--- description: Photographer Fabio Bucciarelli spent three-weeks in Kurdistan in October 2013, just days before Iraq closed its border with Syria. He spent most of his time in a Syrian section called Rojava, which two million Kurds call home and where a de facto Kurdish government was established just one month afterward. title: Rojava, Syria: Fabio Bucciarelli in the Land of the Kurds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte16336dfc3bde9bf/6987e650524fc0f4eadefad6/x_mg_0290.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Rojava, Syria: Fabio Bucciarelli in the Land of the Kurds by [Fabio Bucciarelli](/author/fabio-bucciarelli/) ## Fabio Bucciarelli Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2014 8:00 AM CUT  A fighter holds her position inside a trench along the front line against the Nusra front in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. A fighter holds her position inside a trench along the front line against the Nusra front in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border.Fabio Bucciarelli by [Fabio Bucciarelli](/author/fabio-bucciarelli/) ## Fabio Bucciarelli Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2014 8:00 AM CUT _Photographer Fabio Bucciarelli spent three weeks of_ _October 2013 in Syrian and Iraqi_ _Kurdistan, and for two of those weeks was based solely in Rojava, a section of Kurdistan located in northern Syria. Rojava was largely spared from the fighting in the ongoing conflict until early last year,_ _and last November_ _a de facto Kurdish government was established in the region._ _About two million people in Rojava are part of the some 30 million Kurds—divided between Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria—who have lost every fight for an independent state. As the Syrian civil war spirals into its fourth year, with more than 140,000 killed, 3 million refugees, millions more who are internally displaced and no end in sight, the Kurds lack a place at the negotiating table, but they may actually benefit when the fighting finally ceases._ --- As I got off the boat, after teetering across the Tigris River from Iraq, I think about how much Syria has changed since the last time I was here. We have seen thousands of deaths, millions of people forced to become refugees and the specter of chemical weapons. The demand for democracy and freedom, once screamed by the rebels, has all but disintegrated, as it’s now a fight for land and resources. The Syrian government has largely lost control of Rojava, allowing the Syrian-Kurdish paramilitary troops called the Popular Protection Units (YPG) to rise in their absence. YPG was once crucial to keeping out extremist groups, but since last spring, militants within Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have aimed to expand their control and conquer territory in the northern land. **A video created by Fabio Bucciarelli and Eduardo Matas, shot in Rojava** **Fabio Bucciarelli—Eduardo Matas** We jumped in the car and wove through the landscape. After each curve, the mountains of the Turkish border disappeared into a desert covered with oil pumps. Finally, we arrived in al-Malikiyah (also called Derik). After more than a week there, we received permission to visit the front lines at Ras al-Ain and Ramelan, both along the border, where YPG was battling fighters from the Nusra Front and ISIL. During the ride, we could see the flags, initially sparse, then more and more dense, of President Bashar Assad’s army. We passed thousands of refugees fleeing the war. We witnessed the training at a YPG camp and later met with Salih Muslim, a top political leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the major political force in Rojava, and spoke with dozens of local people about daily life amid the fighting. They spoke about wanting a space where Kurds can respect their own law, speak their own language and have economic independence. They’ve resigned themselves to fighting along imaginary boundaries, against the Islamists, to protect what they have left and the possibility of a future. Even as they bury their dead, many people here see the fighting against extremists as a worthwhile struggle if it means inching closer to their dream: a Kurdish state on their own land. An informal peace agreement is now in force. But as Salih Muslim told me, it doesn’t mean they automatically trust their enemy. During our interview, I asked him how he could make a deal with those who had never recognized his people as legitimate, whose sniper had just killed his son. He needed no interpreter to respond. Looking straight into the camera, he explained how the war has become dirty, how it has transformed and how it no longer has anything to do with the struggle for freedom. He answered the question directly and bluntly: “How can we be friends with those who do business with our enemies?” --- [**_Fabio Bucciarelli_**](http://www.fabiobucciarelli.com/about/#sthash.OPXmIz0K.dpuf "undefined") _is a documentary photographer who focuses on conflict and the humanitarian consequences of war. He has spent many years covering major events in Africa and the Middle East._ ---  The following images were taken in the Kurdish areas of Syria and Iraq in October 2013\. Internally displaced Kurds wait near the Syrian side of the