It was this same imperialist force, a NATO military, that murdered Michael and many others in a customary act of aggression against revolutionary forces of the YPG and YPJ. Erdogan’s regime, and the Turkish state in general, has for far too long been slaughtering Kurds, and imposing Turkey’s colonial project in Bakur and elsewhere. However with the rise of internationalist struggle, and the inspiration of Rojava, capitalist, statist and colonial regimes around the world should be on edge.

Michael’s sacrifice is now etched in the history of revolutionary struggle, and like the martyrs of Suruç, Haymarket Square, or Catalonia, we honor and commemorate him. When our comrades die fighting for a world with dignity we must all embrace that effort and carry it with us in our hearts and souls as we struggle wherever we stand. His memory will live on forever and we’ll carry on his passion with us until victory.

Long Live the Revolutionary Struggle!

As fascism entrenches ever deeper in states and territories around the world, and takes pleasure in subjugating, killing, and torturing, there are few movements that understand the implications and have risen to the occasion. In Rojava, we have seen a beautiful display of community defense against the terrors inflicted by Daesh, despite state-based sponsorship of their massacres.

In this, as in all anti-fascist and humanistic struggles, the role for internationalism is paramount. Domination is aided by the artificial partitions that divide those who would be living harmoniously: from the borders of nation-states to the categorization (and subsequent demonization) of ethnicities and religions. The reconnection between people struggling for a better world begins with the selfless solidarity of people like Lorenzo Orsetti, who traveled to Rojava to participate in this fight.

Anarchist groups with sincere intentions must operate in the shadows; therefore, we will often never know the bravery of an individual, until such a moment as this. Lorenzo’s journey and participation was far from individualistic, yet it is exemplary for this time in history. Not many anarchists have heeded the call to arms, as they have in decades past. As such, those anarchists who step forward from nascent movements, deciding to put their lives at risk for others, deserve a special recognition.

As he affirms in his goodbye statement, “I wish all of you all the best in the world and I hope that one day, you too will decide to give your life for others (if you haven’t already) because that is the only way to change the world. Only by overcoming the individualism and selfishness in each of us can we make a difference.”

While we mourn the loss of a militant whose selflessness, comradeliness, bravery, and commitment made a massive impact on his comrades, we have no doubt that, by following his wishes, we will not only carry him on, but also propel the movement further. His actions during life have raised the bar for anarchists worldwide, and we pledge that his words will be a torch for the movement and an inspiration for all who struggle for a better world. His sacrifice deepens our commitment.

RAM sends a revolutionary salute to this brave fighter and our heartfelt condolences to his friends, family, and all those he touched along his path.

The forces of Rojava have been built on the principles of Democratic Confederalism: putting into practice localized self-governance and practical feminism. The people of Afrin itself are notably from multiple backgrounds, and have been building a society of people from many different backgrounds living comfortably side-by-side. In full recognition of the horrors of the capitalist nation-state, and the fascist tendencies it perpetuates, this society stands in direct opposition to Erdogan and the nationalist / imperialist fervor he has stoked. His supporters are epitomized by a Islamic nationalists and fundamentalists, fascist and racist groups such as the Grey Wolves, as well as the far right militias he has supported: from Al Qaeda to ISIS. Hence, this is a battle of liberatory forces against fascism. In their fight against fascism and imperialism, women have been particular targets of these violently patriarchal groups, as female fighters have been slain, raped, their bodies mutilated, denuded and exhibited.

Turkey and its allies have been attacking Afrin Canton from many sides while aerial bombing its civilian population. The YPG and YPJ have launched a fierce defense, and their bravery and fortitude have manifested in successes against a superior military. Turkey has barely made a dent in the Canton, and their tanks are being destroyed one by one.

