Book Review: A Journey of a Kurdish Artist

Between Iraq and Hard Places: A Journey of a Kurdish Artist

Zuhdi Sardar / 2011

Between Iraq and Hard Places, a poignant semi-autobiographic novelette of ten chapters by Zhudi Sardar, is about the journey of a Kurdish artist from and to Kurdistan. The work chronicles the search of the protagonist, Delan

to piece together the war torn fragments and meaning of his life in Kurdistan and diaspora as the reader is acquainted with glimpses of the beauty, adversities and tragedies of the Kurdish life in the 1990’s. The author treats his subject as an art. Sardar ‘s reflections and sensibilities embedded in the main character, Delan, are used as frames for, contrasts to and parallel with his own lived experiences as an exiled artist . The narrative begins with the artist’s aesthetic contemplation as the carefree and intense strokes of his brush are capturing the Kurdish idyllic beauty: a tranquil and green meadow and horses on foothills with lush colors in a bright spring morning; here the subtle brushes of the artist shine with transparency as the horses he is painting become restless as a foreboding and soon after an inferno of poison gas enshrouds the serene scenery and destroys any traces of life in the town of Halabja except for the artist that has gone down into a well to dig for water. 

Delan, the artist, however, is not spared, for he is struck with untold afflictions and robbed of everything and everyone who was in and the vicinity of the town; emerging from the well in the midst of spectacle of horror, he loses complete consciousness.  The now lifeless artist and passive onlooker of a lifeless world devoid of maginative power is displaced first in Iran and then in France for treatment. For a year, he only blankly gazes into an unrecognized world as a wasteland. From here on the author devotes much to the long and painstaking process of Delan’s recovery from the trauma. 

In the end it is the powerful force of love and humanity of a French nurse, Severeen who helps Delan overcome his haunted past as both of them set out on an affectionate but reckless journey to Kurdistan to find one of Delan’ brother who at the time of the chemical carnage was in Europe. 

"This work by Sardar longs to find meanings from events directly and indirectly experienced rather than known only as abstract images and sketches of an artist" 

Paradoxically it is during this quest and in the midst of a ruthless assassination of a Delan’s relative by Saddam Hussein’s secret police and a blow to his own brain that Delan regains consciousness to the delight of Severeen. They arrive  in the region in the midst of the first Gulf War as the  specter of Saddam Hussien threats and attacks cause an en masse exodus of Kurds into Turkey and Iran. Much of the work here explores how Delan is once again able to reconnect with fellow Kurds, their plights and aspirations on both sides of the Kurdish borders in Turkey and Iraq. Amid grim news of war and flights of refugees, the author evokes in readers some glimpses of Kurdish way of life, the beauty of its landscape, and the passionate yet precarious lives of the people. 

While the middle chapters loosely explore different aspects of the main character’s life and an evolving relationship with Severeen, the beginning and ending are two pivotal chapters written with artistry. Once again Delan’s creative sensitivity is rekindled for the total renewal of the world and recovery of his feelings. Deeply moved by the flight and plight of refugees, and the vivid expressions of life, Delan draws a number of sketches, vibrantly alive and revealing as iconic exploration of life in his homeland, a journey that seems nostalgic for the author’s generation who were deprived of living in their homeland.   However, as he awaits in Kurdistan the news about his brother, he continues to savor the beauty of the land, and cherish his love for Severeen. The narrative comes to a tragic end in Snora as a final frontier. Death lurks in the least expected places, in a calm spring afternoon in a green valley covered with wild flowers in the same way that it did in the green pastures of Halabja. Four Turkish soldiers, pursuing two British journalists, spot Delan and Severeen. They search, interrogate, and charge the artist with being a PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) sympathizer. He is brutally beaten to death. As Delan’s torn body lies in a pool of his own blood, his brother who has been looking for him on the other side of the border, finds him only to hold him briefly in a burning grief. 

As Kurdistan in Iraq is now offering some cautious optimism to many, this work by Sardar longs to find meanings from events directly and indirectly experienced rather than known only as abstract images and sketches of an artist. The novelette written in conversational English, is easily accessible to the general readership, offering revealing details about a period in the tumultuous Kurdish history and hence well deserves a spot on your book shelf.

* Amir Sharifi is President of Kurdish American Education Society (KAES) in California.