|
Kurdish activist talks human rights at FSU
30.1.2007 |
|
|
|
January 30, 2007
Imagine not being able to fly your flag or speak
your native language without fear of imprisonment.
Imagine watching your village turn into rubble from
bombs or learning that a friend or family member had
been jailed and tortured. Unbeknownst to most
Americans, this is the situation for millions of
Kurdish people living in the Middle East.
Students at Florida State University had the
opportunity last week to learn first-hand about the
Kurds through a visit with a Kurdish human-rights
activist. Kani Xulam, a refugee from Turkish
Kurdistan, shared his experiences with a group of
students Jan. 22 on the FSU campus. Xulam is the
founder and director of the nonprofit organization
AKIN, the American Kurdish Information Network.
Many Americans are familiar with the Kurds of Iraq,
who were brought into the media spotlight by siding
with the U.S. in the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Most,
however, do not know that Kurdish Iraq is only a
part of Kurdistan, the Kurds' ancestral homeland,
which also makes up large parts of present-day Iran,
Syria and Turkey.
The 35 million Kurds who live in these nations are
suffering a "cultural genocide," where they are
denied even the most basic human rights. Their
suffering continues in silence, however, as very
little international attention is focused on their
plight.
Since 1993, Xulam has lobbied Congress and sought to
educate the American public of the human-rights
abuses endured by the Kurds as they try to assert
their rights and establish their homeland. Xulam's
presentation, sponsored by FSU's Center for
Participant Education, focused specifically upon the
Kurds in Turkey, the reasons for the Turkish
government's continued persecution of the Kurds and
what Americans could do to help.
For more information, contact Kani Xulam at
www.kurdistan.org, or FSU's Center for Participant
Education at www.yourfreeuniversity. org.
tallahassee com
*
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan"
Southeast Turkey. The Kurds have no rights in
Turkey.
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 