A History of the Kurds
THE KURDS is an insightful and detailed examination of 25 million Kurds without a homeland. Their numbers are spread over the lands of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. For 100 years, these people have been looking for a political solution; this book discusses the reasons they still don't have a land of their own.
Generally, the Kurds are considered to be unwelcome guests, not members of a country. The Turkish government has decreed that their language cannot be used; essentially, marginalizing the Kurdish peoples.
Unfortunately, the Kurds do not speak with one voice. They are their own worst enemies; infighting has kept them weak. There is no one person who is accepted by all the Kurds to speak for them. Instead, over the years Iraqi's, Turks and Iranian soldiers have oppressed and exterminated them with mustard gas and other awful weapons.
Another problem the Kurds have is their unwillingness to accept a small piece of land as Kurdistan and then negotiate for more area. They want it all now. I guess, who can blame them, they have waited so long. There have been treaties to answer the needs of the Kurds, but the treaties have been ignored.
This book has many old photos of Kurds from around the turn of the 20th century. Because of their poverty and plight, I doubt their condition has improved much in the last 100 years.
This is a sad book because it seems that people understand that this ethnic group has legitimate needs. Because the Middle East is so fraught with more serious problems, however, they are ignored.
