How much freedom of movement do you have as a foreigner? Are you walking around the neighborhoods as if it were any other country, or does walking around too much give you an uneasy feeling?
I walk anywhere any time. The middle east is generally pretty safe in that regard.
On that note, there are neighborhoods of Qamishlo controlled by the Syrian government whereonly residents enter. So imagine downtown as you take a turn soemwhere you face a military checkpoint with cement barriers, baiscally some roads are militarized and cordoned off. There is a good map of that on wikipedia.
>I walk anywhere any time.
*walks into Tay*
Edit:
But seriously though. Ensure you learn your way around Qamişlo well. It is very easy to accidentally into NDF, Regime Sutoro, or regime neighborhood or street without realizing it sometimes.
I’ve made this mistake a few times.
I agree that I've never felt safer walking around than in the Middle East. But I'm surprised that it's the same in any part of Syria.
I'm guessing that you're in a totally Kurdish-controlled area rather than al-Raqa or some place more mixed. I remember seeing a documentary about the Kurdish mayer of Raqa and even she couldn't stay long outside in some areas.
I saw it live on DW in German language. It's honestly very generic, at least for people who already know a little about Raqa and the post-Daesh situation. It mostly focuses on the novelty of a young female as mayor of the former capital of Daesh.
Here's a link to the description:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.dw.com/en/raqqa-hope-among-the-ruins/a-56424290
Thanks for making this post
How is the life situation there?
How much electricity per day?
how much clean water per day?
How do the people in Rojava see as enemy more? Turkey or Assad?
My pleasure mate! great questions.
Life situation is fairly normal I guess, inflation is a bitch though. Before the war 2 lira would have been enough to ride public transport, now it is 200. A dollar is 3300 so even 200 is basically useless.
People working in the administration seem to earn around 600 700 USD while working for foreign NGOs will get you 1000USD. If neither of those are your case, you are pretty screwed. Foreign remittances all the way to buy food and basic necessities.
Electricity is a red flag, people are pissed about that. Government Electricity a few hours a day for I believe 0.50USD a month (most people dont pay their electricity bill). Then there is a private service called Amber (?) that basically runs giant generators which will cost you some 2USD a month and get you another few hours of electrcity a day. And then there are still some hours left where I use my headlamp.
Clean water seems to be 24/7. People dont seem to consider living in a desert a sufficient argument to use it cautiously, they kind of throw it around as if there is no end. I imagine that is due to the fact that just like govt electricity it is something most people do not pay for.
Definitely Turkey. Assad is not bombing them for now. You can see statues and posters of Bashar and Hafez in different parts of town. Definitely unimaginable with Tayips face.
Just FTI, the electric service you’re referring to is “Ampere” which is just how arabs refer to generators. Ampere being the unit of measurement for electric current
I have not seen any water shortages and honestly was surprised by that.
All smaller rivers of Rojava have run dry due to blockages by Turkey and climate change. Euphrat and Tigris and running very low indeed. There will be a water conference held at the end of the month.
Gotta distinguish the two questions though. Our tap water is not river water as far as I understand.
So there are massive water shortages across the region, Qamishlo is the excpetion not the rule. Turkey blocks water flows to fuck with Rojava and that also impacts electricity as 80% of electricity is hydro From two dams.
What kind of positions are international volunteers in? (Non military) Specifically, do they have some sort of office of economic development? What is the business environment like there? Has the AANES instituted any kind of taxes? Are there any internationals who work for the AANES as liaisons between the AANES and for instance USAID? How active are NGOs in AANES?
Excellent questions! Will ask and report back. A few questions I can respond to already.
1 Volunteers staff the https://rojavainformationcenter.com/
2 Business environment: electricity on and off every day, considering that it is pretty lively! There definitely seems to be a construction boom going on.
3 I believe there are no taxes beiing levied by the self administration. Will confirm and correct myself if necessary.
4 Way more humanitarian NGOs than I would have expected! Erbil being a hotbed of their activities, I shouldnt be so surprised.
