paca ater ee Et wee As Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 17, 1991 THE LOST CIVILIZATION OF KURDISTAN The Kurds are refugees no matter where they go Editor’s note: This article is the first in a three-part series about the Kurds, a group of people on whom international attention ts now focused as they are systematically being driven out of frag by Saddam Hussein’s govern- ment and into exile in neighbour. ing countries. Television and radio broadcasts, - and reports from refugee camps by on-site journalists carried in news- papers, have shown the suffering and deprivation being experienced by millions of Iragi Kurds as they flee their homeland and await international aid in squalid condi- tions in the border areas of Turkey and Iran. Terrace resident Steve Ramzi, an Iraqi by birth, has com- piled the following social and political history of these people, who in the latter half of the 20th century find themselves without a couniry. Steve Ramzi is a general sono- grapher and vascular technician at Mills Memorial, and an occasional contributor to the Terrace Review on Middle Eastern affairs and general science, Much is being said in the news now about the Kurds in Iraq, Iran Syria, Turkey and the USSR. Who are they? What do they want? Why are they treated so badly? History in the Middle East calls the Kurds, "Children of the Djinn". The word djinn means demon, a reference their reputation among ancient peoples of the region as strong, devious fighters. They were compared to ferocious mountain | gueritlas. The word kur-rd in Ara- bic means "continuous and forward fighters", people who fight like commandos or guerillas, striking fast under darkness and running to. the mountains to hide. Some claim that the Kurds are descendants of the Akkad empire that controlled Turkey, Iran, part of Syria and the north of Iraq in ancient times. The Akkadians were strong, vicious fighters, not unlike the Assyrians who also ruled Iraq for a time. As an indication of what the Kurds hold important, here is part of the Kurdish national anthem: Oh Enemy, the Kurdish nation will always endure, Not even the mas- ters of war will destroy it, Let no : USSR. —PVTTTCE, SULEIMAN THA?" WeNANDAY ~— a BAGHDAD: ° Original land URMIA IRAN oF KERMAN SHAH ° TEHRAN _ KURDISTAN bed FORDER CROSSING ane ARLA OF KURDISH RAS ENCE + KURDIH VELAGE e Town Lf? nwomererns one say the Kurds are dead. The Kurds will live, our flag will never be lowered. I learned a lot about the Kurds from one of my five aunts, who lived in Baghdad and was married to a Kurdish man. My mother is of Macedonian (Greek) origin, and this is a story she and my aunt used to tell me: Once upon a time Solomon the prophet (the diblical King The Way I See It... by Stephanie Wiebe The way I see it, there are two kinds of people in this world: dog _ people and non-dog people. The subtle difference is not always indicated through casual acquain- tance, but there’s something about dog people that sets them apart from the dog-less. Dog people are defined as those people who love dogs, own dogs, are owned by dogs, or wish they were. Some people like other people’s dogs, preferting to occasionally borrow rather than commit long-term. And then there are the dog-less, those without any interest in dogs, even perhaps disliking dogs. It’s not clear _ whether the personality differences between these groups is determined by their feelings towards: dogs or whether their feelings towards dogs are deter- mined by personalities — this has probably been documented by a million-dollar government study, and if it hasn’t yet, I’d like to apply for the grant. Dog people are not always as they appear. They can act normal in public situations, such as at work, parties or while running errands. In the privacy of their homes, however, the pretence drops and dog people show their true colours. A tough, business executive may have spent a heavy afternoon determining the direc- tional flow of millions of dollars, or perhaps political decisions that could change everyone’s lives. But at six-fifleen p.m., that exe- cutive could be flat on the living room floor, surrendering to 30- kilograms of over-excited salivat- ing fur. "No, Spike — ha ha ha — stop it, Spike — hee hee hee!" Only a dog person would suc- cumb to this canine split per- sonality syndrome. Responsible dog people walk their dogs. The dog needs exer- cise, they reason. This is not the true purpose of walking a dog. We all know the real reason people walk their dogs — it’s so the dog can relieve itself in new surroundings, away from the dog owner’s yard, Few dog people will admit to this — dog people are full of denial. One local man, an ecclesiastical minister who should be above reproach, accompanies his dog on a daily excursion for the sole purpose of desecrating distant territory. Walk- ing down the street, lead by the huge canine creature, his image of an upstanding "pillar of the community" exercising his pet is a facade. The dog knows this, and lowers his head in shame. But as they walk farther away from home turf, the dog’s needs become more urgent, and he tugs at the leash. Evidently the dog requires the scenic toilet of a vacant lot for his