I support Rojava and the SDF, but let's not look at it through rose-tinted lenses.

The adoption of democratic confederalism, how wonderful it may be, is not without obstacles. Not every village, not every community in Rojava is willing to adopt a system which turns the centuries-old hierarchies and power structures upside down.

Due to years of war in Syria, villages and communities have in fact been displaced. One cannot deny that the revolution has led to humanitarian crises which are in contradiction to democratic confederalism's ideological foundations.

The father "Apo" of democratic confederalism and the Rojava Revolution is Abdullah Öcalan, a man who has spent the past 26 years in prison. A lot of the discourse surrounding the Rojava Revolution centres around an almost cult of personality around a man who hasn't been able to properly direct a political party (PKK), let alone a revolution.

The collaboration with imperialist forces is another contentious topic. It is not a luxury, but a necessity for the continuation of your own existence. Simultaneously, I understand that the revolutionaries understand that the west is not here to support them but only out of their own interests. The west has already repeatedly betrayed the Kurds and it sure will do it again when the opportunity arises. Historically, the collaboration of anti-imperialists with imperialists has happened before. The Bolsheviks for example, used French and British weapons, while also fighting French and British forces at the same time. (Fair, the anti-imperialist status of the Bolsheviks and the subsequent USSR is a debatable question.) It is not entirely unheard of. But it does leave a sour taste in the mouth, the dependency on western imperialism is one that should be gotten rid of.

I do call myself a democratic confederalist, but let's look critically at the implementation of democratic confederalism and learn from the mistakes that were made.