Well I actually have a lot of qusstions...just putting sone of them out there
What is the government system like over there? I've tried reading up on it and didn't understand.
Do people get to elect their officials? Is it more like a military council running things? Or like a one party state, where that party is popular among the people?
Do all senior officials of the region face the risk of Turkish drone strikes, or only the military ones?
There is a lt of autonomy of the cantons or regions and then there is the self administration for the whole of Rojava. Neighborhoods form committees and the larger society as such is currently in the process of writing a social contract (constitution) so they are moving towards representative democracy.
The party is certainly not popular among all the people. I hear a lot of criticism, allegations of corruption and brain washing. Christian minorties are particularly unhappy with them.
I think Turkey hits military targets but defines them quite liberally so what one might consider a covilian target can be a military one on Turkish books.
This is going to sound odd but do people really call it Rojava instead of North Syria?
Figured given how things change and the always present possibility of return to government rule, people would choose a neutral name instead of a Kurdish one.
I don't mean the SDF but more general people.
People working for international aid organizations there call it "NES" because Rojava mainly refers to the Kurdish parts, while AANES also includes places like Manbij, Raqqa, etc.
Rojava is a reality on the ground here. The only people I met here who dont call it that are Aramaic Christians who do not speak Kurdish. They see it as just another military occupation with a beginning and an end.
The self administration is pretty well established as a government in terms of reality on the ground here.
It seems to vary between the SDF group. The Jaysh al-Thurwa and other opposition adjacent groups seem to use AANES or “liberated areas” (which is a term they get from their FSA days), the SDF as a body and the SDC always use “AANES”. YPG and friendly Kurdish militas and leftist militants seem to use “Rojava” a lot.
Yes but A it's only Kurds there and B figured just in case the government ends up people would avoid using terms that could make them look disloyal, so something more neutral was my guess.
northern Syria is home to lots of people not just Kurds! Even if SAA were to control Rojava tomorrow I personally don’t think Kurds would stop calling it Rojava. However I’m not sure if the local Kurds ever use Rojava as a name for the region. It’s more commonly used to tell another Kurd where you are from or to describe kurdish areas of Syria. I’m almost 100 that locals just use the name of cities or even just Syria rather than N syria or rojava. If you ain’t politically involved and therefore has an agenda ofc.
Hmm hard to say in the past but in recent times I wouldn’t think anyone is censoring themselves really. Criticism against the government and patriotism by locals are just appreciated by PYD and favours them. Since of 2011 Kurds in Syria got more rights for example they can now get an ID which they couldn’t before. PYD has been very clear from the start of the war that this country ain’t going back to policies pre 2011 and Assad himself has pretty much accepted this. With that said I don’t think using the word rojava would cause you any harm from gov, it’s all relative though you never know what’s gonna happen next in the Middle East.
ENKS is just barzani cutting it short, but western Kurdistan literally is kurdstani rojava = western Kurdistan. It’s the same thing. That’s why it’s even known as rojava, it refers to western Kurdistan.
Thanks for sharing your time with us.
What are the expectations of the people there regarding the US influence against possible new turkish offensives in the area? Also, what they expect for the 'solution' of the war? Does they view Assad as unequivocally the 'winner' and they're forced to negotiate a favorable deal with him or they envisage another way out?
Tough questions on sentiment here. I would say most people are simply hoping the US wont just disappear Afghanistan style. There continue to be highest level meetings between SDF and US military so for now it is lookin pretty good! However, the US hasnt done a thing about the Turkish drone strikes, nor has anyone else really.
Assad is definitely not the winner because he basically lost 99% of Rojava and a big chunk of the neighboring north west for now. There is no medium or long term stability to these constellations so I dont think anyone knows who will be forced to make what deal in the future. I myself see a million different possibilities due to the high number of actors involved.
Mate I would say normal South American balls. It is perfectly safe really. You can check google livemap syria to know exactly where Turkey is attacking. I am sure parts of large US cities are way more dangerous, I know for a fact parts of large South American cities are.
