Kurdistan: The Missing Country
Image by Daniel Sitts
The history of a struggle for national identity
By Gena Mangiaratti
Kurdistan is a country. Kurdistan is a virtual state. Kurdistan is a bad country. Kurdistan is an illegal country.
It all depends on whom you ask.
What is Kurdistan?
When Sirwan Dabagh, a Kurd born in southern Kurdistan, tells people where he is from, he does not always mention the word “Kurdistan.”
“I usually say I’m from southern Kurdistan, which of course, politically correct, would be northern Iraq,” Dabagh said. “However, if the person asking doesn’t seem open-minded and generally educated, I prefer not to get in a conflict and, therefore, tell them that I’m a Kurd from Iraq.”
No one can define exactly where Kurdistan is, for it cannot be found on a map. It is a region made up of southeastern Turkey, northern Syria and Iraq, and western Iran, where people of Kurdish origin have resided since the time of hunters and gatherers. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed in World War I, the borders of these four countries were established and a treaty to grant Kurds their own state was rejected by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first president of Turkey. The British government, who at the time had control over Iraq, was also not in favor of a free state.
Today, the Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without a state of their own. Since the land where the Kurds live was parceled out, the governments of the four countries have been working toward assimilating citizens of Kurdish origin.
The Kurds are a people with their own language and a culture distinct from the countries they inhabit.
“Kurdish families are close-knit,” said Kani Xulam, director of the American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN). “Lack of political coherence has forced the Kurds to rely on themselves.”
Xulam described Kurdish thinking as more emotional than cerebral, and mentioned that it may be no coincidence that the film Braveheart is very popular with the Kurds.
The religion of the Kurds cannot specifically be named without clumping everyone together. Some areas of Kurdistan are mostly secular. Other Kurds are Muslim, while many practice Ezidism or Zoroastrianism. Dabagh mentioned that many Kurds of the Jewish faith have left Kurdistan and are now located in Israel.
The Kurdish language belongs to the Indo-European language family—the same family English belongs to. It is in a different family from Turkish and from the Arabic languages of Iraq and Syria.
Xulam, who is from the part of Turkey that makes up northern Kurdistan, explained that the Kurdish language differs from Turkish in not only alphabet, but in sentence structure and diction, comparable to the way English differs from Japanese in how its speakers express themselves.
The parceling of Kurdistan among different countries has caused the Kurdish language to develop several different dialects. Some argue that this means the Kurds do not share a uniform language, and that this impedes their struggle to be recognized as an independent state.
Dabagh refutes this argument, putting the Kurdish situation in context:
“Imagine you live in Ithaca and your sister in Albany. Suddenly someone decides to draw a line, where you end up in one country and your sister in another. There are borders between you and you are claimed to be, let’s say American, and your sister is now Canadian. Imagine you both actually speak Greek but it’s not recognized. You must speak English and your sister must speak French. This is what happened to the Kurdish people, and therefore their dialects many times are claimed to not be the same language.”
Victims of Hate
It was not until March 16, 1988 that international attention was drawn to the long-repressed Kurds. It was on this date that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein made a genocidal attack, launching poison gas on the dominantly Kurdish city of Halabja, killing at least 5,000 people and injuring more than 10,000.
What is now the country of Iraq was created by Winston Churchill in 1921. It consisted of three provinces carved from the Ottoman Empire: Baghdad, which contained both Shiite and Sunni Muslims, Basra, which was predominantly Shiite, and the Kurdish province of Mosul, which Britain wanted to hold on to for its oil reserves. Britain controlled Iraq through the Sunni minority, hoping the three groups could live together.
When Saddam Hussein came to power, the Sunni government persecuted both Shiites and Kurds.
According to the Embassy of Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan is a federally recognized region of Iraq, and is officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Dabagh said that in comparison to Syria and Iran, the government of Iraqi Kurdistan is relatively democratic, but that in comparison with other governments outside of the Middle East, it is not very democratic at all.
