Kurdish conundrum
The last two weeks have been scorched with media fire about the Kurds, Turkey, Syria, ISIS and western involvement. Almost all the rankle has been put forth by people who were hasty to speak and keen to get their news agency the highest rating and views. Few, if any, have actually listened to the people who have quietly and firmly kept on working in the region, come what may.
One of those is General Mazloum Abdi, the military leader of the Syrian Kurds. He has worked with the American forces on the ground, leading up to the decisions which were started in December of 2018. Namely, the withdrawal of American troops. Why? Because the Syrian Kurdish Army was now trained, provided for, and well equipped. ISIS had been quelled, and this, after all, is their land, not America’s. This is what General Mazloum tweeted:
That should cut through a few smoke screens.
Here is a reality check: the Kurds and the Turks have been fighting for centuries. Literally. And their kind of fighting is different than most. From the mountains of the Balkans to the mountains of Kurdistan there is a unique code of ethics that has guided their decisions for time immorial. In the 1500s it was recorded in Albania as the “Kanun” or “law”. Closely guarded laws guide whom to take a blood vendetta on, and how. When is also selective, as holidays are not for killing on. And, yes, these mountain laws are still in effect.
For an example in Albania, read this article. For an example amongst Kurds, read this one.
Kurds also have a bloody century in their recent history. They were the ones that the Turkish government employed to do the dirty work in the Armenian and Assyrian genocide. This way the Turkish Sultan, first, and then Turkish President, secondly, could turn a blind eye and say it didn’t happen. This seems to be a reoccurring streak in the Kurdish psyche. Again and again they are used by others to do evil, as, for instance, in this 2011 attack on Christians. And, then, we have personal experiences too. One of our Impact Team’s wives, who had been working for three years, feeding Yezedi women refugees, was stoned and left for dead by Kurdish teenagers. Why? ‘Oh, we do this for fun. It sorts out who is tough’, was the response.
Does this make the Kurds especially evil people? Absolutely not! I personally know many of them who are beautiful people, especially those who have come to follow Jesus and received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for complete transformation and renewal of the mind.
What is does make them is:
often used pawns in the hands of regional leaders who want dirty work done.
people who have a lot of generational murder on their hands
people who desperately need Jesus to save and cleanse them, just like we do
It also makes it amazingly beautiful that of ALL the people groups in the region, the Kurds are the ONLY ones who came out of the Iraqi war and decided to rebuild their region looking to wisdom and council. They have schools, roads, hospitals, and government which feeds the poor and cares for the refugees from Syria.
But there is another complication. There are many kinds of Kurds, they speak roughly 70 dialects, and have their written language in three different types of script. They are not a united body, and stand in direct opposition to each other on many fronts.
Perhaps this little five minute read might help educate the belligerent noise which is being sounded off around the world. Since 2014, when Syria exploded with ISIS, most of the world has been indifferent to the plight of the Kurds. Our Impact Teams have been serving them faithfully. Many among them have become followers of Jesus and are transforming their own communities.
Kurdish ability to stop ISIS has been a huge boone and blessing to the Middle East. The military minds which trained these already seasoned fighters to take control of a battle in their own region were wise indeed. Kurds also did well to imprison and guard ISIS members in camps in the region. This too, has been a long, complicated, and convoluted situation, because Turkey was caught supplying ISIS with weapons and providing for field hospitals, even though Turkey is a NATO ally and applied for UN status. In this arena the Kurds came out as the heroes, with western assistance.
On December 19, 2018, when the strength of ISIS began to wane, and the last few skirmishes could be handled by the well trained Kurdish Army, America announced it was pulling its troops. This last month, when the final troops were being recalled, Turkey jumped on this as a chance to attack the Kurds in Syria, along the Turkish border. As per General Mazloum, above, President Trump has used this situation wisely. Will every voice of every Kurd agree about this? No. Were there Kurds wounded in Turkey’s attack. Yes. Is this the fault of the west, or specifically of President Trump’s? No. Did the media misrepresent and abuse this? Yes.
Bottom line is, even though our team leader was stoned, she got up, and went on, and is still feeding Yezedis (who are one of the 70 different Kurdish people groups). Even though Kurdish people have a violent history, four other Impact Teams work with them 24/7. Why? They are people like you and I who need Jesus. It is OUR job, the job of loving people, to go and help nations rebuild. It is NOT the job of any other nation’s military. They have done their job and are leaving. If the media focuses on images of people they say are Kurds throwing potatoes at American tanks, shame on that media, and shame on those Kurds. The lens is wrong. The media should be interviewing the many thankful Kurds, those who have been empowered, and those who are strong, and the women who are now in strong positions of leadership, and the children who are now in school, and the sick who have been able to see a doctor.
When the media asks you to put on the wrong colored glasses, fire that media. IT has an agenda and its content has moved from journalism to agenda. In this whole bizarre spiel perhaps this is what should concern us the most.