interview with Kani Xulam

-What is it like to be a Kurd in America?

I guess it depends on who is answering this question. For me, America
has been a blessing beyond words. I have been able to get a solid
education here. I am reminded of a quote by Edward Gibbon, a British
historian, who once was asked about the value of his education. He is
said to have replied by saying: "He would not switch it for all the
gold of India." I feel the same. If you are born a Kurd, it is
better for you to be educated outside of Kurdistan. I happened to do
so in America. I am grateful to fate, my brother who paid for my
education here, and my professors who took care of my hungry mind once
I entrusted to their custody.

One could also answer this question relative to the Kurds who live in
America. Many work hard and some have accumulated great wealth. The
ones that I like are the ones that never forgot where they came from.
I am in touch with some of those Kurds from Washington to San
Francisco and from Detroit to Houston. We are not that many
unfortunately. But we are here and vocal about our rights and those
of our people. We are from Afrin or Khanaqin or Mahabad or Amed. We
want emancipation for the Kurds and liberation for Kurdistan.


2-Can a super power (America) be a friend of a people without a state

like the Kurds?

Nope. Nation-states deal with nation-states and stateless Kurds have
to deal with stateless others. Having said that, I also think it is
of utmost importance for the Kurds to aim for the impossible and
befriend America as an ally of the Kurds and Kurdistan. How is that
done, you might ask? Yes, I will be quick to second you that a
chicken can not fly like an eagle. In other words, a stateless people
can't act like a country. And yet, we have no choice but to try our
chances and master the art of possessing a state for our people as
well. If you think about it, rationality is not the only path to
nationhood. Faith plays a significant role as well. No one thought
Americans were capable of declaring their independence from Great
Britain in 1770s. They did it and the world took lessons from their
example. In that lesson, for example, there was the friendship of
Americans, a people without a state, with France, a principal power at
the time.


3-How do American citizens see the Kurds and their problem? Is there
any awareness about them?

Knowing Kurds is a specialty in America. In all of Washington, there
are probably less than a thousand people who really know of the Kurds
and Kurdistan. But then Americans are clueless about many other
places as well. Not all of it has to do with the lack of curiosity on
the part of the Americans though. We also need to ask the question,
what have the Kurds done to be noticed in the world? The last time
people spoke of the Kurds with a sense of awe was when Saladin was the
leader of the faithful in the Middle East. Fortune has not smiled on
us ever since. Countless Kurdish leaders have attempted to duplicate
his fame. So far, they have all failed and done so miserably. People
usually don't dwell on the failures; they glory in successes and
victories. When we manage to emancipate the Kurds and liberate
Kurdistan, people will speak of us. In other words, one's fame is
often proportionate to one's achievements.

4-Since you are involved with the media, how are the Kurds portrayed in America?

We don't have a good picture in the media. Most people know of us as
Saddam's people who were gassed by his cousin, Chemical Ali. Many
think everybody in the Middle East has, and can take advantage of us.
The Turks have done so for some 600 years. The Persians have had a
longer history of dominating us. The cruelty of the Arabs has entered
the Kurdish language in the form of proverbs. But the preoccupation
of the American media is topical and local and the only Kurds that
they want to talk about are the ones inhabiting Iraqi-Kurdistan. Now
and then you may hear a word or two about the ones in Iran and that is
because Iran doesn't have good relations with the United States. The
Turkish Kurds have had no luck in that department. Turkey attacks
them and many call it self-defense. The same was the case, often,
when Saddam Hussein was in power. But Saddam was sitting on an ocean
of oil and managed to make Americans angry. Geography and his
arrogance sealed his fate. But change is human condition and the
Middle East is going through its share of changes as well. Islam, for
example, is making inroads in the Turkish politics. America may
eventually part company with Turkey. When they do, the Turkish Kurds
will have a better chance of being covered in its media.

5-What is lobbying? Do the Kurds have any lobbying group in America?

Lobbying is an art just cooking is an art. Every cook knows how to
make food, but some are better than the others. Both the good cooks
and the bad ones need a kitchen for the practice of their skills.
Lobbyists could make use of good cooks, but they also need money,
talents, knowledge and a keen sense of what has happened in the past
so that they could estimate what might happen in the future.

