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US: Festival lets young Kurds see their
past
20.8.2006
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Nashville ,--
Kawar Necmedin was just a boy when his family came
to Tennessee from Kurdistan (northern Iraq) in 1991.
As with many other young Kurds, he said Saturday,
his culture has dulled a bit, replaced by the ideals
of his American neighbors.
"It's kind of fading away a little, just being
around school and family and work," said Necmedin,
21.
But events like the Kurdish celebration held at the
Nashville Convention Center this weekend bring those
faded traditions back into focus, he said.
The celebration marked the 60th anniversary of the
founding of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, a
political movement started by nationless Kurds in
Iran, Iraq and Turkey on Aug. 16, 1946. But for many
young Kurds in Nashville, it's also a link to a
culture they're not intimately familiar with. The
event included traditional Kurdish songs and
dancing; many who attended also wore traditional
Kurdish clothing. |
Nabaz Khoshnaw
Photo:Tennessean |
"It's a lot of fun," Necmedin said. "You celebrate
an event that helps you celebrate your country."
"The younger people love the American culture, but
the tradition, you cannot get rid of it," said
Pakeza Alexander, president of the Nashville-based
Kurdish Humanitarian Organization and one of several
organizers for Saturday's event.
"We always try to make sure (young Kurds) know what
kind of culture and tradition they have," Alexander
said. "If Kurdish people forget their tradition and
what it stands for, it's not good for them and it's
not good for Americans, either."
About 40 million Kurdish people are scattered
throughout the world. They are recognized as the
largest ethnic group without an officially
recognized country.
The KDP once fought government oppression of Kurds.
Now it fights for democracy and a unified Iraq,
local supporters say.
Kurds have celebrated the KDP anniversary in
Nashville for more than 25 years, Alexander said.
No American city has a higher concentration of
Kurdish residents than Nashville. In 2005, about
8,000 Kurds lived in Nashville. Many of them were
refugees who fled persecution in Kurdistan (northern
part of Iraq).
Nabaz Khoshnaw, 47, came to Nashville in the late
1990s. He was working with the United States,
helping rebuild villages Saddam Hussein had
destroyed in Kurdistan (Iraq), when he and others
helping Americans were evacuated to the U.S. because
of fears that they'd be executed by Saddam's regime.
"Nashvillian people are very friendly … they are
dealing with the Kurdish people in a very good way,"
Khoshnaw said.
tennessean com
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