Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Rojava has been embarking on a radical experiment in socialism and direct democracy. A coalition of 4 million Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians and Turkmen groups are fighting to create a new society of secularism and gender equality on the frontlines of the conflict against ISIS.

Leftist volunteers from around the world, including dozens of Canadians, have joined the more than 50,000 militia defending Rojava as members of the International Freedom Battalion. One of them, 24 year old Nazzareno Tassone of Edmonton was killed in an ISIS attack last December.

Ricochet’s Jenna Cocullo, a Montreal-based journalist and activist, joined a memorial for Tassone at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa in January. In this conversation, she discusses the Canadian contribution to an underreported revolution.