border with Iraq. Fabio Bucciarelli  Children in the Kawergosk refugee camp near Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, head to the tents used as a school for the first day of class. Fabio Bucciarelli  Syrian refugees stand near the Syrian side of the border with Iraq as they flee the war. Fighting between jihadis and Syrian-Kurdish forces helped drive the exodus of refugees. Fabio Bucciarelli  Internally displaced Kurds wait near the Syrian side of the border with Iraq. Fabio Bucciarelli  Internally displaced Syrian Kurds, coming from different parts of Syria, wait near the border to cross into Iraq. Fabio Bucciarelli  Syrian Kurds wait in the registration line at the Kawergosk refugee camp near Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Fabio Bucciarelli  Internally displaced Syrian Kurds wait to receive permission to leave Syria and cross the Tigris River into Iraq. Fabio Bucciarelli  Displaced Syrian Kurds descend from the boat that shuttled them over the Tigris River to Iraq. Several refugees who fled the war in Syria returned to visit their relatives who stay in their native land. Fabio Bucciarelli  A Syrian-Kurdish policeman patrols the border between Syria and Iraq. Fabio Bucciarelli—AFP/Getty Images  Along this front line of Ramelan, soldiers of the People's Protection Units (YPG) fight against the extremists of Jabhat al-Nusra. Fabio Bucciarelli  A fighter of YPJ, the women-only Kurdish defense force, sits on sand bags as she holds position on the front line near the Syrian town al-Malikiyah (Derik), in the northeast along the borders with Turkey and Iraq. Fabio Bucciarelli—AFP/Getty Images  Kurdish families gather to remember relatives killed in the fighting at the martyrs’ cemetery near al-Malikiyah (Derik) on the first day of the holiday Eid. Fabio Bucciarelli  Kurdish gravediggers rest after digging the holes that will hold the coffins of soldiers killed during the fighting between YPG, the Nusra Front and ISIS. Fabio Bucciarelli  A YPG fighter looks through his binoculars inside a destroyed building to spot Nusra Front positions near the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  Relatives of a YPG fighter killed in the battles against the Nusra Front, near Ramelan, mourn over his body at the hospital morgue in al-Malikiyah (Derik). Fabio Bucciarelli—AFP/Getty Images  The mother and other relatives of a YPG fighter killed while battling the Nusra Front mourn over his body at the morgue. Fabio Bucciarelli  Friends and relatives of a YPG fighter killed while battling the Nusra Front mourn over his body at the morgue. Fabio Bucciarelli  YPG soldiers mourn the death of their companion, who was killed during fighting against the Nusra Front, at the morgue. Fabio Bucciarelli  Relatives of a YPG fighter killed in the fighting against the Nusra Front mourn over his coffin in a van in al-Malikiyah (Derik). Fabio Bucciarelli  Relatives attend the funeral of four YPG fighters killed in the battles against the Nusra Front near Ramelan. Fabio Bucciarelli  The mother of a YPG soldier who was killed in the fighting against the Nusra Front mourns his death in front of the morgue in al-Malikiyah (Derik). Fabio Bucciarelli  A Kurdish woman with her baby during the celebration to remember their relatives killed in the fights at the martyrs’ cemetery near al-Malikiyah (Derik) on the first day of the holiday Eid. Fabio Bucciarelli  Young recruits during the training in the YPG camp near al-Malikiyah (Derik). Fabio Bucciarelli  YPG recruits listen to their instructor at the training camp near al-Malikiyah (Derik). Fabio Bucciarelli—AFP/Getty Images  A young Syrian-Kurdish man practices for shooting during a training session organized by the YPG. Fabio Bucciarelli—AFP/Getty Images  YPG fighters inspect a car at the checkpoint along the road between al-Qamishli and al-Malikiyah (Derik) Fabio Bucciarelli  Armed YPG fighters take position inside a trench in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  Armed YPG fighters hold position inside a trench in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  A YPG soldier carries his weapon while heading to his position on the front line in Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  A fighter looks through binoculars behind a fortified wall as she looks for activities by the Nusra Front. Fabio Bucciarelli—AFP/Getty Images  A fighter holds her position inside a trench along the front line against the Nusra front in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  An armed YPG fighter rests while his companion take position behind sand bags inside a trench in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  Armed YPG fighters take position inside a trench in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  A YPG soldier shows to his companion where Nusra Front fighters are located on the other side of Ras al Ain front line, close to the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli  The silhouette of an armed YPG fighter runs to take position along the front line in Ras al-Ain, near the Turkish border. Fabio Bucciarelli—AFP/Getty Images  A YPG soldier smokes a cigarette in front of a destroyed building along the Ras al-Ain front line, close to the Turkish border. 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