Donnerstag, 19. März 2009

Kurdistan, Her People, Her Places, Her Tragedy & Her Triumphs.




Kurdistan, wild, and colorful, filled with dancing and laughter, tears and blood. She has a history of triumph and betrayal, war and passion. In these pics you will see the people, the places, the wilderness, and mountains, the Peshmerga and the PKK, ruins, mosques and yazidi temples, the effects of the an-fal campaign, her flag and much more. In days and weeks to come, each of these facets of Kurdish life and history will be explored further. Viva Kurdistan!

13 Kommentare:

  1. Gorgeous - and brutal in parts. This is a superb example of what we'd love to see from any members in such notable parts of the world... thanks Mary

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  2. As in so many cases, the people of Kurdistan reflect the country. Beautiful, untamed, wild and longing for freedom, proud and majestic. They are a strong and rugged breed, extremely attractive, generous and kind, yet brutal when crossed. More to come, I feel the need to blog on this. lool.

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  3. The constant toll between extreme tribes.

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  4. Iraq Kurds suffered greatly under the Hussein regime. A meticulously organized ethnic cleansing campaign, which groups such as the New York-based Human Rights Watch have called genocide, claimed more than 100,000 lives in nighttime roundups, mass executions, and anonymous burials.

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/09/MNkurds.DTL

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  5. These are actually members of the PKK, who are nearly half women. They fight for Kurdistan, and freedom and autonomy.

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  6. lool. well , if you want to think so, its actually a village in the valley of Kurdistan, and there's very little possibility that any taliban will be hiding out there. If there were anyone hiding in this area (which is doubtful at this point in time, as the villages and tribes have been working with the US and Iraqi forces to keep these people OUT of their villages) it would be either PKK, which most in Kurdistan have sympathy with and who have been ruled as freedom fighters and NOT terrorists by the highest court in the European Union, or Al-qiada, who are targeted by the villagers, killed and then the Army is called to remove the bodies) Taliban is a whole different country's problem.

    This is simply a village, like any other, with sheep herders, families, farmers and fishermen.

    I'll be writing more on this at a later date.

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  7. Tribes had nothing to do with this. The various tribes in Kurdistan are at peace with one another, working together for autonomy and freedom. This picture shows the mass graves that were found many years after the An-Fal (scorched earth) campaign that was leveled against the Kurds by Saddam in the 80's. Saddam was supplied with chemicals by US, and other countries and Saddams cousin "Chemical Ali", as he is now known, was employed to perfect the mix. The plan was to perfect the gas mixture, and use it on Iranian forces. The villages in Kurdistan were used as testing grounds for these gasses, and it was Halabja that the mixture worked the best on, devastating the population there. These human remains are the dead residents of Halabja.

    Saddam and his supporters and suppliers did this, not the tribes. And most have been tried and have received death sentences. The US involvement, while known, have yet to receive any punishment for their role in this, altho Iraq is calling for trials for the suppliers of chemicals and weapons used during this campaign. These "extreme tribes" you speak of would surely be the Saddam regime, and the the US gov't.

    http://maryfaliha.multiply.com/journal/item/176

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  8. Yes, that is all true. These coffins hold the remains of victims of the gassings in Halabja.

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  9. Yes the people of Kurdistan are quite beautiful, strong, proud, kind and generous. A fascinating people.

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