However, it must be remembered that YPG and YPJ are fighting against the second largest army in the NATO. This is why these successes are dependent on international support. Powerful nation-states look at Rojava as a field to be exploited for their own dirty games. Their support for Rojava is dependent on their own imperialistic benefit, and certainly would undermine the revolutionary practices in the region. It is therefore crucial to make their resistance visible and to create a public force to push these states to stop the attack or to stop aiding it. The people of Rojava are not relying on the support of nation-states – they are relying on the support of their fellow revolutionaries all around the world.

Revolutionary groups must support Rojava in acts of true solidarity and comradeship. As such a group we position ourselves as comrades in struggle. International connections born from participation in Rojava has laid the groundwork for the borderless struggle of our day, and potentially an international movement. In particular, we are responding to the call from the women of Afrin, who have called their sisters in struggle to rise up against fascist state violence and femicide, to show feminist solidarity, and to defend the Women’s Revolution.

As fighters on the ground have repeatedly expressed, they will fight the Turkish state until their last drop of blood. We stand side by side with them in this fight of their lives, against fascism, and for the revolutionary beginnings that Rojava has inspired.

No Pasaran!

Afrin is where fascism will be defeated and our international revolution will bloom!

Women! Life! Freedom!

This year is really a cause for celebration because something has truly changed within all of us. The fearlessness, the comraderie of the streets and the power we have against our enemy has changed reality for everyone living on this occupied land.

This year we celebrate with joy in our hearts and pride for all the fighters who have taken to the streets and shown the world that we are not going to take this tyranny any longer and that we have the power to make that change. This year we celebrate those who burned down the 3rd precinct in Minneapolis, the brave people who took the fight to the oppressor, the people that burned down the Wendy’s in Atlanta, and all those who fought back against the pigs where they stood. You have all started a momentum which cannot be stopped. You have given hope to us all. We celebrate our prisoners of war who have been dragged to the dungeons with their heads held high. They are joining the millions of people held in torture chambers across the country, which highlights the need to continue the struggle.

We celebrate Juneteenth because we intend to liberate people from those cages, abolish police, and cast off the shackles the United States never took off and never intended to take off.

For the celebration, we placed the message, ‘By any means necessary’ across New York City. Honoring the legacy of Malcolm X, we state that his message still speaks to the task at hand decades later. We send this message to all the fighters out there who we met briefly in the street: we are in it until the end!

This year we shout: Juneteenth is a day for rebellion!

We will abolish slavery once for all!

— Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement – NYC

June 2020

While Juneteenth is supposed to celebrate the abolition of slavery, in actuality the system of slavery continues unabated: from the barbaric prison industrial complex, which houses more captives than any other place in the world, to the ICE internment camps that are, and have been, separating children from their families. Slavery is the cornerstone of the political and social system of America.

With these actions we wish to highlight [RAM’s political proposal](/political-framework) for a militant, and truly revolutionary alternative. Freeing people from bondage and continuing to build an underground railroad is a crucial starting point. Join us in building the strength capable of liberating all those in bondage and the communities necessary to maintain that liberation indefinitely. Anytime we see a pro-slavery flag, it must be torn down. Every time we see a person in distress from the slave police state or ICE, we must act.

To everyone who participated in the Juneteenth actions, we raise our fists in solidarity. We hope our actions resonate with those inside prison walls and inside every detention facility. Juneteenth will become synonymous with a brighter future, as our actions and organization prepare us for the next stages of a revolutionary world.

Juneteenth is a day of abolition and we will celebrate when all are free!

Support the Prison Strike!

Abolish ICE!

Burn Down the American Plantation!

Everyone who had the pleasure of knowing Flo will attest to his kindness and bravery, but his passion and the size of his heart is what stood out more than anything. His actions were driven by a genuine respect for those around him and a desire to see everyone treated well. He would drop everything to help a friend or comrade. At the same time, he had the sharpest wit in NY: he could hold a room in the palm of his hand with his humor, and his composure and seriousness left a deep, and meaningful impression on those who met him.