“But I do know democracy takes time,” Dabagh said. “The Western countries didn’t become democratic in one day.”
Dabagh has lived most of his life in Sweden. His family fled the political oppression of Iraq in 1989, when he was four. The democratic ways of Sweden have made it a favorable destination for Kurds. Today, Dabagh is the creator of Free Kurdistan, a cause arguing for an independent Kurdistan. In Sweden, Dabagh works with friends on a petition, making face-to-face contact to spread awareness for their cause.
Culturally Repressed in Turkey
In Turkey, no region is recognized as “Kurdistan.” According to the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., all people within the borders of Turkey are considered to be of Turkish citizenship.
“Everybody enjoys the same rights and privileges,” said Hüseyin Ergani, counselor of the Turkish Embassy. “We do not have statistics or divisions based on ethnicity, religion or culture. Any Turkish citizen can live anywhere he wants.”
According to a segment on ABC News: Foreign Correspondent, aired in November 2004, Kemal Ataturk perceived an independent Kurdish state to be a threat to Turkish unity, and preferred that the Kurds be assimilated. In 1988, Human Rights Watch reported that the Kurdish ethnicity was not recognized in the Turkish census figures, and the Kurds were referred to as “mountain Turks.”
Xulam’s passport lists his nationality as Turkish, which he said is untrue.
In a publication dated 1993, Human Rights Watch reported that Turkish authorities had stopped using the term “mountain Turks,” and began referring to Kurds by name in Turkish publications. The 1982 ban on speaking the Kurdish language in the streets was repealed. However, Kurdish still could not be spoken “in court, in official settings, or at public meetings,” the publication reads.
In Turkey, publicly using the letters Q, X and W which exist in the Kurdish alphabet but not in the Turkish alphabet, is prohibited by law. This ban consequentially prohibits Kurdish families from giving their children Kurdish names.
Xulam, who was required to learn Turkish over Kurdish in school, said that Turkish was perceived to be the language of progress.
“In a way, they are under the illusion that they are actually helping us by assimilating us,” Xulam said. “They don’t view it as a crime, that they are committing cultural genocide.”
Xulam gives two reasons for why he believes the Kurds continue to be subjugated.
The first reason has to do with the resources. Two resources of Kurdistan in high demand are oil and water.
“These two things are the Achilles’ heel of the Kurds,” Xulam said. “Because of them we have been unable to free ourselves, and our struggle still goes on.”
The second reason has to do with racism.
“The way I would describe it is our adversaries feel entitled,” Xulam said. “[Like] the whites in the South: they were ‘entitled’ to selling blacks in the market before 1860s, and before 1960s, they felt like the blacks shouldn’t be in the same bus that was traveling from one state to another. They had to be in another bus… In our case it’s not as like that—it’s more cultural.”
Xulam acknowledged that since Turkey has applied for membership to the European Union in 1987, the government has taken steps to improve its human rights record. However, the issue has not been resolved.
“They are too little, too late, and so the question hasn’t been resolved, because there’s no desire to take Kurds… as their equals,” Xulam said. “And so long as there’s a lopsided relationship, the problem will go on, and Turkey will not have peace, and the conflict will endure.”
This Land is My Land
The PKK, an abbreviation for Partia Karkaren Kurdistan, which in English translates to Kurdistan Workers’ Party, was formed in 1978. Its goal is an independent Kurdish state. According to the Web site for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the PKK began to wage an armed struggle in 1984.
The PKK, Embassy Counselor Ergani said, does not represent any part of Turkish society. In Turkey and in the United States, the PKK is referred to as a terrorist organization. According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the PKK has caused the deaths of over 30,000 Turkish citizens since 1984.
From 1980 to 1984, Kurdish activists as well as Turkish politicians and academics were arrested and tortured in the Diyarbak?r Prison. According to the Turkish gazette, Today’s Zaman, Diyarbak?r Prison was named one of the ten most notorious prisons in the world.
