Foreign Fighters, why do they join other people war?

There are many people who wants to join the YPG in Syria and the Kurds in Iraq. I have met some of them during my latest reporting trip in Rojava at the end of November. Most of them just wanted to go and fight the Daash (the Islamic State) others, mainly veterans, decided to leave their life behind also because they didn’t fit into civilian life. “Nothing makes sense,” said Jordan Matson, a former US army soldier.

In Syria I learnt nobody is who he claims to be. And some believes they might get money out of this experience. Not directly from the YPG — the kurds are not paying foreign fighters, they just provide for food and accommodation — but maybe from interviews  or other little scam. More will come on this.

In the meantime this is what I wrote for the Reuters Foundation. Enjoy and tell me what you think.

DERIK, Syria, Jan 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – While illegally crossing the Iraqi-Syrian border, Canadian Peter Douglas was adamant that his incursion was for humanitarian reasons – to help the people of Syria.

Douglas is one of a growing band of foreigners to dodge authorities and join the fight against Islamic State militants who have killed thousands and taken vast parts of Iraq and Syria, declaring a caliphate in territory under their control.

Many of these fighters argue they are there for humanitarian reasons but they say their decision to take up arms to fight for the Syrian people will not be viewed as such by some.

“I want to fight the Islamic State, although it might be the last thing I do,” said Douglas, 66, from Vancouver, as he prepared to board a boat crossing a remote stretch of the Tigris River.

“I know I have 10 years to live before I will start develop dementia or have a stroke so I wanted to do something good,” he added, although he acknowledged that taking up arms was new on the list of jobs and occupations he has previously pursued.

So far an estimated few dozen Westerners have joined Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State in northern Syria, including Americans, Canadians, Germans, and Britons.

The Syrian Kurdish armed faction known as the YPG has not released official numbers confirming foreign or “freedom fighters” and academics say it’s hard to assess the total.

But the number pales compared to an estimated 16,000 fighters from about 90 countries to join Islamic State since 2012, according to the U.S. Department of State figures.

The United Nations has warned extremists groups in Syria and Iraq are recruiting foreigners on an “unprecedented scale” and with a commitment to jihad who could “form the core of a new diaspora” and be a threat for years to come.

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