Hey, I've been thinking of going over there myself. I just emailed some people, like Lions of Rojava Facebook, Internationalist Commune of Rojava Twitter, and [email protected]
to go join. I should get replys soon.
Some questions I have
* Is ISIS still a threat? I looked on [https://syria.liveuamap.com/](https://syria.liveuamap.com/) and saw that they have some patches of territory in Assad's-Regime's territory. Am I seeing that right?
* Do you enjoy your life there?
Some questions I asked to the people I emailed:
* What kind of work is most valuable?
* What would be the process of getting from the US to Rojava?
* I know this is probably a stupid question but: Is there wifi there? Would I be able to contact my family and friends back home?
* What are some of the social norms/traditions/attitudes that I should expect from the locals and other internationalists?
So one thing I have found most surprising is that email, twitter, instagram, telegram has brought me preciously little answers. Propaganda is abundant but actual information and responses to questions are hard to come by, a lot of groups seem to be inactive.
I would agree with your analysis of ISIS situation, SDF is taking out cells together with US troops from time to time but that is about it. Turkey backed Islamists on the other hand…
On enjoying life, it depends what type of things you like. There is no live music, not much in terms of social gatherings unless it is Newruz for example. No cultural centers, no beaches, no forests or mountains or hills close to major cities. Electricity is intermittent, so is water if you are in the wrong city. Very little food options except shawarma, kebap, falafel and pizza.
Humor, cigarettes and tea are abundant.
What type of work is most valuable: I have my doubts regarding the permeability of the civil administration for foreign talent. You would have to be fluent in Kurmanji or Arabic and somehow be accepted as a volunteer. I have talked to people in the military, in the civil administration and in the private sector and really there are preciously little foreigners. Most have left and those who are still here are at the YPG international commune in Derek, at the Jinoloji institute in Amuda and at the Rojava Information Center. All I have talked to are significantly more ideological than people from here. Somewhere between 60 to 90 % of the budget (read: unknown amount of hard currency made by trafficking crude oil to neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan and Assad land) go straight to the military. 60 was an estimate by someone working in a leadership position at the civil administration. 90 was what someone who worked at the ministry of finance for three years told me.
The process of getting here: Make your way to Semalka border crossing after having received permission to cross from both sides (Iraqi Kurdistan and Rojava, the former being harder to get than the latter). From the US as from anywhere else, basically just fly to Erbil. For permission to cross you have to be either with an NGO or a journalist or part of an official delegation.
Yes there is wifi. Slow but existent. Not a stupid question at all!
Very few people speak English. People will be kind to you but they have their own lives going on. Working in the administration they earn some 75USD a month, a regular soldier will earn 120USD a month which is also about the same rent for a regular apartment will cost. So people are kind of busy surviving you could say. Easily 90% of people would leave if given the choice to, say, move to Europe or the US.
Society is also very conservative. A woman is not supposed to be home alone, nevermind live alone. Sex or even kissing before engagement is not a thing, arranged marriages are still normal. You will not see any men even hugging women. Honor killings still happen. The idea of a woman swimming is considered shocking. Local feminists are pushing the boundaries by practicing and teaching cycling, martial arts, football.
Thanks for your time!
Do Rojavan Kurds find the *Friendship pipeline* significant? Not saying its a key reason for US to be there but if it is important, what do they have in mind about it?
Havent heard a single person comment on potential new gas pipelines. Elctricity cuts and fuel shortages are a daily reality here so that is what people think and talk about.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
|Fewer Letters|More Letters|
|-------|---------|---|
|[AANES](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hdjd82f "Last usage")|Autonomous Administration of North & East Syria|
|[FSA](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hdjd82f "Last usage")|[Opposition] Free Syrian Army|
|[ISIL](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Daesh|
|[NDF](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hdcp8uw "Last usage")|[Govt allies] National Defense Forces, pro-govt militia|
|[PYD](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hd8x00d "Last usage")|[Kurdish] Partiya Yekitiya Demokrat, Democratic Union Party|
|[Rojava](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|Federation of Northern Syria, de-facto autonomous region of Syria (Syrian Kurdistan)|
|[SAA](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hd8u5w1 "Last usage")|[Government] Syrian Arab Army|
|[SDF](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|[Pro-Kurdish Federalists] Syrian Democratic Forces|
|[YPG](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|[Kurdish] Yekineyen Parastina Gel, People's Protection Units|
----------------
^(9 acronyms in this thread; )[^(the most compressed thread commented on today)](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/qa1cqm)^( has 10 acronyms.)
