Son of a Peshmerga

[BC2000]

Someone (who will remain name less ) suggested I would introduce my self since there's seems to be a lot of talk about "The Afro-Kurd" hehe.

Well, I'm a 26 years old male. My afro-kurdish ancestry has allready been explained in the topic "Black Kurds", so I don't have to go through that again. I am the son of two peshmergas (both my parents were peshmergas). My parents were born in Kirkuk, but later on (like many others) driven out of the city and moved to Slemani. And that's where I was born. I was in Kurdistan for less than a month when my parents fled to Iran and from there they tried to enter various countries but eventually Sweden accepted us in 1984. I lived in Sweden until 2009 when I moved to Toronto, Canada where I am right now. But I will be moving back to Sweden in April since I didn't get a renewal on my visa (buhu ), but since I like Canada, I'm planning to marry my girlfriend and move back.

To be completely frank, few kurds during my life time has considered me to be kurdish (because of my black roots) so I got very sentimental when I saw how open minded people were at this forum. I've never been back to Kurdistan, which I believe is a shame because I feel that a part of me is very empty. I feel... kind of rootless in that way. Because in Sweden I was never considered to be Swedish (nor kurdish by fellow kurds) and I feel if I go back to Kurdistan, they will consider me Swedish. Trapped between two worlds hehe. But I know this is not unique for me, we all have a bit of an identity problem

Bottomline, just being a member at this forum for two days and receiving all the positive energy has brought me more hope to pay a visit to the motherland in a near future.

With much love, your brother.

[mehran_game]

Well once again let me welcome you to RBK

but I really don't think that all the people are like those who you mentioned Kurds are more open minded than most people.

[ideas]

As I said to you before you'd get uneducated people eveywhere, and I recommend you to visit kurdistan, esp if you have cousins
One question though, can your full "afro kurd" cousin speak kurdish? this is all interesting

[BC2000]

Yeah They only thing different between my afro-kurdish cousins (me included) and other kurds is our skin color and that we don't have the same ethnical background. But we celebrate all the non-religios kurdish customs, we all speak sorani, we all eath "yaprach" and "paklawa" and we all salute the kurdish flag

[ideas]

Yeah They only thing different between my afro-kurdish cousins (me included) and other kurds is our skin color and that we don't have the same ethnical background. But we celebrate all the non-religios kurdish customs, we all speak sorani, we all eath "yaprach" and "paklawa" and we all salute the kurdish flag

So your cousin, I don't know where her family is from originaly but lets assume its somewhere in africa "x" country, does she feel more of a kurd, or "x"?

[BC2000]

No my cousin feel kurdish. I mean she was born in Kurdistan, her mother tounge is kurdish. She probably knows the same about Ethiopia just as much as any non-Ethiopian. But I'm not gonna lie, she, just as me, have encountered a lot of prejudicism from a lot of Kurds. So we identify our self as blacks as well. But culturally we're kurdish. Everytime we meet black people, in their eyes we're black. No questions asked. Kurds always get's this funny look in their eyes. A lot of them are just curious and fascinated, but some express that we're not real kurds.

This is very funny to me. Because when I grew up with my cousins, we we're all mixed and we all spoke fluent sorani. Some of my aunts married other afro-kurds and their kids (my cousins) turned out very black. My mother married my dad who's "pure breed" and the same did my other aunt's. So turned they out mixed. And from my dad's side they look very kurdish and we have one uncle, him and his wife have three kids that all look asian (I linked a picture of one of them)

So to me, growing up, I was around this big mix of various looks. Blacks, mixed, kurdish and asian looking folks, it wasn't strange to me. We we're all kurdish. It wasn't until we became teenagers that people started to point out that some of us were black, others looked asian etc. And I was like "Huh? We're not Africans, we're kurdish?". I had no clue what they were talking about. A lot of people don't people believe us when hang together that we're all cousins. It's always funny at kurdish parties and gatherings. Because people will walk up to my cousin Reza for an example (that looks typical kurdish) and ask him if he know's these "monkies" referring to me and my cousins that are standing right next to him! We always reply in kurdish and they can't believe their eyes that we're kurdish.

[Ryder188]

Are you sure about that??
I'm preety dark,some people think i'm from africa..
and the kurds ain't racist towards me...
we have all colors of kurds if you ask me..

[eg0u61c9]

Kak BC, since you and your cousins are grown now, may be you wont see much discrimination as before. We all know if someone was a bit dark skinned, wearing a funny hat, fat, geeky or unusual somehow in school, they were bullied by the naughty kids. Thats something exists everywhere in the world but i recommend you go back to kurdistan now and see it for yourself.

Now our people have seen lots of immigrant who works in there from different back grounds and the people are more tolerant than ever. However, you see narrow minded and morons everywhere even in Europe (today i met one of them while i was shopping) and you will for sure find some of these in kurdistan too. But overall, i am sure you will be surprised and very happy when you are in kurdistan. I promise you that you will have a best time in your life but if you going back, please go around Nawroz or in spring so you will see kurdistan in green! I wish i was not having UNi so i could be home now for Nawroz

[ideas]

eg is right, kids are cruel and so are uneducated people, but generally in kurdistan kurds are very tolerant, believe me there are maybe 10,000 africans in kurdistan, and many others from many other coutries.. you'v been called a monkey, however kurds call arabs camals/donkies arabs call kurds donkies.. and arabs and kurds tend to have the same colour, man it would be very interesting to meet an afro-kurd in real life , I'v met one but would be cool to meet more.