Selahattin Demirtas, head of the Kurdish political party the Democratic Society Party (DTP), told Today’s Zaman in August 2009 that the Diyarbak?r Prison is one of the reasons for the PKK’s existence. Demirtas suggested it should be turned into a human rights museum.
In December 2009, the DTP was shut down after being accused of supporting the PKK.
Dabagh questions the validity of calling the PKK a terrorist group.
“PKK may have used violence, but on the other hand, when the Kurdish people of Turkey do not have basic human rights, what should they do? Is it not self defense?… Wasn’t the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 adopted after many years of war?”
Amnesty International refers to the PKK as an “armed opposition group” in its articles. Xulam said that he submits to this definition. Turkey never allowed the Kurds to demand their rights in a non-violent manner, he said, which made armed resistance inevitable.
“The violence [the PKK] has waged against Turkey is no different than the violence that Turkey has waged against the Kurds,” Xulam said. “There’s two violent groups, if you will: The Turkish military and the PKK. One is condoned, unfortunately by international community, and the other one has been categorized as a terrorist organization.”
Still Silenced
The Iraqi elections on March 7 may bring improvement to the Kurdish situation in Iraq. Ayad Allawi was elected to be the next Prime Minister of Iraq, a change that many Kurds believe will bring them greater support from the rest of the nation. According to the Associated Press, many Kurds felt “increasingly alienated” by the previous Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, because of disagreements over several issues, oil contracts being one of them.
Dabagh said he believes Allawi’s governance will be better for Iraq, and therefore for the Kurds.
But the repression still goes on.
On March 21 of this year in Syria, police opened fire and killed at least one Kurd celebrating Newroz, the Kurdish new year.
The group refused to replace their Kurdish flags with Syrian ones. The crowd was first sprayed with water from a fire truck, leading them to retaliate by throwing rocks. The police then opened fire.
The battle continues.
Xulam described the struggle that faces the Kurds.
“If you speak Kurdish, then you are disdained. If you sing Kurdish songs, you could go to jail, or you could get hurt. If you make a demand for cultural acceptance, then you could lose your job. And if you fight for it, then you’re branded as a terrorist.”
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Gena Mangiaratti is a freshman journalism major and the supreme ruler of Genastan. E-mail her at gmangia1@ithaca.edu.
Great article but sad article.I wish the Kurds could get independence from those countries and be free of violence used against them.
I would be really happy if you could publish artilce and also some pictures of the Kurds more.
thanks so much for your article. i hope, i believe and finally i know it for sure – that Kurdistan will be independent and every Kurd all over the word will be safe and free to express and practice kurdish culture.
FREEDOM FOR KURDISTAN ,sure will be happen,is shame for all special UN more than 45,000,000 human without country, every day has killing because they are want freedom.
kurdistan is a big BS.
can hispanic americans speak spanish in the goverment institutions in the usa?
why should Turkiye allow kurdish in the courts?
americans should mind their own business.
americans use kurds as bargaining against these states.
Great article. Its truly a shame what has been done to the Kurds by the countries its located in. Unfortunately, with oil reserves in the region, it is not very likely that the territory will be given up any time soon.
Why the ^’+&’+% writer of this article haven’t talked about the hundreds of martyrized Turkish soldiers?
No one, even USA or ‘&%+’^+ European countries can divide Turkey. That son of %+’*!’½ can found a county in hell.
Turk acsuialy you are called mangoles who are coming from mangolya with the chaines eyes looking i won’t call your people humans reason is because you are out of humanity you guys are so commenst and risstzm and no moral how abour 800000 armainyan live where are they ha they are gunosided by the bloody turk another people just like hetler that is why you have chosen German to stay most Turkish people are living there kurdish people still living with the honer today because we have so many enemy like you animals
Turk who do think you are? It wouldn’t matter whether you kill 1 or 100 people…YOU STILL KILL!!!! As a muslim you are not allowed to kill!!!!! And you guys aren’t better yourself. You are the reason why, you are getting killed.