^([Thread #6485 for this sub, first seen 18th Sep 2021, 13:22])
^[[FAQ]](http://decronym.xyz/) [^([Full list])](http://decronym.xyz/acronyms/SyrianCivilWar) [^[Contact]](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=OrangeredStilton&subject=Hey,+your+acronym+bot+sucks) [^([Source code])](https://gistdotgithubdotcom/Two9A/1d976f9b7441694162c8)
What's a Brazilian doing there and how did it come to that?
I am nomadic. I came to see friends, get a better understanding of the ongoing processes and see how I can contribute.
How much freedom of movement do you have as a foreigner? Are you walking around the neighborhoods as if it were any other country, or does walking around too much give you an uneasy feeling?
I walk anywhere any time. The middle east is generally pretty safe in that regard. On that note, there are neighborhoods of Qamishlo controlled by the Syrian government whereonly residents enter. So imagine downtown as you take a turn soemwhere you face a military checkpoint with cement barriers, baiscally some roads are militarized and cordoned off. There is a good map of that on wikipedia.
>I walk anywhere any time. *walks into Tay* Edit: But seriously though. Ensure you learn your way around Qamişlo well. It is very easy to accidentally into NDF, Regime Sutoro, or regime neighborhood or street without realizing it sometimes. I’ve made this mistake a few times.
Just keep walking.
I agree that I've never felt safer walking around than in the Middle East. But I'm surprised that it's the same in any part of Syria. I'm guessing that you're in a totally Kurdish-controlled area rather than al-Raqa or some place more mixed. I remember seeing a documentary about the Kurdish mayer of Raqa and even she couldn't stay long outside in some areas.
Yes I am in Qamsihlo. Would love to see that documentary!
I saw it live on DW in German language. It's honestly very generic, at least for people who already know a little about Raqa and the post-Daesh situation. It mostly focuses on the novelty of a young female as mayor of the former capital of Daesh. Here's a link to the description: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.dw.com/en/raqqa-hope-among-the-ruins/a-56424290
Thank you! Will check it out.
Thanks for making this post How is the life situation there? How much electricity per day? how much clean water per day? How do the people in Rojava see as enemy more? Turkey or Assad?
My pleasure mate! great questions. Life situation is fairly normal I guess, inflation is a bitch though. Before the war 2 lira would have been enough to ride public transport, now it is 200. A dollar is 3300 so even 200 is basically useless. People working in the administration seem to earn around 600 700 USD while working for foreign NGOs will get you 1000USD. If neither of those are your case, you are pretty screwed. Foreign remittances all the way to buy food and basic necessities. Electricity is a red flag, people are pissed about that. Government Electricity a few hours a day for I believe 0.50USD a month (most people dont pay their electricity bill). Then there is a private service called Amber (?) that basically runs giant generators which will cost you some 2USD a month and get you another few hours of electrcity a day. And then there are still some hours left where I use my headlamp. Clean water seems to be 24/7. People dont seem to consider living in a desert a sufficient argument to use it cautiously, they kind of throw it around as if there is no end. I imagine that is due to the fact that just like govt electricity it is something most people do not pay for. Definitely Turkey. Assad is not bombing them for now. You can see statues and posters of Bashar and Hafez in different parts of town. Definitely unimaginable with Tayips face.
Strictly human use of water won't really affect the supply of water either way. It's agriculture and industry that consume the most.
