Kurds
The World's Most Depressing Museum Is in Iraq, of Course
Most cities have monuments to the past, so it seems appropriate, given the bloody history of Iraqi Kurdistan, that Sulaymaniyah's main tourist attraction is a museum devoted to documenting torture and injustice.
Meet the Kurdish Female Freedom Fighters of Syria
Women fighters are carrying on the revolution in Syria—and trying to keep Islamic militants at bay. “If I see a Jihadist," Avesta, a 27-year-old female sniper told me on a recent trip to the war-torn town of Ras al-Ayn, "I will shoot him. Otherwise, I...
Oktoberfest in Iraq Was Super Fun
Erbil, in Iraq's Kurdish north, has got a long way to go before being considered a nightlife spot, but there is one event that looms large over the drinking scene, the annual celebration of Oktoberfest in a small compound located in a dusty residential...
Iran's Persecuted Kurds Didn't Vote for Their New President
Iran isn't too concerned with the rights of its people. And what with the ousting of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by president-elect Hassan Rouhani, those rights violations have attracted a lot of media attention. However, there's one issue that the spotlight...
Could the Turkish Uprising Be a Breakthrough for the Country's Kurds?
The fallout from the protests in Turkey isn't all bad. Unthinkable only three weeks ago, the demonstrations have begun to unite Turkey's Kurds—both those in Istanbul and traveling there from the east of the country—with a broad cross-section of Turkish...
Kurds in Syria Celebrate Their New Year with Hope and Defiance
The celebration of Nawruz, the Persian-Kurdish New Year, was largely tension free, filled with traditional Kurdish dancing and calls for the realization of Kurdish democratic rights within a “new Syria.” It was stunning and eerie in contrast to the...
World Peace Update
Humans found a vicious, unsuspecting competitor in fucking the world up this week: Nature, who decided to fart out Hurricane Sandy and hog up all the limelight. So, as Kurds took on the streets of Turkey and shop owners beat up police in Peru, you all...
Meet the YPG, the Kurdish Militia That Doesn't Want Help from Anyone
Fifty young men and women, their faces wrapped in keffiyehs, stood rigid as they lined up in military formations and marched into the center of the street. These young people were members of the Kurdish militia known as the YPG, who protect the Kurdish...