Kurds are a people torn by borders. Borders of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Irak keep them away from the long-desired unity. Governments have used them in their wars, to pressure their neighbors, and kurdish nationalism was stifled in harsh suppression. Historically, Kurds were promised independance and national unity at the Peace Conference after WWI, but the Treaty of Sevres was never ratified as such. The conjonction of western greed (France and Britain sharing influence on the region, as planned in the secret Sykes Picot agreements) and turkish nationalism (Mustapha Kemal was building a strong nation out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire) condemned the Kurdish national dream to remain unaccomplished. Add oil to the equation and you understand why Kurds never got their independance: petroleum was discovered in Mosul (then part of Ottoman Empire) in early 20th century and the control of the region, heart of Kurdish territory, became the cause of many wars. Kurds were not well organized to face these challenges. A great part of the Kurdish nation was still nomadic, and tribal divisions did not help to coalesce against turkish, arab and persian nationalisms. Kurds have suffered from harsh suppression of nationalist claims, and have been instrumentalized in international affairs, one country supporting Kurdish rebellions to weaken its neighbor, while still suppressing Kurds on its territory - this happened for example during the Iran-Irak war of the 1980s.
Kurds in Iran live in the western part of the country and they are famous for their hospitality .
we arrived in Sanandaj, capital of Iranian Kurdistan, a bit afraid by the proximity of the Iraqi border. But everybody told us the area was safe, and we found a friend of a friend to take care of us and accompany us in the trip. we visited the city, a regional capital where urban and rural populations meet. Then we went to Zaribar lake, near Marivan. Reza, the son of a retired colonel, guided us through the way, and we met other friends of friends, , hard line Kurdish nationalists. While walking in the beautiful landscapes of the lake, we experienced a wide spectrum of political opinions on Kurdistan: some consider they are Iranians, but one of the minorities of Iran, just like Azeris. Some consider they should have their own country. Most of the people we talked to didnt like the Islamic Republic because they are sunnis, not shiis, and they dont like being told by the government how they should dress. On the way around lake Zaribar, we met farmers who were harvesting forage. They offered us apples they hide under the grass to keep them fresh and discussed about our visit, how we like Iran... We decided that next time we come, we should at least learn farsi, if not kurdish and azeri !
Even if most Kurds said they didnt like the government, they did not complain about specific policies (i.e. different than for other Iranians) and they say the police let them dance in wedding parties. There are media outlets in Kurdish also. In the night, we could see how important it was : we had a dancing lesson with Reza's parents. they had put a recording of kurdish videoclips and started a villager dance that looks like debke, or like danses bretonnes - all villager dances look a bit alike !
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