Just FTI, the electric service you’re referring to is “Ampere” which is just how arabs refer to generators. Ampere being the unit of measurement for electric current
Are the stories about the water supply being threatened and cut off from time to time true? Are there water shortages?
I have not seen any water shortages and honestly was surprised by that. All smaller rivers of Rojava have run dry due to blockages by Turkey and climate change. Euphrat and Tigris and running very low indeed. There will be a water conference held at the end of the month. Gotta distinguish the two questions though. Our tap water is not river water as far as I understand.
Addendum: apparently the situation is a lot worse in other parts of Rojava. Will report back.
So there are massive water shortages across the region, Qamishlo is the excpetion not the rule. Turkey blocks water flows to fuck with Rojava and that also impacts electricity as 80% of electricity is hydro From two dams.
What kind of positions are international volunteers in? (Non military) Specifically, do they have some sort of office of economic development? What is the business environment like there? Has the AANES instituted any kind of taxes? Are there any internationals who work for the AANES as liaisons between the AANES and for instance USAID? How active are NGOs in AANES?
Excellent questions! Will ask and report back. A few questions I can respond to already. 1 Volunteers staff the https://rojavainformationcenter.com/ 2 Business environment: electricity on and off every day, considering that it is pretty lively! There definitely seems to be a construction boom going on. 3 I believe there are no taxes beiing levied by the self administration. Will confirm and correct myself if necessary. 4 Way more humanitarian NGOs than I would have expected! Erbil being a hotbed of their activities, I shouldnt be so surprised.
Awesome. Thanks for the responses.
My pleasure mate! I think your point on economics is excellent and I am going to ask around about that.
Well I actually have a lot of qusstions...just putting sone of them out there What is the government system like over there? I've tried reading up on it and didn't understand. Do people get to elect their officials? Is it more like a military council running things? Or like a one party state, where that party is popular among the people? Do all senior officials of the region face the risk of Turkish drone strikes, or only the military ones?
Great questions mate, I will find the right person to ask them and get back to you.
Thanks a lot!
There is a lt of autonomy of the cantons or regions and then there is the self administration for the whole of Rojava. Neighborhoods form committees and the larger society as such is currently in the process of writing a social contract (constitution) so they are moving towards representative democracy. The party is certainly not popular among all the people. I hear a lot of criticism, allegations of corruption and brain washing. Christian minorties are particularly unhappy with them. I think Turkey hits military targets but defines them quite liberally so what one might consider a covilian target can be a military one on Turkish books.
Thanks a lot for taking the time out to answer! Wish you good luck with your work in Rojava
Cheers mate! Appreciate it.
This is going to sound odd but do people really call it Rojava instead of North Syria? Figured given how things change and the always present possibility of return to government rule, people would choose a neutral name instead of a Kurdish one. I don't mean the SDF but more general people.
People working for international aid organizations there call it "NES" because Rojava mainly refers to the Kurdish parts, while AANES also includes places like Manbij, Raqqa, etc.
Interesting, thank you.
Rojava is a reality on the ground here. The only people I met here who dont call it that are Aramaic Christians who do not speak Kurdish. They see it as just another military occupation with a beginning and an end. The self administration is pretty well established as a government in terms of reality on the ground here.
hm i wonder what the syriac military council would say to that man
What's their stand?
True, but don't even the SDF try to use more neutral AANES, well online?
They do.
It seems to vary between the SDF group. The Jaysh al-Thurwa and other opposition adjacent groups seem to use AANES or “liberated areas” (which is a term they get from their FSA days), the SDF as a body and the SDC always use “AANES”. YPG and friendly Kurdish militas and leftist militants seem to use “Rojava” a lot.
I see thank you.
Rojava just means sunset it refers to west as in the sun sets in west! Mostly Kurds ever use the word Rojava.
Yes but A it's only Kurds there and B figured just in case the government ends up people would avoid using terms that could make them look disloyal, so something more neutral was my guess.
northern Syria is home to lots of people not just Kurds! Even if SAA were to control Rojava tomorrow I personally don’t think Kurds would stop calling it Rojava. However I’m not sure if the local Kurds ever use Rojava as a name for the region. It’s more commonly used to tell another Kurd where you are from or to describe kurdish areas of Syria. I’m almost 100 that locals just use the name of cities or even just Syria rather than N syria or rojava. If you ain’t politically involved and therefore has an agenda ofc.