We crossed paths doing Rojava solidarity work and he quickly became one of our closest, dearest comrades. As a co-founder of the North American Kurdish Alliance (NAKA), he worked hard to ensure an alliance developed. He sincerely believed in building bridges between the Kurdish Freedom Movement and revolutionaries in the US. In addition to his years of experience with the Kurdish revolutionary movement he embraced the RAM project with open arms, helped our group grow, and respected our anarchist politics, believing that we are all together in this quest for human dignity.

As a testament to his character, he took great care in commemorating fallen martyrs. The energy he put into organizing the beautiful memorial service for New York City anarchist Shehid Robert Grodt, is just one of many examples.

It is impossible to separate his life and the way he treated people from his politics. He couldn’t help but approach people with kindness and solidarity with those who deeply need it. This meant that no matter where he was in the world, he participated in liberatory struggle. While we salute the revolutionary in him, and mourn the loss of our comrade, we will always remember him for his humor, wittiness, heartfelt emotions, sincerity, firm principles yet understanding towards individuals, and powerful commitment to friendship.

From now on we will walk with Florent forever in our hearts. Though the world lost an irreplaceable person, we will carry the wonderful qualities he embodied into the struggle so that the example he was for us will help make the world he wanted to see a reality.

RAM-NYC

In the weeks following the burning of the third precinct in Minneapolis, corporate media, educational institutions, liberal politicians, and non-profit activists have attempted to smother the revolutionary energy of the streets. In some way this is more efficient than police repression, due to its insidious deceptiveness.

After the media and politicians denounced militants as “outside agitators,” liberal activists have been promoted as the “true leaders” of the movement in the mainstream press. They preach non-violence, de-escalation and participation in the electoral system as a solution for police violence. Democratic Party politicians, who have draped themselves in kente cloths, are scrambling to appease protesters with compromises and reform. While the idea of police abolition has been popularized, it has been conflated with reform in the capitalist press, echoing calls to simply ‘defund’ the police.

They boost images of police and politicians taking a knee, while liberals cheer, in an attempt to conceal the black insurgency that caused police to flee the third precinct like rats from a sinking ship and Trump to hide, scared for his life, in a bunker under the White House.

The police do not exist in a vacuum. They are merely enforcers of a white supremacist system that devalues, degrades and ultimately destroys black lives. A truly abolitionist position includes not only the abolition of police, but also that of prisons, courts, military, and politicians–all of which are interconnected. For revolutionary abolitionists in the U.S., the enemy is not only the police, but also capitalism and the State as a whole. Revolutionaries must also firmly oppose the liberal counter-revolutionaries of corporate media and non-profits, who do the job of the police for them while pretending to act in the interest of black people. These institutions, while appearing like allies in the struggle, are, in actuality, the predominant counterinsurgent institutions. When the bludgeon doesn’t work the NGO often does.

From an abolitionist position, no compromise with white supremacy is possible, and any reform only strengthens the position of the enemy. It is this system–the entire apparatus–we must abolish. Abolition is not a demand, but the result of collective action. The burning of precincts and police vehicles are abolitionist actions. People finding their power defending their communities is an act of abolition. Physically driving the police out is abolition.

We will not allow the liberal counterinsurgency to co-opt and distort the movement to abolish police and prisons!

Drive all police off the streets! No reform can abolish white supremacy!

Through revolutionary action, we will win!

Before the crisis, private equity firms and big banks stockpiled cash and properties for a rainy day, betting that the housing market would face another severe downturn. Now that day is here, and these same vultures are at the forefront of the push to evict tenants and homeowners. There is no notable help from the state or politicians, which have made it clear that they will stand on the side of landlords and banks rather than the tens of thousands who will be made homeless by evictions.

Unfortunately when eviction cases make it to court, the laws in place favor landlords over families and individuals. City marshals and police will try to forcibly remove people staying in their homes past a court mandated eviction.

