ROJ HOZAN

Qamişlo -  Ararat Group has started a project for children in Rojava Kurdistan to encourage children to produce written and visual literary work. The project consists of magazine, story, and TV channel sections. Thousands of children in Rojava have already participated in the project and shared their works. We spoke to Şinda Ekrem, a board member of the Ararat Group, about the project.

“Before the revolution in Rojava Kurdistan, there was no special activity for Kurdish children and the next generation. A strict system was practiced in our schools and our children were deprived of their identity and history. Our pioneers such as Cegerxwîn and Osman Sebrî took sacred responsibilities. But they carried out their works in secret. After the revolution, our horizons expanded and we had more opportunities. We needed to do something for the next generation to empower them in written and visual literature. For this reason, we started the project Ara Zarok,” Şinda Ekrem told us.

Thousands of children reach them

Speaking about the sections of the Ara Zarok sections, Şinda Ekrem said:

“Ara Zarok has three sections; magazine, story, and a TV channel. We aim to publish a magazine and start a TV channel for children and encourage children to write stories. The work of Ara Zarok Magazine has been officially published. Our magazine was published on October 22, 2021, on the death anniversary of Cegerxwîn. The magazine consists of 16 parts such as stories, games, songs, language teaching, Kurdish riddles, and competitions that children can learn from and share with others. We will publish the stories told by our grandparents and their grandparents. The first edition of the Ara Zarok Magazine has been distributed in schools. Our magazine has already been distributed to children in all three regions of Rojava Kurdistan. We have established a strong relationship with children, and children have sent their works to us on social media platforms. Children look forward to each new issue of the magazine being published. Children take photos or shoot videos showing they read our magazine and share them with us. We share their photos and videos on our social media accounts. Thousands of children have reached us on social media in the last four-five months. The second issue of our magazine was published in 2022. This issue was published on February 22, the death anniversary of Qazi Mohammed, the President of the Republic of Mahabad. We choose such historical days so that children can remember them and get to know the Kurdish pioneers. We added new parts such as Arabic, Syriac, and English in the second issue of the magazine because children from different nationalities also want to read the magazine. We also visited the children living in the refugee camps located in Newroz, Serêkaniyê, and Shahba. We will distribute all issues of the magazine to the children living in refugee camps. Now, we are working on publishing the third issue of the magazine.”

Ara Zarok Channel will start to broadcast soon

Giving information about their next plan, Şinda Ekrem said:

“A TV Channel called Ara Zarok Channel will start to broadcast soon. We have already prepared programs for children. Photos and videos taken by children will be broadcast on the Ara Zarok Channel. Ara Zarok Channel will be a space for children to share their stories, written and visual works. Our children are precious and we will build a beautiful world for them. We hope to be the voice and color of children in Rojava Kurdistan.”