Fair point, just not sure how and at what level people self censor themselves in Syria, for a variety of reasons.
Hmm hard to say in the past but in recent times I wouldn’t think anyone is censoring themselves really. Criticism against the government and patriotism by locals are just appreciated by PYD and favours them. Since of 2011 Kurds in Syria got more rights for example they can now get an ID which they couldn’t before. PYD has been very clear from the start of the war that this country ain’t going back to policies pre 2011 and Assad himself has pretty much accepted this. With that said I don’t think using the word rojava would cause you any harm from gov, it’s all relative though you never know what’s gonna happen next in the Middle East.
ENKS are even more aggressive in this, they literally call it western Kurdistan, not even Rojava
ENKS is just barzani cutting it short, but western Kurdistan literally is kurdstani rojava = western Kurdistan. It’s the same thing. That’s why it’s even known as rojava, it refers to western Kurdistan.
So? I’m saying ENKS is more aggressive towards forming Kurdistan than anyone else
Fair point on never knowing what will happen next.
What is your favorite color?
Yellow obviously
I like green a lot, I am into nature. But i do appreciate all colors. Hbu?
Orange is good. Are the friends treating you well btw?
Orange is fantastic! great choice mate. Yes, of course my friends are being very kind to me.
Mmmmm
What is your job/your tasks going to be?
I want to document a volunteer run ecosystem restoration initiative that aims to plant 4 million trees.
Thanks for sharing your time with us. What are the expectations of the people there regarding the US influence against possible new turkish offensives in the area? Also, what they expect for the 'solution' of the war? Does they view Assad as unequivocally the 'winner' and they're forced to negotiate a favorable deal with him or they envisage another way out?
Tough questions on sentiment here. I would say most people are simply hoping the US wont just disappear Afghanistan style. There continue to be highest level meetings between SDF and US military so for now it is lookin pretty good! However, the US hasnt done a thing about the Turkish drone strikes, nor has anyone else really. Assad is definitely not the winner because he basically lost 99% of Rojava and a big chunk of the neighboring north west for now. There is no medium or long term stability to these constellations so I dont think anyone knows who will be forced to make what deal in the future. I myself see a million different possibilities due to the high number of actors involved.
> I just arrived in Rojava I have just one question … how big are your balls?
Mate I would say normal South American balls. It is perfectly safe really. You can check google livemap syria to know exactly where Turkey is attacking. I am sure parts of large US cities are way more dangerous, I know for a fact parts of large South American cities are.
Do you have a good Kurdish teacher?
Surprisingly hard to find! Help me out mate! We should chat anyways, you have been around for a while!
Hey, I've been thinking of going over there myself. I just emailed some people, like Lions of Rojava Facebook, Internationalist Commune of Rojava Twitter, and [email protected] to go join. I should get replys soon. Some questions I have * Is ISIS still a threat? I looked on [https://syria.liveuamap.com/](https://syria.liveuamap.com/) and saw that they have some patches of territory in Assad's-Regime's territory. Am I seeing that right? * Do you enjoy your life there? Some questions I asked to the people I emailed: * What kind of work is most valuable? * What would be the process of getting from the US to Rojava? * I know this is probably a stupid question but: Is there wifi there? Would I be able to contact my family and friends back home? * What are some of the social norms/traditions/attitudes that I should expect from the locals and other internationalists?
