Background
Kurdish population estimated to form 45 million, which is the largest ethnicity without their own self-governing administration or State. In early 16th century Ottoman and Safavian Empires for the first time in the history portioned Kurdistan officially. Since then, oppressors and colonial powers had made profound efforts to annihilate Kurdish culture and language in the region by using all the means in their possession, including physical elimination and cultural assimilation. The colonial powers relied on a very well known concept which still in operation in contemporary politics and that is “the end justifies the means”. However, Kurdish resistance to a great degree have managed to a great degree to repeal oppressors’ policies. The physical and cultural Genocidal policies were took more dangerous shape once the Kurdistan portioned between newly founded nation states after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. The dominant ethnicities in these countries, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria by relying on International legal and political concepts such as sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity etc, justified newly formed policies against Kurdish nations and applied anti-Kurdish policies in all aspects of life more systematically.
One of the policies which worth to be given more attention is cultural superiority of the ruling ethnicity. The ruling ethnicities in the mentioned countries structured fictional-concepts with the aim to assimilate Kurdish people and disintegrate their unity through what they call psychological reality. In other words, the dominant powers made a great attempt to indoctrinate a fictional pride within the society and de-attach them from their own original identity and history. In this sense, through all the means in their possession tried to show Kurdish identity as barbaric, primitive and backward and impose a kind of inferiority on the individuals. This was a an expression of cultural superiority that aimed to justify the ruling powers’ sense of mission and incline Kurdish individuals to desire assimilation and inclusion of those individuals in the fictional identity derived from the anti-Kurdish policies to subjugate the Kurdish society as whole.
However, anti-Kurdish policies even though aimed to undermine Kurdish unity and obsess their identity, Kurds historically proved their disintegration geographically cannot undermine underlying principles of their culture and uniform identity. Therefore, whenever, one of the mentioned states a committed a particular crime against the Kurdish people within the territory under their oppressive controls, the Kurds from other parts of Kurdistan practically expressed their sympathy and protested against it. There are hundreds of the cases which worth mentioning and explanation in details but rather this paper focus on the recent crimes committed by the ISIS against Kurdish Ezidis and how the Kurds, including Muslim Kurds, Yarasan Kurds, Secular Kurds and Christian Kurds reacted to the tragedy experienced by the Kurdish Ezidis.
The Kurds, in Rojhelat, eastern Kurdistan even though living under a theological dictatorship ruling of the Islamic republic of Iran and systematically have been subjected to all kinds of oppressions, after the ISIS attacked Shengal (Sinjar) in numerous cities, towns and villages various campaigns were setup to collects basic needs for the people fled to mountains escaping possible brutal massacres being committed against them by the ISIS.
City of Sine (Sanandaj)
A group of activists came together few days after the ISIS attacks on Shengal to organize a campaign. The group in public statement highlighted their aim and condemned ISIS’s barbaric attacks on Ezidis in Shengal. In their statements, they claimed that their campaign will be broadened in near future therefore they will ask for a official permission from the governor of the Sine. The spokesperson of the campaign also confirmed that their campaign will include 8 committees. Recently the campaigners said that they managed to collect 150 million Toman and 15 lories of foods and other basic needs.
City of Meriwan (Marivan)
Environmental NGO knows as Green Mountain Agency in a public statement asked Kurdish people in the city of the Meriwan to participate in a campaign in order to provide Kurdish Ezidis necessary aids. Green Mountain Agency stated that it is our responsibility as Humans to participate in this campaign ask all the peoples who are concerned about the situation of their fellow humans in Shengal, not just in our city Meriwan, but rather all over the world to come forward and contribute. In addition to that, Children in Meriwan on 15th of the August decided to pay their pocket money for one day to Children of Shengal. Moreover in protest to the ISIS’s attacks the people of the Mariwan organised a demonstration.
City of Selmas (Salmas)
On 9th of August a group of Kurdish students gathered in Lala Park with the aim to collect aids for the Ezidis, however, Islamic security services interfered and prevented the Students from continuing their humanitarian campaign.
City of Ciwanro (Javanroud)
According to the Firat News Agency the humanitarian aid campaigns are expanding massively in the cities and town in Rojhelat. The sources reported that Kurdish patriots on 10th of August announced one week campaign aimed to collect financial helps for the Ezidis in Shengal. They have started their campaigns in the central square of the town. It was reported that the campaigners have achieved their targets on the first day of the campaign and it has been welcomed by the people. The campaigners closed their first day of the campaign with the slogan ‘ we are all from Shengal, Shengal is not alone’. The campaigners in a public statement on 15th of August stated that they have been able to collect 60 million Tomans in five days.
City of Seqiz (Saqqez)
The Spokesperson of the campaign Saqiz Mr Hassan Rahimian in a press conference stated that the campaign has been warmly welcomed by the people. The people of Seqiz once again demonstrated that they will not leave their fellow Kurds in other parts of Kurdistan alone. In addition to that, he stated that people have been very concerned whether the supports will be delivered to the desperate people of Shengal soon. He stated that, the campaigners assured the people that all the supports will be transferred to Shengal with the help of NGO’s and Red Moon of the Seqiz.
In addition to the abovementioned cities and town in several other cities and towns humanitarian campaigns have been setup by the activists, including city of Pawe, Rewanser (5 million Toman), Selas Bawecan, Dehgolan, Qurwe, Bane ( 11 million Toman), Kirmashan and Bokan. Dozens of Lories of humanitarian aid have been collected by the campaigners in these cities and it is believed that the campaign will be expanded to all cities, towns and villages in Rojhelat.
Aside from the humanitarian aid campaigns, Kurdish Political Prisoners in the Central Prison of Urmiye in a statement to the public opinion condemned ISIS inhuman and savage attacks on Kurdish Ezidis in Shengal and asked all Kurdish political parties to unit in one front against ISIS and form united peoples protection forces. This statement was signed by Mohammad Abdullahi, Ali Afshari, Wali Afshari, Habib Afshari, Mustafa Ali Ahmad, Khezr Rasul Merwat, Reza Rasuli, Ali Ahmad Sulaiman, Yousef Kaka Mami, Abdullah Beslnon, Ahmad Tamoye, Kaywan Ismaeli, Firoz Zarei, Hassan Zarei and Farhad Aryaye.
Up to the moment this report was written the humanitarian campaigns in Rojhelat are continuing. It seems from the this campaigns that Kurdish people even though they have been divided geographically but their attachments to the Kurdish identity has not been weakened ever since the first days when they were portioned. Kurdish enemies constantly made great efforts to divide Kurds not just territorially but also culturally, but what could be seen is opposite to what the Kurdish oppressors aimed for historically.
Photos from Rojhelat:
Rojhelat.info