We can work together to help people stay in their homes! In New York, coordinated resistance has lead to success. During the Great Depression, tenants in New York undertook massive rent strikes, and fought back against evictions using a range of creative and confrontational tactics. These renters were able to stay in their homes. In the Lower East Side, tenants fixed up buildings and resisted eviction for almost two decades!

With a solid plan and organization we can stay in our homes, and help others stay in theirs as well.

There are two ways you can help build the eviction defense network.

First, if you or someone you know can’t pay rent and fear eviction, we will help you set up an eviction defense group so that we can collectively pressure your landlord to do the right thing (description below). If you are interested in organizing a local eviction defense group or tenants union in your building or block, please get in touch with us. We have experienced tenant organizers who will help you through the process, and we would love to work with you. Reach out to us here: [[email protected]]([[email protected])

Second, you can join our city-wide eviction defense rapid response call list. We have to be ready to resist the landlords and courts when they inevitably lash out against tenants. You don’t need experience to participate. You simply have to be willing to fight for the right of you and your neighbors to stay in your homes. We will provide training on eviction defense based on practices that have been successful. By joining the city-wide eviction defense call list, you will be on call in case someone in your area faces harassment by their landlord or imminent eviction.

*Note: We will only be texting via [Signal](https://signal.org/), an encrypted chat app available for iOS and Android. If you wish to include your phone number, please download and set up Signal on your phone so we can contact you.*

We would love to work with tenants or tenants union who share this vision. Please reach out to us if you would like assistance from this network!

These are difficult times. However, we can use our collective to power to build defense groups to protect the housing security of everyone in the city. If just one person can succeed in a campaign to keep their home, they can create a spark that will inspire massive resistance to shut down the eviction machine. Help be that spark to touch off a movement that will create a crisis for the banks, landlords, police, and politicians who want to balance their failures on our backs.

Together we are strong!

——————————————————————————–

## Can’t Pay Rent?
### Keep Your Home with Eviction Defense

Many people in New York haven’t been able to pay rent due to the effects of the coronavirus. If this is the case for you, or if you have gone on rent strike to support people who can’t pay rent, we support you!

Right now, there is a moratorium on evictions, but this will be over in August and we need a plan to keep everyone in their homes. Unfortunately, the legal system is designed to benefit landlords. We want to help people stay in their homes and build up counter-power in our neighborhoods! Here are steps you can take to build an eviction defense group to help you, your friends, and your family stay in your homes:

1. Form an eviction defense group. This can be family, friends, neighbors, or people in your building who are facing the same problems, or even those who have paid rent but still want to support those who can’t.

Talking to your neighbors if you don’t know them well:

– Explain that you live in the building/neighborhood and that you’ve been having trouble with the landlord. Ask if they’ve lost work, had trouble paying rent or other bills, and if they’re worried about paying rent in future. Ask if they’ve had other problems with the landlord. Listening carefully shows that you care.
– Tell your story. Explain the difficulty you’re having and how it’s affecting your life and the lives of those who live with you. It’s okay to communicate your emotions – it will help your neighbors understand why it’s important for you all to work together.
– Ask if they’ll help you fight for everyone’s rights. Invite them to start working with you and your other neighbors to keep the building safe from evictions and other landlord abuses. Explain your plan and see what they think. Get their contact information and stay in touch with them as you work together to protect your homes.
– If your direct neighbors aren’t interested in being involved, you can look up other buildings owned by your landlord on these websites\:
– [https://whoownswhat.justfix.nyc/en/](https://whoownswhat.justfix.nyc/en/)
– [https://a836-acris.nyc.gov/CP/](https://a836-acris.nyc.gov/CP/)

2. Once you have a few people who are committed to work together, decide on basic principles. It’s important for these principles to reflect solidarity with one another and a promise to not compromise on the struggle. These principles represent promises to each other that you are in it together! Two essential principles are: 1. No one will call the police at any point. 2. No one will negotiate with the landlord behind anyone’s back.

