I pray for a ‘yes’ vote that will terminate Kurdish plight

Iraqi Kurds will vote today on their desire for independence. Ronahi Hasan gives her view on the referendum’s importance

WHY are we not acceptable in the community? Why do they treat us not even as second-class citizens? Why do we not have a country like other nations in the world... why did God make us Kurds?

These questions have always haunted me and hurt me at the same time. Since I was a child I opened my eyes to see that other people did not share our language, culture and ethnicity.

They do not accept our Kurdish minority on the land where my ancestors have lived for thousands of years.

An early example of ill treatment was when my birth was registered. The Kurdish name my parents had chosen was switched to an Arabic name, which has no meaning.

When we had to introduce ourselves to our mostly Arab teachers, I remember their disgusted looks at my classmates who were mostly Kurds. I was so happy that my Arabic name hid my Kurdish identity.

But because my name was unique, some curious people would inquire about its origin, and then I had to admit that I too was a Kurd.

But this is really just the tip of the iceberg of discrimination experienced by Kurds in the all four parts of Kurdistan ruled by coercive authorities.

For some it may be confusing when I say I am from Kurdistan Rojava, because they know I am from Syria. Kurdistan is our identity whether or not it exists on the world maps, because Kurdistan is in our heart.

Over the past 100 years, Kurds’ struggle can be traced back to the Sykes-Picot agreement – the deal between the French and British that divided the Kurds across four countries: Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. But the Kurdish people, who number more than 40 million, have never recognised those artificial boundaries and believe their homeland “Kurdistan” is one.

When I arrived to the UK – and more precisely Wales – more than eight years ago from Rojava Kurdistan in Syria I thought the United Kingdom was one nation. I did not know that it is made up of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, each with some autonomy.

I did not even realise that the Welsh people had their own language and culture in the same way as my people do. Iraq is made up of a decentralised capital, regions, governorates and local administrations. The 2005 constitution created one Iraqi region, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and adopted the principle of power distribution through federal government. But the relationship between Iraq and the Kurdistan region has collapsed for many reasons: the Shia majority government has taken control of disputed regions and in oil rich areas like Kirkuk, has failed to share revenues fairly with the Kurdish population. It has also failed to take steps to address problems caused by a process of “Arabisation” implemented under Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi government has consistently failed to pay money due to the Kurdish authorities, and Iraqi forces abandoned their posts and fled when faced with an Isis offensive on Mosul and the Kurdistan region’s capital of Erbil.

Drawing comparisons between Wales and Kurdistan is something of a fool’s game. Over the past few decades, Iraqi Kurds have been subjected to discrimination, policies of ethnic cleansing, massacres and the Halabja chemical attacks.

Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani tweeted his announcement to hold an independence referendum on September 25.

This historic decision has provoked a storm of controversy about the legality of a referendum – and whether it is too sensitive a time for such a vote. Undoubtedly, Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq have managed to defeat Isis on the ground.

They will be central in the longer-term eradication of the Jihadi Isis ideology that is critical to world stability.

Despite the fact that the Kurds have been persecuted by consecutive Iraqi authorities, Kurdistan has proved its success in terms of stability and prosperity in the region.

Its impressive economic performance could not only benefit other countries in the region like Turkey but could also be valuable to Britain post Brexit by boosting prosperity in the Middle East.

The Kurdish region is free from the sectarian strife that has marred the rest of the country and will be a guarantee for democracy and moderation for all ethnicities.

Kurdistan has become a safe haven to nearly two million refugees from sectarian conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Creating an independent Kurdistan can help the foreign policy too.

Backing the independence will stop Iran’s domination in the Middle East and their supporting insurgent groups.

So, Kurds have been loyal allies in the struggles against terror and have made enormous sacrifices. Kurds now finally have to transcend the Sykes-Picot borders.

Even though I am living in Cardiff thousands of miles from my homeland, today my heart will be in Kurdistan, as I pray for a “yes” vote that will terminate the Kurdish plight and reunite my people in the country of their ancestors.

Ronahi Hasan, who arrived in the UK without a word of English almost a decade ago, graduated in journalism from the University of South Wales last year