So far I have only written about the strange people we met, but let me assure you that the Kurds were extremely friendly to us. They were some of the warmest people I have met on the trip. I have never felt so welcomed to a place that I so obviously did not belong. The Kurds seem to have a bad name, but they are truly wonderful and gentle people. I definitely sympathize with their situation, and I think it would be great if they could have their own country some day.
Sadly, I do not think that Kurdistan will exist anytime soon. The Kurds are very peaceful, and they do not want to fight. They just want to talk in their own language, work their land, and be left alone. Having their own state is not very important to the Kurds that we met in Turkey. If they are given a country as a result of the war in Iraq, they would not be strong enough to defend it.
The PKK is ‘fighting’ for independence. They might have had some power in the 90’s, but they aren’t doing much right now. The PKK is doing more harm then good to the Kurdish cause. Their stupid random bombings don’t accomplish anything, and in the post 9/11 world, there is very little sympathy for terrorists. The PKK is ruining the name of the Kurdish people.
Similar to the situation with Islamic terrorism, the majority of Kurdish people do not condone the PKK. They do not believe in violence, and this is a false representation of them. Back in Istanbul, there was an open distain for the Kurds among many people that I talked to. One man said that if I wanted to see a disgusting part of Istanbul I should go to the district where the ‘dirty Kurds’ live. Many people refer to them as terrorists. This made me pretty sad, seeing as how nice the Kurds were to me. They were far nicer than anybody in Istanbul was. I don’t see a solution or an end to the Kurdish problem in Turkey any time soon.
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