Why do you care ?

[talsor]

Seeing none Kurds spearheading the Kurdish fight despite little or no connection to Kurds and Kurdistan always puzzled me .Can some of you shed some light as to why you care ? and kindly spare me Gandhi's wisdom and Che Guevara's revolutionary speeches .

I know Pilling will come out with one of her sarcastic comments like "well I'm a turkish agent " but lets go beyond that .

Cheers .

[Piling]

I know Pilling will come out with one of her sarcastic comments like "well I'm a turkish agent " but lets go beyond that .

Too lazy for learning Turkish. Find another foreign service.

[Anthea]

Seeing none Kurds spearheading the Kurdish fight despite little or no connection to Kurds and Kurdistan always puzzled me .Can some of you shed some light as to why you care ? and kindly spare me Gandhi's wisdom and Che Guevara's revolutionary speeches .

I know Pilling will come out with one of her sarcastic comments like "well I'm a turkish agent " but lets go beyond that .

Cheers .

Good question

Surprised nobody asked it before, though I have been asked several times in PMs.

I have had Kurdish friends for over 30 years. I do mean some of the same friends. Actually two brother who are like me own brothers and I love them both very dearly

As a teacher and as the director of a multi-cultural charity, and as a member of many refugee organisations, I have learnt a great deal over the years about different cultures.

I have many friends from other cultures but Kurds are, in my mind, misused and forgotten.

While teaching I have had a great many Kurdish students who have become my friends. It did not take me long to realise that most of my Kurdish friends knew next to nothing about Kurds from countries other than the ones they themselves were living under.

My students and friends welcome me into their home, sometimes students live with me. The thing that ALL of them have in common is that they all want to tell me their stories. I have learnt a great deal through having Kurdish friends from all countries.

I have met a lovely non-Kurdish lady who dedicates her entire life to working for Kurdish recognition and freedom. She makes me feel guilty for not doing more especially as I am the one with all the Kurdish friends

I had met Kurdish leaders and freedom fighters. I even met Ismet Cherif Vanli. Let me tell you about this lovely gentleman who sadly died 2 years ago. Young people will not know much about him, but he was by far the GREATEST of all Kurds:

Ismet established the Kurdish Student Society in Europe KSSE in 1956. Many existing student societies of Iraqi, Turkish and Iranian origin were against a separate Kurdish student societies. They argued that Kurdish interests were already imbedded in their programs. Nonetheless, Ismet was intent on becoming the voice of the Kurdish nation in Europe. He traveled around the Europe and attended many international conferences as KSSE representative. In 1958 he was elected to represent KSSE at London International Conference (?) where many nations of the worlds were represented. He also was KSSE representative at annual conferences of International Student Union.

In early 1959 he moved to Paris to study Kurdish History at the Sorbonne University. This was in liaison with Kamran Bedir khan who was at that time a lecturer in Kurdish language at the Sorbonne. France was the only country in the world that Kurdish historical studies were provided.

As a true believer in Kurdish nation's legitimate rights for self-determination he promoted Kurdish political struggle in Europe. Ismet was the spokesman in Europe for General Mostapha Barzani's, from 1962 to 1966, and then 1975 and 1976. Vanli believed that many Kurdish movements after 1945 have lost the real will of Kurdish nation for a free and independent homeland.

Vanli was also leader of Kurdistan National Congress.

He was a truly wonderful gentleman and when he told me he hoped that I would continue to help Kurds there was NO turning back or giving up

[Piling]

Hey, is it Friday Lent confession ?

As most Kurds LOVE to imagine plot and double agents stories, I am conscious I will disappoint them.

1991 : studying Islamic Arts & CIvilization in Musée du Louvre. I was thinking to specialize in Arab or Iranian worlds. I met a Western Kurd. We married. As all Kurds, he claimed : WHY DO YOU CARE OF MY ENNEMIS AND NOT OF MY PEOPLE ? I say : mmm… Why not ? Ok, i will study Kurds & Kurdistan and bye bye Persians.

Travels in N. Kurdistan, S. Kurdistan. W. Kurdistan and learnt Kurdish in INALCO (Institute of Eastern languages and civilizations with Joyce Blau).

