We’re devastated to hear of the sudden passing of our comrade and Plan C member from 2016 to 2019, Josh. Those who knew him know he was one of the most genuine, engaged, brave and dedicated revolutionaries of his generation. By 23 he had already become a leading organiser in the Manchester left, contributing to anti-fascist struggles, our Manchester group and UK-wide organisation.
Josh left Plan C last year after deciding that his politics had developed in a different direction, and described his reasons in a letter that typified his thoughtful, reflective and good faith approach to political organising and revolutionary struggle. We were sad to see him go, but he left no less a comrade fighting to build the real movement, and we were proud to continue to support him organizationally during state repression for his time as a volunteer in Rojava/Northern Syria. After leaving Plan C Josh went on to an organising role in the community union ACORN, where he again showed his deep commitment to building free life everywhere.
A longtime member of our Kurdistan Cluster, Josh travelled to Syria in 2017 to volunteer in the Rojava Revolution. He stayed for a year, volunteering with both SYPG, a Marxist civil organisation supporting the growth of the democratic system, and the International Freedom Battalion, an internationalist YPG battalion established as a united front of anarchists and communists defending the revolution. Josh was loved and respected by the people in Rojava as a teacher in Kobane, and by his IFB comrades as a soldier in the liberation of Raqqa.
Josh was one of the best of us. He was a growing light in revolutionary struggle, a reason to hope, and an example of what it meant to live as a revolutionary with dedication, militancy and humanity. Josh’s actions live on in our organising everywhere he struggled and every organisation he was part of, whether Plan C, ACORN, or the Rojava Revolution. He is immortal.
Rest in Power, loved comrade, you will never be forgotten – and we know that remembering means fighting.