If you ask the professional lobbyists in Washington if they think
there is a Kurdish lobby, many will scratch their head for an answer.
You can forgive these people for we are new to this art. I have done
my share of traveling in the states, and sometimes Americans ask me
this question as well. I used to tell them that there are four Kurds
working on the Kurdish issue in Washington, DC, but many of are
handicapped in certain areas. I used add, if you added us all, you
could come up with one Kurdish lobbyist in Washington, DC.

But things are a bit different these days. The southern Kurds at
least have money in their pockets. They now need to cultivate their
talents, increase their knowledge, and acquire a sense of what is
possible in the United States. Ultimately, only we can be effective
lobbyists for our people. Hiring others can help, but there are
limitations to their commitments.

6-You have been to many university campuses, is there an interest in
the Kurdish studies in America?

I have been lucky to have been invited to American universities for
lectures on the Kurds and Kurdistan. I wish I could say that many
Americans are very knowledgeable about the Kurds. They are not. As I
alluded to it in one of my earlier answers to one of your questions,
we need to keep that interest alive for the sake of our children.
When Americans are aware of an issue and care for its resolution,
their leaders are careful not to alienate them. Only Kurds can raise
that awareness level. No one else can do it for us. And we can't
just do it with political speeches. Our artists need to produce world
class art work. Our writers need to do the same with their works of
fiction or nonfiction. If we want to be noticed, we need to be worthy
of noticing.

7- How important is it for the Kurdish people to know America?

Whether we like it or not, America is THE superpower of the world.
Now that it has lodged itself in Iraq; we disregard it at our own
peril. It behooves to know America well. It also behooves us to know
that America is not, for example, just the Bush family or the Clinton
family or the Obama family. There is more to America than these
families. We need to know these families, but we also need to know
America's history, proclivities, needs, and its tendency not to share
its status, unless forced to do so, with anyone else in the world.

For all its strength, America is also vulnerable. It has an energy
dependency that forces it to invest in the Middle East. Had Saddam
given in to some of America's demands, our relationship with
Washington would have been non-existent. We should pray God for
Saddam's stubbornness. But we should also work hard not to mortgage
our destiny to one man's inflexibility. One way to do that is to
invest in America. That means knowing it so that you could deal with
it.


8-As somebody who lives in America, how would you describe it for a

Kurdish person in southern Kurdistan?


America is a country on the march relative to Kurdistan. Its doctors
work around the o'clock to find cure for cancer; its scientists do the
same to send unmanned vehicles to the Mars; its politicians address
the world when they talk; its writers imagine books that sell around
the world; and its Hollywood dominates the film industry in four
corners of the globe. They talk big, work hard, save less, love
spending, and think nothing can stand in their way. This is what
happens to you when you grant freedom to the mind and protect its
products with the rule of law. Americans may not know it, but they
are the beneficiaries of a great political tradition that has enabled
them to grow exponentially in the last two centuries that they have
been around. Their future looks secure. No one can hurt them without
getting hurt. A Kurd can only dream of these blessings; Americans
take them for granted the way we take air for granted.


9- How do you see the current problem between Turkey and PKK?


The problem between Turkey and the PKK will continue so long as one is
able to withstand the onslaughts of the other. The latter is a
guerilla force and can with impunity protect itself on the mountains
of Kurdistan. The first enjoys the support of countries like America
and European Union and will continue to harass the PKK or its
supporters. One needs to outdo the other for this problem to be
resolved. PKK, as it stands, lacks this power. Turkey, as I write
these lines, wishes to resolve this question with the military might
alone. It refuses to believe that the Kurdish question is a political
one. But new dynamics are emerging and the PKK may still have the
last laugh in its struggle with Turkey. The country is slowly
becoming Islamic. Kemalism, the ideology that has kept Turkey for the
last 80 years, is coming apart. There is realignment of forces in the
country and in the region. Just like in Iraqi Kurdistan, fortune may
smile on our faces, the Turkish Kurds, as well. An emerging federal
state will go a long way to bring about the dawn of a free and
independent Kurdistan.

10- Will America hit Iran?

America will not televise its decision to hit Iran. If it does, we
will learn of it after the fact. There are many in the West and many
more in America who oppose a military attack on Iran. But there are
also very important personalities that support such an intervention on
the land of the Mullahs. I can't predict who will come out stronger
in this battle of wills.
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