By Banu Hamad
As a young girl living in England, I am proud of my Kurdish identity and I embrace my parents’ way of life. But in the meantime, I am aware that it is not easy to live in the shadow of parents who come from a different generation.
As a result, many Kurdish youth growing up in this country rebel against their background and what their parents profess.
My life is very much dominated by my origin, which can prove to be very scrupulous.
As a girl, it would be seen immodest or rather indecent for me to socialize with males. Most Kurdish families in England try to keep a tight reign on the younger female members of the family. But the youth are too rebellious and almost impossible to restrict from Western norms and values.
Young Kurds respect their parents’ lifestyle and passion for the old culture. But this does not prevent culture clashes and heated debates.
"No staying at friend's houses overnight" and "no staying out late" are two examples of our household rules, which both of my older siblings are facing.
We also cannot escape the never-ending political conversation in our homes, which influences us, whether we like it or not.
As you step into our house, you instantly hear a range of passionate, hectic conversation about a recent debate in the Kurdish parliament or political scene, for instance. This does not happen only in our home. It occurs daily in the homes of all the Kurds I know.
This tells us something about the Kurdish people: They are into politics -- as if each man or woman is a politician at heart. They carry out all kinds of political analyses -- often wrong, but happening regardless.
I know it is important for the Kurdish youth -- almost an obligation -- to know the language and culture of our ancestors.
But Kurdish parents should also know that it is equally important for them to learn English, the language of their host country, where they and their children live.
In that sense, I am lucky to be speaking Kurdish fluently, thanks to my parents. Funnily enough, my first baby word was “Kurdi,” or Kurdish.
However, despite encouraging their children to keep in touch with the motherland and their culture, Kurdish parents sometimes do not want to expose their children to the horrors of their own past.
For instance, when “Gardalul,” a popular Kurdish TV series about life under Saddam Hussein’s regime was broadcast not long ago, some of my friends in the UK told me that their parents did not let them watch because they did not want the children to see the same tragedies they themselves had seen.
In our home, my parents have always told me of our people’s happy and sad moments. They have never hidden the reality of the Kurdish history from their children.
I learn about Kurdistan’s history and politics from my parents, which at times could be biased. But I also learn independently, from news websites such as Rudaw and Lvin Press.
In my efforts to preserve my Kurdish heritage and to better know my people’s history, I have also noticed that we Kurds do not have many friends in this world: Yet another reason for the young and old generation of Kurds to understand and cling to each other.
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