German journalist Nadine Pungs described the reality in the PKK militias’ so-called autonomous region after her Raqqa visit. She didn’t publish until she left the region fearing retaliation:
“We were in Raqqa in June and what we saw and heard there deeply shocked us. What our so-called activists don’t want to see… Because it would ruin their own realities.
In the West, a narrative about a democratic Kurdish government in Syria is often promoted. After all, women fight in the army, they don’t even wear headscarves. This resonates with people here.
However, they don’t mention here the fact that in Rojava many girls and boys are kidnapped and forcibly recruited.
We see that the Arab population is subjected to discrimination and harassment, and renowned German journalists and so-called human rights activists also don’t mention this to us at all.
They don’t talk about corruption.
They don’t talk about arbitrary arrests (there are torture reports).
From the “occupation” of the Arab population in Rojava by Kurdish organizations,
They don’t talk about the filth, the screaming poverty.
They don’t talk about the condition of the children.
They don’t talk about the fear of Arab men and women being thrown into prison without reason.
They don’t talk about the fact that they are not allowed to share critical content on social media or wave the new Syrian flag, otherwise they will face serious consequences.
No, our so-called human rights activists don’t tell us any of these things, because that would ruin their business model.
However, the reality appears very different from what these lobbyists constantly tell us.
Everyone who protested against the SDF had to flee or went to prison.”
