cracks in the fa\u00e7ade of Empire.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the first British woman to be killed fighting alongside the Kurdish forces in Syria, Anna Campbell\u2019s death has opened the eyes of many not only to the violence of the Syrian Civil War and the urgency of the Kurdish-led struggle against ISIS and the genocidal Turkish state, but to the broader struggle encapsulated in the Kurdish chant, \u2018<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">jin jiyan azad\u00ee<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019, which insists, simply and directly, \u2018Women. Life. Freedom!\u2019 <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patrick Huff, Amber Huff and Salima Tasdemir reflect on the future of the revolution in Rojava after the fall of Afrin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":47195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[848,2529,186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-palestine-middle-east","category-socialism","category-war"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava - Red Pepper<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Patrick Huff, Amber Huff and Salima Tasdemir reflect on the future of the revolution in Rojava after the fall of Afrin.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava - Red Pepper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Patrick Huff, Amber Huff and Salima Tasdemir reflect on the future of the revolution in Rojava after the fall of Afrin.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Red Pepper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-11T08:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-26T18:23:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"redpepper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"redpepper\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"redpepper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-11T08:00:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-26T18:23:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/\"},\"wordCount\":998,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Palestine and the Middle East\",\"Socialism\",\"War and conflict\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava - Red Pepper\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-11T08:00:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-26T18:23:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17\"},\"description\":\"Patrick Huff, Amber Huff and Salima Tasdemir reflect on the future of the revolution in Rojava after the fall of Afrin.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"A YPG fighter resting in Afrin CREDIT: KURDISHSTRUGGLE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Global politics\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Palestine and the Middle East\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Red Pepper\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17\",\"name\":\"redpepper\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava - Red Pepper","description":"Patrick Huff, Amber Huff and Salima Tasdemir reflect on the future of the revolution in Rojava after the fall of Afrin.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava - Red Pepper","og_description":"Patrick Huff, Amber Huff and Salima Tasdemir reflect on the future of the revolution in Rojava after the fall of Afrin.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/","og_site_name":"Red Pepper","article_published_time":"2018-04-11T08:00:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-26T18:23:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"redpepper","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"redpepper","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/"},"author":{"name":"redpepper","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17"},"headline":"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava","datePublished":"2018-04-11T08:00:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-26T18:23:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/"},"wordCount":998,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg","articleSection":["Palestine and the Middle East","Socialism","War and conflict"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/","url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/","name":"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava - Red Pepper","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-11T08:00:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-26T18:23:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17"},"description":"Patrick Huff, Amber Huff and Salima Tasdemir reflect on the future of the revolution in Rojava after the fall of Afrin.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/YPG-fighter.jpg","width":1200,"height":600,"caption":"A YPG fighter resting in Afrin CREDIT: KURDISHSTRUGGLE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/now-is-the-time-of-monsters-the-future-at-a-crossroads-in-rojava\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Global politics","item":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Palestine and the Middle East","item":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/global-politics\/palestine-middle-east\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"\u2018Now is the time of monsters\u2019: The future at a crossroads in Rojava"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/","name":"Red Pepper","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17","name":"redpepper"}]}},"type_of_article":[{"ID":35474,"post_title":"Feature","post_content":"","post_excerpt":"","post_author":"50","post_date":"2023-09-14 20:08:05","post_date_gmt":"2023-09-14 19:08:05","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"feature","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-09-14 20:08:05","post_modified_gmt":"2023-09-14 19:08:05","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?post_type=type_of_article&#038;p=35474","menu_order":0,"post_type":"type_of_article","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","comments":false,"id":35474}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23671"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47202,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23671\/revisions\/47202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}