Finland: President of Virtual Kurdistan designs her own state  30.5.2007
By Ninni Lehtniemi

By benefit, the President does not mean how to get the best profits from the pixel couches. Getting rich is not the idea of Virtual Kurdistan. However, there would be services available in the country.

"The Kurdish language is taught only in the schools of the Kurdish areas of Northern Iraq. For instance, there are Kurdish teachers in Sweden, who could be available for certain periods of time and give remote teaching in the mother tongue."

Hasanzadeh's corps of civil servants would also include a doctor. "It is easier to talk about health problems in one's own language to a person with the same cultural background."

The Kurds live dispersed around the world, and not all of them speak Kurdish. For that reason, Virtual Kurdistan would inevitably be a multilingual state.

"One would have to be able to use whatever language one wants. The home page should be at least in Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, and Persian."

Hasanzadeh herself is linguistically talented. In addition to fluent Finnish, she speaks English, Turkish Persian, and the two main dialects of Kurdish. She acquired the languages mainly on a long journey that began when she was 17 years old, during which time the future leader was busy looking for her own identity.

"I wanted answers to questions such as who I am, where I am from, and why I am here."

The journey began in Belgium, where Hasanzadeh spent a year and a half as a volunteer assistant at the Kurdish television station Roj. The journey continued via Syria to Iraq, and the Kurdish region of Iran.

Now the President is working to get additional competence by studying to be a media assistant at the Omnia vocational school in Espoo.

Hasanzadeh's family came to Finland as political refugees from Iran, via Turkey. She was eight years old at the time.

Kurdistan was a powerful presence in the home.

"I have always known that I am a Kurd and that Kurdistan exists, even though other countries do not recognise it."

However, the President dies not want to make Virtual Kurdistan a country of the Kurds alone.

"Kurdistan is located in the Mesopotamia area, and many other nations live there. Virtual Kurdistan must be democratic.

At the same time we must consider what democracy could mean for the Mesopotamians. The model need not be from Europe or the Middle East."

Would Virtual Kurdistan be similar to the real Kurdistan, that the President is dreaming about? According to Hasanzadeh, the dreams of others are more important.

Instead of the visions of the President, Virtual Kurdistan would be set up on activities similar to those of Finnish media workshops, in the Kurdish territories of Iraq and Turkey. The media workshops would educate street kids and refugee children.

"I want these children and young people to think what kind of a Kurdistan they want, and at the same time, to get education and hope into their lives."

When the President speaks about media workshops, her eyes light up even more. To her joy, a group of Finnish media workshops have already said that they are interested in cooperation.

Helsingin Sanomat - First published in print 24.5.2007
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** 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.

Others estimate over 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.

Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in Turkey and are denied rights granted to other minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and education in the Kurdish language, but critics say the measures do not go far enough.

Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds.

Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media. The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and 2003

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" 

More about big Kurdistan: Kurdistan (Iraq-Turkey-Syria-Iran-Armenia-Georgia) wikipedia    

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