performance, and he’s not alone. Many dog owners specifically exercise their dogs toward vacant lots for their daily habits. As the town deve- — ‘tops and vacant lots become scarce, an epidemic of sluggish canine bowels will result from this indulgence. Vacant lot — owners are also in for a surprise when they finally decide to land- scape. Dog people often wrestle with their dogs, rolling on the floor as the animal licks their faces. These people claim that the dog’s mouth is cleaner than most — humans. Everyone else knows this is not true, as human beings do not engage in toilet bow! drinking, nor do they poke their noses into piles of unidentifiable disgusting matter on sidewalks and in bushes. Dogs don’t floss, either. Dog people refuse to consider this logic, as they revel in the cool saliva of their bad- breathed, black-lipped buddies. Dog people are stubbom, too. As for non-dog people, it is generally true that they engage in none of the above behaviour patterns. Hence, the difference. One might say that while dog people are multi-personalitied, stubborn, full of pretence and denial; non-dog people are not. On the other hand, extensive studies have shown that dog people are more relaxed, live longer, and have well-balanced mental health. It’s also been determined that there are more dog people than non-dog people. Though no study claims the small number of non-dog people to be a dying, tense, crazy tot, one might easily assume this from the pro- dog data. Face it, in the human rat race, the dog people are ahead. They might seem a bit strange, but they’re definitely winning — by a canine nose. Solomon) cast five hundred magi- cal spirits (djinni, or demons) out of his kingdom and exiled them to the mountains of Zagros. The djinz first fled to Greece and selected five hundred beautiful virgins as their brides, and then went to settle in Kurdistan, or City of the Kurds. The Kurdish language is different from other languages of the region. Those who live in Iran speak Faylie, a language similar to Per- sian. Those who live in Turkey — “where most Kurds have ended up — speak Kurdish, Turkomanian and other Kurdish dialogues. The most reliable historical Studies indicate that the Kurds originated from Medes, the early Irania-based dynasty that con- quered Ninevah (northern Iraq) in Mesopotamia about 612 B.C. They were then conquered by the Per- sians in 550 B.C. Since that time the area has been swept by one conquering nation after another: Seleucides, Parthians, Sassanians, Armenians, Romans, Zaniines, Arabs, Sijuks, Mongols, Ottomans and others. Before the advent of Islam, most Kurds were Zoroastrian in their religious faith, and some have become Baha’i’s. Newroz is their annual day of national and cele- bration, the word meaning "the new day, the day that good rises over: evil and the sun over dark- ness", The Kurds gave followers of Islam and the Arabic people one of their great defenders, Saladin (Salah-ed-din Ayyubi), the Lraqi general who defeated Richard the Lion Heart and drove the Cru- saders from Palestine in 1187. He is revered by both Arabs and Kurds as the great leader who united all the Arabic Muslim nations, Although parts of Kurdistan in Iran and Turkey have been ruled at times by Kurdish chieftains and princes, there has never really been a united Kurdistan. The Kurds, like the Arabs, would like to be united because they share a common history, janguage, culture and religion. In 1514 the partition of Kurdistan between the Ottoman (Turkish) and Persian (Iranian) empires was fixed. After World War I the Kurds were promised an indepen- dent state by the allies. As early the late 19th century, Sheik Obeidullah lobbied the govern- ments of European countries to help Kurds who are under pressure from the Turks, Persians and Arabs. The Kurds appealed to the international community under Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Point de- claration of 1918, one of the provi- sions of which was for ethnic minorities to be granted their own independent states. Under that declaration the Armenians got their own country but the Kurds and Assyrians did not. The Kurds’ traditional lands fell mostly within the borders of Tur- key. Historically, they have been treated badly by the Turks. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Turk- ish dictator who controlled the country in the wake of World War I, rejected the Kurdish claims of independence, had thousands of people in the Kurdish resistance killed, and outlawed the Kurdish language, spoken at that time by more than a quarter of the people in Turkey. Ataturk’s brutal sup- pression of the Kurdish revolt forced thousands of Kurds to flee to Iraq, Iran and Syria. The Kurds attained their first © state in modern times from 1921- 46 in the Rezaiyeh area of Iran. After World War II, when the Russians pulled out of northern Iran, the Kurds declared indepen- dence, and the Iranian military moved in and killed the Kurds, hanging their leaders. The Kurds once again became an ethnic minority in the country. Next week: the Kurdish role in regional politics. Gitl Guides of Canada Guides du Canada TALL TOTEM DIVISION Contact: Kathy Davies 638-1245 Marg Cooper 638-0609