Serkeftin - by Marcel Cartier (Paperback)

About the Book

Serkeftin: A Narrative of the Rojava Revolution takes a first-hand look at the complex process of grassroots democracy and women's liberation that is radically altering life in northern Syria's predominately Kurdish areas.

Book Synopsis

In the Spring of 2017, activist, journalist and hip-hop artist Marcel Cartier was given exclusive access to the structures set up in the predominately Kurdish areas in northern Syria. Over the course of more than a month, Cartier travelled across the terrain known as Rojava, experiencing the radical grassroots revolution that is sweeping the region. He spoke with commanders of the People's Protection Units (YPG), visited women's organisations, saw the cooperatives and communes in action that have transformed the concept of democracy, and found his understanding of revolution challenged and reinvigorated. Unique in its access, emotion and humanity, Serkeftin: A Narrative of the Rojava Revolution, is a beautiful account of a contradictory and complex process that is fundamentally changing society in the midst of the 21st century's most brutal civil war. Meaning 'victory', the Kurdish word 'serkeftin' captures the spirit of optimism in the catastrophe that has engulfed this beautiful country since 2011 and has simultaneously brought the possibility of freedom ever closer.

Review Quotes

In this extremely enthusiastic political travelogue, Cartier, a communist hip-hop artist and journalist, traveled with an international delegation to the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (popularly known as Rojava, where Kurds have established an autonomous region) to learn from the revolutionaries. In Rojava, he found the "living, breathing, non-dogmatic and genuine democratic and social process of complete change... I had been searching for my entire life." This slim volume, largely aimed at convincing fellow leftists that the Kurdish militias collectively known as the People's Protection Units forces are sincere allies and not "pawns" of the U.S. (which gives arms to them), gives a revealing, if rose-colored, look at the area... this is a valuable and revealing account of the nascent institutions of Syria's Kurdish warriors. Though the utilitarian prose may dissuade some readers, this should appeal to those interested in firsthand reporting from the Syrian civil war and the struggle for Kurdish autonomy.

About the Author

Marcel Cartier is an activist, journalist and critically acclaimed hip-hop artist. Born in Germany to Finnish and American parents, he was active in the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York 2011 and has been an organizer with the U.S. anti-war and socialist movements. He has worked for a variety of media outlets and is currently U.S. and Europe policy editor for The Region. He lives in Berlin.