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Returning Kurdish teens as foreigners in
their homeland
7.2.2008
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February 7, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',-- Kurd
students that have recently returned with their
families to the Iraq's Kurdistan region, have a
serious problem; they neither speak Kurdish nor
Arabic. They are foreigners in their homeland.
Fleeing ethnic cleansing by former Saddam regime and
armed conflicts, families of those Kurdish students
departed Iraqi Kurdistan during the 1980s and 1990s,
but many of them returned to Kurdistan after 2003,
due to the remarkable improvements, in both security
and economy, at that autonomous region of Iraq.
Those families have a very serious problem; their
kids had grown up far away from their home country;
in places that have totally different cultures,
traditions, and of course languages. |
Today's Kurdish teenagers are the first generation
to grow up under Kurdish rule in Kurdistan. Most
Kurds don’t speak Arabic, especially the younger
generation, the 2nd language in Kurdistan after
Kurdish is English language. |
Since 1991, the Kurds in
Iraqi Kurdistan achieved self-rule in the north part
of the country. Today's teenagers are the first
generation to grow up under Kurdish rule. Most Kurds
don’t speak Arabic, especially the younger
generation, the 2nd language in Kurdistan after
Kurdish is English language.
Kurdish and Arabic are the two primary languages
'officially' adopted by the education system in
Kurdistan, even most of Kurds don't speak Arabic. in
addition to English as a minor language. In order to
absorb returned students that do not speak any of
those two major languages,www.ekurd.net
some special or private
schools, at that region, started new classes devoted
to teaching those students Arabic and English, along
with their mother-tongue, Kurdish. Sulaimaniyah city
does have four Arabic-language schools where Kurds
and Arabs study together.
A new English language
American University
in Kurdistan is planned to be open in 2008, it will
be based in the outskirts of Sulaimaniyah, a city in
the comparatively safe Kurdistan region, which is
seeing and expansion of ELT.
Kurdish troops which
joined the
American troops to fighting insurgents and as
peacekeeping forces in the Arab part of Iraq faced a
language barrier, because
95 percent of
the forces are Kurds and unable to speak Arabic.
Kurds they overcome that problem by enlisting Arab
members and drivers to help with translation to
Kurdish.
An Iraqi Kurd, Dilshad (42 years), who resettled in
Iraqi Kurdistan six months ago, said to VOI "We
chose to return to our country, because in other
states, we were considered (foreigners), but
unfortunately, at the heart of our mother country,
our kids have been called (foreigners), despite that
they descended from the soil of Kurdistan."
At a school in Erbil – capital city of Kurdistan
region, some returned students of different ages,
genders and educational levels meet in one of the
new multi-language classes. Speaking almost similar
foreign languages helps them to socialize with each
other.
Arabic teacher of that class, Ms. Deman (Kurd – 32
years) is critical in evaluating this new program,
"This is a very fluid decision. The regional
Ministry of Education in Kurdistan ordered to absorb
those returned students in preparatory classes,
without detailing the related topics colloquium. I
depended on myself,www.ekurd.net
and I put a syllabus for
teaching Arabic to one of those classes."
In his attempts to learn Arabic and Kurdish both
together; Zana, a Kurd high school returned student
(16 years), is facing serious problems, "Letters of
Arabic and Kurdish are similar in shape and
dissimilar in pronunciation, and as a speaker of a
foreign language, I find it very difficult to
distinguish between them," Zana said.
20 years ago, Donia was born in Holland. She grown
up there, studied there, and joined a school of
medicine there. Last summer (2007), her father
decided to travel back to his homeland – Kurdistan
in a long term trip, "Because of the different
language, all the years that I spent in my
hardworking studies went in vain, and here I am a
high school student again, trying to learn my mother
language, and I really don't know what would happen
next," Donia said in a pessimistic speculative
manner.
Regional Ministry of Education in the Iraqi
Kurdistan is definitely aware that multi-language
classes do not represent the magic solution for the
problems of those retuned students.
Tara, a 19 years Kurd, was born and grown up in
Holland. She reverted with her family to Erbil-Hewler
where she found herself at the middle of a social
whirlwind.
"The hardest thing for me is the judgments of the
Kurdish community. It considers me a (bad girl) and
for absolutely no reasons," Tara said.
"People here never hesitate to fabricate rumors
about me, and everyday I have more troubles with my
teachers and fellow-students," Tara said with a tone
full of sorrow, asserting "Even my family members, I
feel that their way in treating me has been changed
since we arrived back."
The sociologist that supervises that special
preparatory class believes that most of the problems
that those students are experiencing are due to the
complicated regulations of the education system in
Iraq.
"We have an education system that requires students
to dress a certain uniform, not to eat or drink
anything in classrooms, while those returned
students spent years of their life going to schools
that have no such regulations," the sociologist
clarified.
According to that sociologist, freedom that those
returned students had enjoyed in schools out of Iraq
is considered impoliteness in Iraq, "That's why
sometimes teachers insult some of those students; a
matter that deepens the gap between them and their
faculty," the sociologist commented.
Despite this complicated situation, some of those
returned students are really happy to be back to
Kurdistan. Haifa (16 years) was born and grown up in
Norway, "My heart was in Kurdistan all the time,"
Haifa said, and she explained "My parents were
always talking to me about our homeland – Kurdistan,
and I continuously dreamed of traveling back,"
asserting "In spite of some difficulties, I am happy
in my country, and I am learning fast; however, I
should admit that I miss my friends in Norway."
VOI | eKurd.net
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