Should we also talk about the movies you are SPECIAL making to the arabic contries so they can se “HOW BAD THE KURDS ARE” Shame on you, and the ones that hate, kill and don’t believe in the kurds. SHAME ON YOU!!!!
P.S you seriously have to READ some history, THEN you will atleast know who the bad guys are (YOU!!!!)
OHH one more thing, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, so YES the European counties and the US AND WE can divide “Turkey”. Did you forget that it was the great powers that made “turkey” into a country!!!!!!!
Kurd if i where you i won’t be angry with the stupid cow just ignore because ocean couldn’t be dirty by the dogs mouth
kurdistan er et land
Is Kurdistan where ancient Assyria was?
Am neither a Turk or Kurd, am on fence and its sad to see that you people are behaving so immature on such a platform where you can have constructive arguments and learn; anyway, its your part of behaviour. All please read about Genocide in Iraq that occurred under Anfal Campaign where, according to an estimate, about 2,182,000 Kurdish civilians were killed because of the chemical weapon (poisonous gas) used over them. This campaign was launched in Saddam’s regime.
let me strait you up honey those people numbers where 182000 and they were buried mass graves and they where no Arabs they were from Kurdistan and 4000 people died in small districts calls halabja OK so many others are lost till today they couldn’t find them and those number i said it is true guys because there was a FBI team in Kurdistan they took over the investigation on this cases some of them couldn’t take they were crying like a baby when the heard about the story’s and it is genocides just like the armainyan cases …
This introduces a pleasingly riaotnal point of view.
MLlxcR lmneyuiemuxg
mmSiAd hehefxddefbl
@HINA
I know! THE US SUPPORTED AND GAVE SADDAM THOSE WEAPONS!! Nice that kurds love USA NOW! haha!
same for the Arabs hehe ,,
thanks for those who are willing for us to have our freedom and country …
I am neither Kurd nor Arab. I do read a lot about this great nation. They deserve like any other nations on this planet to have their own country and to live in peace with their neighbors (Arab, Persian and Turks). Also you like it or not , in this moment there is a de facto country or region called “Kurdistan” at least not the big Kurdistan but on the Kurdish area to what so called Iraq.The latter is the country that glued together around 80 years ago but was a failer since that time. Sorry guys I did not want to make any body angry but only talked about facts. I have visited Kurdistan for business couple times.
Interesting discussion!
Emir,
Your argument shows your knowledge when you compare Kurdish people to hispanic americans. The Kurdish people are the native people of that area, Turks came to the area about 1000 years ago when the Seldjuk came from east Asia. So please Emir do not come with such a dumb argument.
In Sweden, where I live (as said in the article), we have official minority groups such as the Sami people and they have saome official right. This is the least we should have in the present states. Federation. The absolute right decision is to create a state of Kurdistan, since Kurds are the majority in the area of Kurdistan and basically has been since 4 000 years when Kurds firstly was mentioned in Sumerian clay tablets under king Shu-Sins period.
Thank you Juliana and the rest who writes pro-Kurdish cause!
Your property is valueble personally. Thank you!?-
This is it if you take my right I will take it back and if you kill me I will kill you too. If everyone in Turkey were Turks(Mountain Turks!) , then I can assure you Madam {TURK} that most of your flipping soldiers would join the Opposition , exactly as huppened in Egypt instead of been killed. Please don’t talk rubbish , because all what in your heads is racism,
and let me answer back your very low moral or very high ignorance : Stop usig swear words and you shoul read genuine historical books about Saljukians and some about Kurds or Armans ,in the World library and not just read the brainwashed racist books in Turkey.
I would like to say thank you to all of pro Kurds who genuinely witnessed the facts then could not stop having their say.
it is really interesting article .I read it carefully and i have some words to say.
Firstly, it is good that you know the truth about Iraq. They create a country from Kurds, Shiite and and Sunni muslims to hold on to its oil reserves. It was obvious that these three groups have always been in conflict.It was impossible to live together so we saw the results and still ?raq is in conflict. Nobody cared the kurds rights or other nationality’s rights . ?t is all about money. Do you believe if the Kurdistan country establish ,it would be in better situation than today’s Iraq ?