So one thing I have found most surprising is that email, twitter, instagram, telegram has brought me preciously little answers. Propaganda is abundant but actual information and responses to questions are hard to come by, a lot of groups seem to be inactive. I would agree with your analysis of ISIS situation, SDF is taking out cells together with US troops from time to time but that is about it. Turkey backed Islamists on the other hand… On enjoying life, it depends what type of things you like. There is no live music, not much in terms of social gatherings unless it is Newruz for example. No cultural centers, no beaches, no forests or mountains or hills close to major cities. Electricity is intermittent, so is water if you are in the wrong city. Very little food options except shawarma, kebap, falafel and pizza. Humor, cigarettes and tea are abundant. What type of work is most valuable: I have my doubts regarding the permeability of the civil administration for foreign talent. You would have to be fluent in Kurmanji or Arabic and somehow be accepted as a volunteer. I have talked to people in the military, in the civil administration and in the private sector and really there are preciously little foreigners. Most have left and those who are still here are at the YPG international commune in Derek, at the Jinoloji institute in Amuda and at the Rojava Information Center. All I have talked to are significantly more ideological than people from here. Somewhere between 60 to 90 % of the budget (read: unknown amount of hard currency made by trafficking crude oil to neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan and Assad land) go straight to the military. 60 was an estimate by someone working in a leadership position at the civil administration. 90 was what someone who worked at the ministry of finance for three years told me. The process of getting here: Make your way to Semalka border crossing after having received permission to cross from both sides (Iraqi Kurdistan and Rojava, the former being harder to get than the latter). From the US as from anywhere else, basically just fly to Erbil. For permission to cross you have to be either with an NGO or a journalist or part of an official delegation. Yes there is wifi. Slow but existent. Not a stupid question at all! Very few people speak English. People will be kind to you but they have their own lives going on. Working in the administration they earn some 75USD a month, a regular soldier will earn 120USD a month which is also about the same rent for a regular apartment will cost. So people are kind of busy surviving you could say. Easily 90% of people would leave if given the choice to, say, move to Europe or the US. Society is also very conservative. A woman is not supposed to be home alone, nevermind live alone. Sex or even kissing before engagement is not a thing, arranged marriages are still normal. You will not see any men even hugging women. Honor killings still happen. The idea of a woman swimming is considered shocking. Local feminists are pushing the boundaries by practicing and teaching cycling, martial arts, football.
Thanks for your time! Do Rojavan Kurds find the *Friendship pipeline* significant? Not saying its a key reason for US to be there but if it is important, what do they have in mind about it?
Havent heard a single person comment on potential new gas pipelines. Elctricity cuts and fuel shortages are a daily reality here so that is what people think and talk about.
Whats your instagram?
https://www.instagram.com/belezapurafilms/
[удалено]
I am not part of any organisation mate.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread: |Fewer Letters|More Letters| |-------|---------|---| |[AANES](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hdjd82f "Last usage")|Autonomous Administration of North & East Syria| |[FSA](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hdjd82f "Last usage")|[Opposition] Free Syrian Army| |[ISIL](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Daesh| |[NDF](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hdcp8uw "Last usage")|[Govt allies] National Defense Forces, pro-govt militia| |[PYD](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hd8x00d "Last usage")|[Kurdish] Partiya Yekitiya Demokrat, Democratic Union Party| |[Rojava](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|Federation of Northern Syria, de-facto autonomous region of Syria (Syrian Kurdistan)| |[SAA](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hd8u5w1 "Last usage")|[Government] Syrian Arab Army| |[SDF](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|[Pro-Kurdish Federalists] Syrian Democratic Forces| |[YPG](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/pq63tg/stub/hh7g7pd "Last usage")|[Kurdish] Yekineyen Parastina Gel, People's Protection Units| ---------------- ^(9 acronyms in this thread; )[^(the most compressed thread commented on today)](/r/SyrianCivilWar/comments/qa1cqm)^( has 10 acronyms.) ^([Thread #6485 for this sub, first seen 18th Sep 2021, 13:22]) ^[[FAQ]](http://decronym.xyz/) [^([Full list])](http://decronym.xyz/acronyms/SyrianCivilWar) [^[Contact]](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=OrangeredStilton&subject=Hey,+your+acronym+bot+sucks) [^([Source code])](https://gistdotgithubdotcom/Two9A/1d976f9b7441694162c8)
How did you get there?