Kani Xulam
Who? What? When? Where? Why? Kani Xulam happens to be a Kurd, but he could have been a Turk, a Persian or an Arab—all neighbors of the Kurds and all, in today’s world, speak for as many as fifty million Kurds.
Many consider Turks, Persians and Arabs free and Kurds unfree. Kani disagrees with the observation.
“Freedom,” he says, “is not divisible.”
“You can’t have three people living in one house with two conspiring to silence the third and saying this house belongs to liberty. It doesn’t. The two spend time and effort to muffle the voice of the third. In so doing, they lose their own freedom and can’t compete with free countries of the world.”
He is referring to Turkey—the country that dominates northern Kurdistan, his birthplace.
“Turkey is not Canada,” he goes on. “If it wants to be like it, it has to let the Kurds speak their language and respect their geography as Kurdistan with the right of secession if needed.”
Kurds, of course, don’t just live in Turkey. They also live in Iran, Iraq and Syria.
On Saturday, July 1, 2023, he and others will begin a walk from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to the United Nations headquarters in New York, City. Arriving Monday, July 24, he will emulate Martin Luther and tape a thesis to the gate of the United Nations building—urging the UN to appoint a Special Representative to address the plight of Kurds in the Middle East.
As Mr. Xulam stated, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne did away with the rights of the Kurds, despite previous promises made by the victorious wartime powers. What happened? According to background given by state-run BBC,
“In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland - generally referred to as "Kurdistan". After World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres.”
“Such hopes were dashed three years later, however, when the Treaty of Lausanne, which set the boundaries of modern Turkey, made no provision for a Kurdish state and left Kurds with minority status in their respective countries. Over the next 80 years, any move by Kurds to set up an independent state was brutally quashed.”
Consequently, as Kani Xulam commented, 50 million Kurds are, essentially, stateless. “In Turkey, they face legal prosecution. In Iran, they face beatings and hangings. In Iraq, they have been gassed like rats. And in Syria, they have been subjected to varied citizenship laws.”
Kani Xulam. Is not just a fellow who postures for publicity. His biography notes that “He studied International Relations at the University of Toronto, holds a BA in history from the University of California Santa Barbara and an MA in the International Service program at American University [in Washington, D.C.]…In 1993, at the urging of Kurdish community leaders in America, he left his family business in Santa Barbara, California to establish the American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) in the nation’s capital. AKIN is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering Kurdish-American understanding and friendship…”
“In his capacity as AKIN’s director, Mr. Xulam has worked closely with members of the U.S. Congress and their staff to seek the freedom of Kurdish parliamentarians imprisoned in Turkey…”
“His advocacy work on behalf of the Kurdish people, and his efforts to resist legal harassment in the U.S. instigated by the Turkish authorities, were highlighted in a documentary, “Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains”, a film that Stephen Holden in the New York Times praised as “searing … delves deeply into the history and politics of Kurdistan.”
“Mr. Xulam is [also] an occasional commentator on the plight of the Kurds and Kurdistan in Washington, DC.”
American Kurdish Information Network (Kurdistan.org). Is an ambitious undertaking. As explained on its website, it:
· provides commentary on the situation of the Kurds in Kurdistan;
· exposes every form of human rights violation and repression against the Kurdish people;
· informs the public about the political and cultural developments in Kurdistan.
Additionally, it aims:
· to disseminate information to the press and media;
· to secure the interest of Congress, political leaders, and other democratic and progressive forces;
· to publish documents, reports, and books related to the politics and culture of Kurdistan;
· to provide information and give advice to journalists, representatives, and human rights activists intending to visit the region.
The Walk. Will certainly burn up some shoe leather. Starting in D.C., Mr. Xulam and his co-hikers will travel through Maryland to Baltimore. From there, the group will journey north to York, Pennsylvania, in the heart of Amish Country, another group persecuted for its beliefs in Central Europe and the United States. Turning east, they will go to Philadelphia, where the 13 British colonies declared their independence from an oppressive kingdom and which served, for a time, as the United States’ capital. The next leg will run northeast through Pennsylvania and New Jersey, sites of many of the colonials’ battles against the British. Twenty-three days and 330 miles (531 km.) later, they will arrive, weary but triumphant, in Manhattan, one of New York City’s boroughs and site of the United Nations.
This dedicated effort should help publicize the Kurds’ plight and bring attention to a dark corner of history.
Quoting Erasmus, the Dutch philosopher and Catholic theologian, Mr. Xulam encapsulates the trip: “When it comes to great things, it’s enough to have tried.”
Should anyone wish to join the walk, if for only a few miles, they would be welcome. Contributions to help defray the trip costs and provide information can go to: Donate
J. Michael Springmann is an attorney, author, political commentator, and former diplomat, with postings to Germany, India, and Saudi Arabia. He previously authored, Visas for Al Qaeda: CIA Handouts That Rocked the World: An Insider’s View, recounting how the U.S. created and used Islamic Terrorism. Additionally, he penned Goodbye, Europe? Hello, Chaos? Merkel’s Migrant Bomb, an analysis of the alien wave sweeping the Continent. He currently practices law in the Washington D.C. Area. He is a frequent commentator on Arab and Russian news programs.
He is also on the Ukraine’s “Enemies List”, having questioned, inter alia, the country’s refusal to honor the Minsk Accords and for stating that its government is Nazified.