Kurdish Freedom Comes at a Heavy Price

Women mourn during a funeral in Qamishli for six YPG fighters killed in clashes with ISIS near al-Taliliya, Syria.


The Kurds have created their own government and armed forces (known as the Kurdish People's Protection Unit, or YPG) with the purpose of maintaining Kurdish freedom. They remain a neutral party within the Syrian civil war which means they have been spared a large portion of destruction that is present throughout the rest of the country. But they are still fighting hard won battles as ISIS attacks their borders on a regular basis and they have a dwindling economy due to their supply chains falling apart.

Daily life in Rojava involves Kurdish soldiers trading bullets on the front lines while the cities, largely an oasis from the fighting, see loved ones dying in a battle for Kurdish freedom.

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