Who are the Kurds ?

WHO ARE THE KURDS?

The Kurdish people form the largest ethnic group without a state of their own. They live in the mountainous regions straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Majority are Sunni Muslims but some adhere to other faiths.

After the First World War, the Western powers promised Kurdish freedom and envisaged a Kurdish state. Alas, it was all broken promises and shattered dreams. The supposed Kurdish territory was divided among the then Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Persia via the Treaty of Laussane.

Nothing worse than Kurds in your milk. General, make sure I never see another Kurd again. – Saddam Hussain

Does your blood boil? Does your heart ache? Do you get the sheer inhumanity that the Kurds had to face? They have been victims to barbaric, spine-chilling atrocities including the Halabja Chemical Attack, the Anfal Genocide, torture by being denied food and water, sexual assault and forced conversions to name a few; all sponsored by Saddam Hussain.

You thought that a Kurdish state was established after this. You are wrong. They were merely given a semi-autonomous status under the 2005 Iraq Constitution. Their human rights were completely disregarded in places like Turkey, Iran and Syria.

Between 2014 and 2017 the Kurds joint hands with the American Army and a few European troops in the war against the ISIS. The Western support for the Kurds was prominent until then. After the ISIS was expelled, all this support vanished. The Westerners watched Turkey get rid of its Kurds and did not support the Kurdish referendum held in Iraq.

I guess the Kurds should have known better, history is littered with such betrayals and the dreams of these Kurds have been forever brushed under the carpet by these hypocritic nations and power loving leaders.

Written by : Aditi Ullal