1997 : Met PKK activists. Helped them in communications, writing, etc (They were VERY BAD in communication to Western people). Had a lot of fun with Musa Anter Peace Train (Anthea knows what I mean). Became more activist than my husband (at the end I get rid of him, he was becoming too Westernized for me). Worked a lot in CIK (the office where the killing happened.)

2001 : Decided that Öcalan is a traitor. Bye bye PKK & HADEP (though I appreciated Murat Bozlak). Began to translate Mem and Zîn with Akif Hasan (old activists know who he is). Travelled a lot of times in Northern Kurdistan also, between 1999 and 2001.

2004 : Short of money, had to find a stable job. A place is free in the Kurdish Institute of Paris. Kendal Nezan told me : "Come." Began to travel a lot in S. Kurdistan again.

And I am still there. But hope one day to live definitively in Southern K., especially in Behdinan (especially Amadiyya) when I will find a way to earn my life there.

Never worked for French Services (for that reason I am POOOR )

Still writing novels, translating Kurdish literature, etc. because now it is my own world.

Why I stay among Kurds ? Because I like it and I do what I like. Who knows ? one day I will change my mind and go to Japan

[Anthea]

Hey, is it Friday Lent confession ?

As most Kurds LOVE to imagine plot and double agents stories, I am conscious I will disappoint them.

1991 : studying Islamic Arts & CIvilization in Musée du Louvre. I was thinking to specialize in Arab or Iranian worlds. I met a Western Kurd. We married. As all Kurds, he claimed : WHY DO YOU CARE OF MY ENNEMIS AND NOT OF MY PEOPLE ? I say : mmm… Why not ? Ok, i will study Kurds & Kurdistan and bye bye Persians.

Travels in N. Kurdistan, S. Kurdistan. W. Kurdistan and learnt Kurdish in INALCO (Institute of Eastern languages and civilizations with Joyce Blau).

1997 : Met PKK activists. Helped them in communications, writing, etc (They were VERY BAD in communication to Western people). Had a lot of fun with Musa Anter Peace Train (Anthea knows what I mean). Became more activist than my husband (at the end I get rid of him, he was becoming too Westernized for me). Worked a lot in CIK (the office where the killing happened.)

You did a fantastic amount of work on the Peace Train

We probably met some of the same activists

2001 : Decided that Öcalan is a traitor. Bye bye PKK & HADEP (though I appreciated Murat Bozlak). Began to translate Mem and Zîn with Akif Hasan (old activists know who he is). Travelled a lot of times in Northern Kurdistan also, between 1999 and 2001.

I would NOT support the Ocalan who is in prison. He bears little or no resemblance to the Ocalan who some of my friends went fight for. They gave up EVERYTHING to fight for a FREE KURDISTAN

2004 : Short of money, had to find a stable job. A place is free in the Kurdish Institute of Paris. Kendal Nezan told me : "Come." Began to travel a lot in S. Kurdistan again.

And I am still there. But hope one day to live definitively in Southern K., especially in Behdinan (especially Amadiyya) when I will find a way to earn my life there.

Never worked for French Services (for that reason I am POOOR )

Still writing novels, translating Kurdish literature, etc. because now it is my own world.

Why I stay among Kurds ? Because I like it and I do what I like. Who knows ? one day I will change my mind and go to Japan

I have never been to Kurdistan because I am not very mobile (I had an accident)

I enjoy being with Kurds which is why so many of my students became my friends

I am older than Piling and I intend to retire in South Kurdistan

[Anthea]

The question should NOT be:

Why do you care ?

The question that should be asked of the many Kurds who do nothing is:

Why do you not care ?

[talsor]

The question that should be asked of the many Kurds who do nothing is:

Why do you not care ?

We have mentally disabled people too .

[Bohe]

Whatever the reason[s] I'm overjoyed that they do.

[Feyli_kord]

These are all interesting stories. Well, in a sense you have become kurdish. Anyone who goes to that extent for kurds, is kurdish to me. I know some kurds who have 0 contact with their culture&language, and who prefer arabic over kurdish as their main language. The worst kurds to me are those self-hating morons who join turkish nationalist parties or baath parties.