3. Draft demands. This could include staying in your home, not paying back rent, decreasing rent, but might also include repairs or other necessities.It is useful to have a conversation with your landlord first to try to reach an agreement. If you have had a conversation with your landlord or your landlord has already made it clear they will try to evict you or anyone else in the group, you can plan to take action immediately, before the threat of eviction arises.

4. There are also a few safety measures you can take before you begin your series of actions, in case the landlord tries to retaliate.

– Change the locks on your door.
– Make sure you have (and can maintain) access to your water flow and electricity.
– Build a phone tree for immediate assistance in case the landlord sends people to harass anyone in the group.

5. Deliver your demands to the landlord in the form of a letter. It is a powerful gesture to deliver this letter as a group.

6. If the landlord doesn’t concede to the demands, your group can engage in a series of actions, that escalate from a simple action to more assertive ones, all to put social pressure on the landlord to do the right thing. Here is an example of a series of escalating actions:

– Put up fliers on your neighbors’ doors about what your landlord is doing.
– Hold a demonstration outside your building where you hand out fliers to other tenants and neighbors about what the landlord is doing.
– Put up fliers around the neighborhood about what your landlord is doing.
– Hold a demonstration outside the landlord’s office.
– Put letters in the mailboxes of your landlord’s neighbors about his actions.
– Hold a demonstration outside your landlord’s house. You may be able to find that information here: [https://www.familytreenow.com/](https://www.familytreenow.com/)

7. If these measures fail and your landlord wants to proceed with an eviction, you should wait for the court case, rather than moving out when your landlord asks. This will often give you more time, and sometimes will yield a positive result. You may also continue your campaign leading up to and during the court case.

8. If it comes to this, you will have time to rally more people to your cause. This is a good time to build relationships with other groups who are working on eviction defense. In this way, we can build bigger defense networks. We can help you with that!

9. This is a good time to publicize the issue more widely. It’s better to use smaller and more sympathetic media to get support rather than mainstream media. Large news outlets come with their own intentions which often undermine your goals.

10. If the court case fails, and the landlord still hasn’t conceded, you can rally the larger network to have a demonstration outside your home.

11. We have engaged in these struggles before and have successfully kept people in their homes. We would love to sit down and talk with you about any questions you have about this process. We are all volunteers and do this for because we believe everyone should have a home. Please contact us at any time for advice or help: [[email protected]]([email protected]).

For the occasion of Columbus Day, October 9th, one of the most vile ‘holidays’ of the year, the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement is calling for collectives all over the country to take action against this day and in support of indigenous people in the US and abroad who have been victims of colonialism and genocide.

We are calling for groups to “decorate” their neighborhoods as they see fit: put up murals, wheatpaste posters, drop a banner, etc. On October 9th put a picture of your action on social media and use the hashtags below. With these actions multiplied around the country, we will make it unequivocally clear that revolutionaries will always stand with the indigenous!

Revolutionary greetings to the insurgent Zapatista communities, the Lakota warriors, the Mapuche fighters, and all of our indigenous comrades in the struggle. With these actions, we renew our commitment to building a revolutionary movement strong enough to turn the tide permanently.

Resistance is life!

\#FuckColumbusDay

\#DestroyColonialism

When the video of the cold-blooded execution of Daniel Shaver by a barbaric cop, Philip Brailsford, was released to the public, we all saw yet another case of abuse of the monopoly on violence that is possessed by the state. We saw the court system confirm this atrocity when it absolved the officer of guilt, and brought continued suffering to a family longing for justice. This situation is not unique; every similar case results in compounded violence.

When the system fails to bring about justice, people must bring about justice themselves. For this reason, Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement chapters dropped banners in four areas: the Inland Empire and North Bay in California, Connecticut and New York. We dedicate our actions to Daniel Shaver, to Dwayne Jeune, to Andy Lopez, to Jayson Negron, to Zoe Dowdell and to all those murdered by the state.

No more state terror!

No more police violence!

Justice for Daniel Shaver!

-Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement

1/04/2018