song about Rojava, otherwise known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
one of its primary thinkers is Abullah Ocalan who has been a prisoner by the Turks for almost a quarter of a century. in the prison on the island of Imrali in the Sea of Marmara, he remains the sole prisoner, the others having been transferred years ago to other prisons.
he is a pure political prisoner. while once advocating leftist Leninist state centralization, for decades now he has written books for his people advocating the social ecology of Murray Bookchin, a highly decentralized society without state or money that urges for gender equality, the health of our planet, free access to wealth, and face-to-face democracy.
Ocalan's writings from prison have influenced his people considerably, and been read around the world. i could not believe it when I read that this "leader" had abandoned left-wing thinking and was advocating the ideas of Murray Bookchin since the 1990s, my favorite ecological writer and one I used to correspond with myself in the 1980s.
naturally, this song is a work of art and not of politics. it keeps open the question of what is really going on in Rojava (what do I or anybody in the west really know?). i maintain my skepticism that the ideals of these people may be properly actualized as long as they are an island in the greater world of property, power and a culture based on the exploitation of the planet. i also ask critical questions about power and violence, and about what arming women and teenagers does to them (and to men and adults).
these people are unique in the whole world in terms of attempting to become a truly feminist society in which men and women allegedly share power equally. but I nonetheless found the story of these Kurds highly inspiring, and I simply wish them well and all people well who attempt to achieve their freedom. this is not a propaganda piece exactly as mostly i ask questions as artists must, and express my love and support for these people, the Kurds.
while reciting these words I often felt as though I was reading Hebrew. The story of these stateless people reminded me considerably of Jewish history too. i don't know if this is true, but i would imagine Jews would experience a close rapport with these people. enough on the words, which is only one side of this piece. this is a piece of music after all - the voice is only 1/12th of the whole thing. whatever the words, it is also a complex musical structure with sounds wedded together to achieve effect.
by the way, the flute-like instrument is the duduk, very familiar in Kurdish music. Unfortunately, I could not find a properly sampled duduk. so I took an instrumental piece from the internet and used just one of its notes for sampling. obviously, this means i could not achieve the full spectrum of tonalities to be heard on that instrument, which are normally very rich and beautiful.
lyrics
Lyrics in English and Music by Puppeteer.
Lyrics translated into Kurmanji by Shakhewan
Lyrics
(Kurmanji)
Rojava
Ebdulla Ocelan berdin
Zêdetir li her tiştekî, ez azadî û xêrê ji bo gelê we dixwazim
Lê kesek çawa li hembera Tirkan, DAÎŞê, Sûrîya û Emerîkîyên li ber xwe dide?
Çawa kesekî dikare bîrokeyên mezin ên Mûray Bûkçîn bi kar bîne di demekî de ku em li dunyayê pere û firotinan dijîn
di demekî de em ji bo firtotin in, di demekî de rewşa jiyana vê dunyayê ji bo firotin e, yan têkilîya vê bi firotinê ye
jinan dibe bikarin çek hilgirin heyakû wekî yeksan bên hesbandin?
Pêwîst e, ji ber her sedemek, zarokan bişînin şerê?
Zêdetir li her tiştekî, ez azadî ji bo gelê we û hemî gelên dixwazim
Ez serkeftina demokrasîyekî rast li hemî cihekî dixwazim
Ez dîsa cîhanekî parastî dixwazim
Bukçîn xewn bi rêveberîya navçeyî û ekolojî ya civakî didît lê herwisa dawîya pere û hikumetan jî
Wî bi min re got kû ev serkeftî dibe bes eger hemî dûnyayê bi vê avahîyê bêt guhertin
Ez ji bo ew hezaran zarok û jin û mêrên digirîm kû bi destên zordarî hatin kûştin
Digirîm ji bo ev şerê berdewam û ev rêgeya kû dikare rojekî berxwedan bike û piştre dikeve
Evîna xweya herî kûr pêşkeşa we û azatîya we û şerê berdewama we ji bo ev xewna dikim
Rojava, çi çê dibe ji Rojava, Rojava, Rojava, Rojava, Rojava
çawa Rojava bêt fêmkirin
roj li rojava ava dibe
(English)
rojava
release Abdullah Öcalan
i want freedom and goodness for your people more than anything
but how does one stand against Turks, Isis, Syria and Americans?
how does one implement Murray Bookchin's great ideas as long we live in a world of money and sale?
as long as we're for sale, as long as the planet's life forms are for sale, or interfere with sale
must women be regarded as equals only when they can hold a rifle?
must teenage children be sent to fight in any cause at all?
i want freedom for your people and all people more than anything
i want the success of a true democracy anywhere
i want a planet sustainable again
Bookchin dreamt of municipalism and social ecology but also the end of money and state.
he told me it would only work if the whole world changed this way.
i cry for the thousands of children and women and men who have died at the hands of control
i cry for the constant fight for freedom and the way it can stand one day then fall
i express my deepest love for you and your courage and your steadfast fight for the dream
rojava, what to make, of rojava, rojava, rojava, rojava, rojava
how to understand rojava
the sun sets in the west
(rojava is the Kurmanji word for "west")
credits
released February 19, 2023
released February 19th, 2023
song written by, sung by, and played by, puppeteer, except for the great bass by sandy beales (sandybeales.com)
who is puppeteer? i grew up of American parents in Paris and London. i became a psychologist by career, remaining a music
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