'What is Kurd?'.

In the last 18 years, Iraqi Kurds have come a long way from being victims of a brutal regime to being an internationally recognized federal region of Iraq via a safe haven, civil war and a unity pact. As a new government is elected in Erbil, there is much to reflect upon. Despite the momentous change in status and the focus of the world's press on Iraq, not infrequently,Aa many Kurds still face the question: 'What is a Kurd?' It is a question I find myself answering on a regular basis. I normally start by outlining the geographical location of 'Kurdistan' and agree that the Kurds do have similarities to other Middle Eastern nationalities; however, with a language and history of their own they are different to their neighbors and indeed their hosts. It is an ignorance that sadly persists even after all the changes of the last 18 years; I recently attended two events in London that were related to the Middle East and was surprised that even those who are familiar with the Middle East, through business or scholarship, are still quite ignorant on all things Kurdish. I found myself explaining that the area of Iraqi Kurdistan controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is not a volatile hotbed of violence, that thankfully during the year I lived there that there were no bombs, and that in the six years since liberation there have been very few, which is in sharp contrast to the rest of Iraq. One person then asked me how I had coped with wearing a 'burka'. I explained that I was in Iraqi Kurdistan, not Iran or Afghanistan, and they asked me what the difference was. In situations like this, it is often quicker and easier to define what Kurds are not rather than go into the complex politics of being Kurdish. So here goes, Kurds are not Arabs, Iranians or Turks; yet just like any of the aforementioned nationalities,Aa a Kurd will claim dolma (yaprakh) and paklava as their own. Yet stereotypes and jokes aside, while the commonalities that Kurds share with other Middle Easterners are undeniable, they are not a reason for denying or ignoring the separate existence of the Kurds. The geopolitical realities of the Middle East may mean that, for now,Aa a Kurdish state is the impossible dream, yet a lack of independence does not confer with the lack of a nation - no-one denies the existence of England, Scotland and Wales which constitute the state of Great Britain. It is sad that the international press usually cover only the shortfalls of the Kurdistan Region, such as corruption, they often fail to mention or gloss over any successes though sometimes concede that it is significantly more secure than the rest of Iraq. With respected institutions such as the BBC persisting in using the term 'Northern Iraq' instead of the Kurdistan Region or Iraqi Kurdistan, they continue to breed ignorance concerning the Kurds. What I have written so far is from an Iraqi-Kurdish centric viewpoint, to be more precise from within the area that is under the control of the KRG. Unfortunately Kurds that live outside the security of this territory still face struggles for their human rights and safety. Despite the ignorance that I have outlined and my frustration at still having to explain and sometimes justify my right to say I am Kurdish or explain that I was neither brave or cavalier in living in Slemani for a year; the positive changes must be followed up and consolidated.Aa It is now much easier to buy books on the Kurds, or should I say their politics because non-political cultural and historical books are still thin on the ground.Aa One thing that I hope changes is the lack of linguistic resources - particularly for learning Kurdish as a second language. In many definitions of nationalism and indeed nations, language is a key requirement. The newly elected KRG will face the challenge of the delicate balancing act of protecting all dialects while promoting a standardized and accessible form of one of the dialects, most likely Sorani. Indeed the challenges facing the new administration are in some ways very different from those faced by the outgoing one. The new KRG will have to maintain and strengthen the institutions of the KRG, promote the development, both internally and externally, of Kurdish studies - while allowing it to be self-reflective and questioning of all things Kurdish. This will improve the knowledge of Middle East scholars and in turn the wider 'educated' public on Kurdish issues, which in turn will help all Kurds. Hopefully this will alleviate the difficulties that most people face in knowing and understanding what a Kurd is and also enable them to point to where Kurdistan should be on a map.

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