Kurdishstan

"It is really impossible for you to know how it feels to not have a passport.... It is the one thing I wish most to get one day....." Maybe not in those exact words, but that is what my friend meant while we met in the common TV room. My friend is a Kurd and when ever he meets someone and introduces himself, he will always say that he is from Kurdishtan. I was taken a back a bit when I first met him yesterday. He's a nice chap, easily mistaken as belonging to Iran or other middle eastern countries in that zone. "You know, it's not really a country... Kurdishtan," he admitted a little uneasily, most likly telling me in case I didn't know the situation of the Kurds.

Ofcause, I've heard of these guys battling out in the deserts of Iraq, Iran and Turkey. News have given me a preconception, of Kurds as some people far away in the middle east, fearless in their fighting, but with very limited resources or development. I was ofcause supprized at first, to find one living here in my dorm. All that changed ofcause when I met him, another example of how much miss preconception can be corrected just by meeting and talking to someone "It's always difficult for us, there is prejudice where ever we go, I graduated from ... and when I was asked to get a letter from the university certifying that I have graduated there so that I can have greater chance of a scholarship, the university refused to give one to me." Ofcause he still got the scholarship anyway, but I still cannot imagine how much he had to go through to come here without a passport, or to travel any where else without a passport for that matter.

This situation is rather ironic for me. As my country also has some problems with some minority groups, I can understand how it feels when others try to divide the country to and gain freedom. Ofcause, the example is not directly comparable, since the minorities in our country are still considered citizens of the country and hold our country's passport. In many ways they are much better off than the Kurds, but talking to him gave me greater understanding of what it must be like for those people who want to be identified by their own country.

I realize that this title alone may bring up many conflicting view points. I'm not trying to give a solution to this problem, but I do hope that everyone can agree on something peacefully. Each take a step back... Everything can be solved peacefully (if not at first, then later) I still stubbernly precieve, the Irish and English have set an example for others to follow....