By Teimuraz Shamoian
TBILISI, Georgia — Ethnic Kurds in Georgia are in awe of the growing autonomy of Kurds in Iraq and are keen to see whether the first independent Kurdish state is created.
The majority of Kurds in Georgia are Yezidis whose ancestors fled persecution in modern-day Turkey during the end of the Ottoman Empire a century ago. They enjoy many language and cultural rights and have not faced the kind of oppression of Kurds in the Middle East and Turkey. Still, talk of a Kurdish state is creating a buzz in the community, with many following the news out of Iraq closely.
Diana Shamoeva, a lawyer, said independence is a popular topic among Georgian Kurds who consider it a big step that could strengthen ties to the motherland. Kurds in Georgia were isolated from Kurds in the Middle East during the Soviet era and have weak ties to their ancestral homes.
“The local Diaspora could lobby for the Kurdish issue,” she said. An independent nation is preferable to autonomy, she said, and a “country where the majority are (Kurdish) would make me proud.”
During Soviet rule in Georgia, Kurds were exclusively described as Yezidis in official documents including on their passports. As a result, many identify more as Yezidi — an ancient religion of ethnic Kurds — than Kurdish.
The Soviet government supported Yezidi cultural events, and there were Kurmanji language classes (with the Cyrillic alphabet) in areas with substantial Kurdish populations. The Tbilisi Kurdish Theater was one of three national theaters of Georgia. These efforts helped the Kurdish community maintain its mother tongue and develop literature and culture.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia gained its independence and with it a strong freedom of speech movement that inspired the Kurdish population to organize social and civic events.
The opening of borders to the west and Turkey also helped Georgian Kurds forge new relationships with Kurds from their homeland and raised awareness about Kurdish rights. Local radio programs, books, and newspapers are peppered with news from Kurdistan.
Given the distance and the relatively painless integration of Yezidi Kurds into Georgian society, however, the ties to Iraqi Kurdistan aren’t particularly strong. Still, many are aware that the Kurdistan Region is inching toward self-determination.
“I think it would be good for my nation to be free,” said musician Otar Avdoian, who doesn’t follow the news from Iraqi Kurdistan closely but supports independence.
He added, “I don’t think many Kurds want to go live in Kurdistan, to return to the homeland, because for many years we’ve tried to build our lives. It would be hard to start from the very beginning.”
Roza Teloian, a Kurdish singer, is the opposite: she dreams of an independent Kurdistan and living in an exclusively Kurdish culture “to sing Kurdish songs, drink tea with mint, to sew carpets, to bake Kurdish bread.”
I want to speak my language, wear my traditional cloths and kofî-kitan. It lives in my soul,” Teloian said.
There is a sense among some Yezidi Kurds in Georgia that because of their distance and isolation, they have been forgotten by Kurds the Middle East.
Community activist Giorgi Amariani argues that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq should reach out to Kurds in Georgia for expertise.
“We have a lot of management and human rights experience,” he said. “We can cooperate; we will be happy to share this experience and find out solutions together. I read about this issue every day in the news and I have very patriotic feelings. I think that someday I will be connected to Kurdish policy, but the truth is that now there’s no mechanism to support this.”
Amariani said that while Kurdish independence is inevitable, a Kurdish state might not have the institutions, democratic values or economic strength to be a strong nation.
“Declaring independence isn’t that easy internationally or domestically,” he warned. “We see the failure of the international Kurdish lobby, which not so long ago couldn’t convince the international community that Kurds and the Kurdistan region were in danger and needed to be independent. If Turkey, Iran and other neighbor states, which are very important regional players, don’t recognize Kurdistan it will mean that independence is just on paper.”
He maintained the United Nations must recognize a Kurdish state for it to be viable. He also said the millions of Kurdish Diaspora in Europe, the US, Russia and other nations should lobby their governments to advance Kurdish interests.
“I think that after independence is declared the sense of patriotism among our people will surge,” Amariani said. “And perhaps after some time, many will even go live there.”
