Bijî Kurdistan

Kurdish translation: Long live Kurdistan _______________________________________ Artist's Statement: A Poster for Kurdistan and My Opinion of the Keffiyeh Something that has bugged me for some time is the symbol of the keffiyeh. Let me explain. Following the ‘Arab Spring’ and the ongoing Palestine struggles, the keffiyeh head scarf has become a powerful symbol of Arab identity but also the determination for change in Arab nations. The time of dictators, tyranny, injustice, corruption and imperialism is over. This is not all. On the agenda of this change is differentiation within Arabs. Not all Arabs are the same. Egyptians, Iraqis, Syrians, Libyans, Palestinian, Yemenis, etc. Well, thats the plan anyway and I’m all for that but the Arabs aren’t the only one’s who wear keffiyehs. The Middle East is rich in culture and diversity and stands in-between Asia, Africa, Russia and Europe, which is why some academics prefer to call it the Middle World. In this region there are many cultures and peoples that are often forgotten or ignored when the Middle East is mentioned. For example the Assyrians, Baluchi, Azeris, Armenians and of course the biggest minority in the World with no nation; the Kurds. (My apologies if I have missed other minorities. Please let me know. Also I’m not including Christians or Jews because I consider them religions not people.) So turns out the Kurds also wear the keffiyeh. Oh, and turns out the Kurds have been struggling to fight against the same things everyone else has for a long time. Some may argue that they have been subjected to the worst atrocities and have suffered the most. Like genocide and chemical warfare. In fact the Kurds have been, and still are fighting within four different nations. In Turkey they are fighting for democracy, freedom of speech, cultural equality, self-rule, the right to be a Kurd. The list goes on. In Syria they are fighting for self-rule and the right to be a Kurd but this is getting complicated with the internal strife and proxy war currently taking place. In Iraq they are fighting to keep what they have established and the right to be a Kurd within their own borders but pressure is increasing from Baghdad. In Iran, well, many Persians are fighting the Islamic republic for human rights and democracy but the Kurds have been fighting for this and the right to be a Kurd since before the Revolution. As you can see theres a great deal of self-identity troubles going on. So my point here, is that the symbol of the keffiyeh is not just for the Arabs, but for the Middle East as a whole. Lets think bigger. Lets think united. Being part of the Kurdish Diaspora I make it a duty to spread news of injustice and discrimination currently happening today against the Kurds and other peoples that are suffering in similar ways. I love drawing so I do this through art. Its been a while since I last did some posters promoting the Kurdish struggle, so I have decided to do some more and I’d like to present my latest one. I have drawn a woman because this struggle has been going on for so long that literally everyone, from father to daughter, is affected in some way and everyone is fighting for their rights. I was inspired by a picture of protestors. I’ve drawn her wearing a keffiyeh, a symbol of resistance for all peoples of the Middle East, and added the Kurdish colours, red, green and yellow to represent the Kurdish identity. Source: https://gimozangana.com/category/writing/