Secondly , i can not say assimilation of the Kurds is acceptable. But after WW1 the condition of the area Kurds live was in trouble.In order to foundation of Turkey the assimilation was required.
But now the year 2011 , Kurds in Turkey are still trying to be independent instead of fight for their rights.
I was born in Turkey .It makes me turkish citizen but i dont care my nationality.i could be Kurdish
?f we stop the fight for our nationalities or religions we can live together in peace..
For those who wants to know history,since ADAM AND EVE the kurds were in kurdistan.Baise on bible the region were kurds are living called .lANGAUGE IS THE PROOF,BUT THEY HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN BY HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY.The historic persecution by the PERSIAN,ARABS,TURKS AND SOME INTERNAIONAL CONSPERASIES IN 20TH CENTURIES AND WITH THESE CHAINGES IN MIDDLE EAST AND WHOLE WORLD,WHAT WILL THE GRAND CHILDREN OF ARABS,TURKS AND PERSIAN THINK OF THERE FATHER BRUTALITIES AGAINST THE KURDS ?THE NEW GENERATION OF YOUTH WHO ARE CHAINGING FOR PEACE,LOVE,HUMANITY,FORGIVENESS IS THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR THE REGION,OTHERWISE THE VOLCANO OF MIDDLE EAST IS .LET WORLD WAR 3 START IS BETTER TO LIVE OPRESSED,SLAVE UNDER THESE REGEMES WHO OCCUPING KURDISTAN.I HOPE THOSE PEOPLE WHO HATE KURDS TO THINK FOR FRIENDSHIP,LIVING TOGATHER,PEACE IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY.
whoah this weblog is great i really like studying your posts. Stay up the great paintings! You already know, lots of persons are looking around for this information, you could aid them greatly.
Dear brothers n sisters I am who I am
i am absolutely nothing but waiter of Allah in this world! I came from him I’ll go bck to him. U all sit in ur small world n just carry on fighting 
if u narrow ur mind n ur self in a borders take them n make them all Kurdistan or Britain or Israel 
call that any thing u like. Make one language one rule if u can. Let me tell u something;as long as u don’t kill ur egos n pride u will be slave of this world no matter! Free ur souls n dont tire ur self. To day if u have ur borders then ashirets will fight for the power then if they get what they want then uncles will fight for ashirets 
we seen that also between Kurds n Arabs n Brits n Germans n French n Americans n so n so. Do not forget there will be fitne ( two faces) between u always who makes profit of all those fights! Which is did. First do not forget mr who knows history well! Selahattin eyyubi was a Kurdish king n he was the most fare person between 3 religion in kudus 
but some how when Christians took over first thing the American general did is pissed his grave yard n said selahaddin u took from our grand dads we took from ur grand kids 
but he was serving the Jewish of course. Also other mr who says about genocides to Armenians! Dear genius friend the area u were calling kudistan where all the dead Muslim bodies has been found that all killed by Armenians while ottoman soldiers fighting on the border 1915 (reminding u the war start 1914) who could be those women n kids u think? Kurds.So practically Erzurum, van, mus,Diyarbakir,tunceli, is always Kurdish yeah then if Turks killed all Armenians, who u think they did for or If the Turks wasn’t there as u said in that area highly Kurdish population then who killed all those Armenians while very limited ottoman army fighting on the north with Russians on west with Greeks anzaks Brits onthe south with Italians n French? I will tell u Sehy said start fighting against to Armenians in that area first which is hero of Kurds a Kurdish man for sure 
so now tell me u hypocrite Jewish servers stop it or face with the truth. Mountain Turks u r calling the turks lol I’ll give u little geography lessons 
the steps that Turks came according to u no mountain mate is steps which is straight land!but the area u r calling Kurdistan is more likely mountains n Lmao to all the comments u r writing up there. Instead of insulting each other learn properly. It’s not rude to not know it’s rude to not learn. With peace