[BC2000]

If I'm sure about the racism I've encountered haha? Yeah it's kind of hard not to take notice of it hehe. I mean don't get me wrong, it's not like we walk into a kurdish party and the music stops and everybody stares at us hehe. I noticed there are three types of kurds when it comes to their opinion about the mix of our ethnical backgrounds.

First group (about 50%) they don't care. To them we're kurdish, they don't care how dark or light we are. And they are not racist at all.
Second group (about 35%) is the curious and fascinated group. They aren't racist, but they still have a hard time adjusting.
Third group (15%) are straight up racist. They don't care if you lived in Kurdistan for 10 generations, if you don't look in a certain way, you're not kurdish. Or they say some stupid thing like "Oh, so you're one of those. But you know you're not really Kurdish?".

I've explained this before, my theory is that older kurdish know's kurdish history and know that we're very mixed. They don't really tell their kids (that grows up in the Western world) about this, because to them it's normal. So the kids grows up, thinking there's only a certain way kurds looks like. And yeah, we do have some small village kurds that hasn't interacted that much with other etnicities, they have hard time understanding the mix too.

We do have all colours of kurds, that is true. But I don't know if you seen the pictures of my cousins? It's not just that they have the colour, they have the typical african features as well. I for an example have typical kurdish olive complexion, with few african features but I have afro hair and I'm very tall and skinny which is typical ethiopian as well. But then again, my mother, even though she is pure african (genetically that is) she is very light skinned and have very "straight" features.

[Kulka]

Now our people have seen lots of immigrant who works in there from different back grounds and the people are more tolerant than ever. However, you see narrow minded and morons everywhere even in Europe (today i met one of them while i was shopping) and you will for sure find some of these in kurdistan too. But overall, i am sure you will be surprised and very happy when you are in kurdistan. I promise you that you will have a best time in your life but if you going back, please go around Nawroz or in spring so you will see kurdistan in green! I wish i was not having UNi so i could be home now for Nawroz

excuse me, but if next time anyone will do or say anything wrong to you kak Aram (and my other brothers) - send him to me if will be brave enough.
i hope i will be able to go for newroz one day - its my dream.

unfortunately i am white (too much ) and i have these funny blue eyes (coz my both parents are polish ), sometimes some kurds telling me that i dont look like kurdish, but sometimes they dont believe that my background is polish. but its very interesting about this skin colours - and for me very ok, coz it means that nothing is impossible in Kurdistan! Kurds with afro-black skin? of course, we have in our nation! why not! we have everything!
at the begging of my life with kurdish people, i remembered that i was suprised when i saw kurds with blue or green eyes. now, nothing is able to suprise me.

[ideas]

If I'm sure about the racism I've encountered haha? Yeah it's kind of hard not to take notice of it hehe. I mean don't get me wrong, it's not like we walk into a kurdish party and the music stops and everybody stares at us hehe. I noticed there are three types of kurds when it comes to their opinion about the mix of our ethnical backgrounds.

First group (about 50%) they don't care. To them we're kurdish, they don't care how dark or light we are. And they are not racist at all.
Second group (about 35%) is the curious and fascinated group. They aren't racist, but they still have a hard time adjusting.
Third group (15%) are straight up racist. They don't care if you lived in Kurdistan for 10 generations, if you don't look in a certain way, you're not kurdish. Or they say some stupid thing like "Oh, so you're one of those. But you know you're not really Kurdish?".

I've explained this before, my theory is that older kurdish know's kurdish history and know that we're very mixed. They don't really tell their kids (that grows up in the Western world) about this, because to them it's normal. So the kids grows up, thinking there's only a certain way kurds looks like. And yeah, we do have some small village kurds that hasn't interacted that much with other etnicities, they have hard time understanding the mix too.

We do have all colours of kurds, that is true. But I don't know if you seen the pictures of my cousins? It's not just that they have the colour, they have the typical african features as well. I for an example have typical kurdish olive complexion, with few african features but I have afro hair and I'm very tall and skinny which is typical ethiopian as well. But then again, my mother, even though she is pure african (genetically that is) she is very light skinned and have very "straight" features.

Your right, bue I believe that we will allways have that 15% racists, just as any other country has them, you know KKK,BNP etc etc.

[ideas]

Now our people have seen lots of immigrant who works in there from different back grounds and the people are more tolerant than ever. However, you see narrow minded and morons everywhere even in Europe (today i met one of them while i was shopping) and you will for sure find some of these in kurdistan too. But overall, i am sure you will be surprised and very happy when you are in kurdistan. I promise you that you will have a best time in your life but if you going back, please go around Nawroz or in spring so you will see kurdistan in green! I wish i was not having UNi so i could be home now for Nawroz

excuse me, but if next time anyone will do or say anything wrong to you kak Aram (and my other brothers) - send him to me if will be brave enough.
i hope i will be able to go for newroz one day - its my dream.

unfortunately i am white (too much ) and i have these funny blue eyes (coz my both parents are polish ), sometimes some kurds telling me that i dont look like kurdish, but sometimes they dont believe that my background is polish. but its very interesting about this skin colours - and for me very ok, coz it means that nothing is impossible in Kurdistan! Kurds with afro-black skin? of course, we have in our nation! why not! we have everything!
at the begging of my life with kurdish people, i remembered that i was suprised when i saw kurds with blue or green eyes. now, nothing is able to suprise me.

Of course not, becuase kurds have a mix of aryan genes, take a look here http://www.flickr.com/photos/44738189@N08/

[Kulka]

zor supas kak ideas - now i see i can look like kurdish! Biji!!! - i looked at some of the pisc, really great! i will keep the link, coz its very interesting. dubare zor supas brakam gyan

[eg0u61c9]

If you were saying that your cousin in the picture were African, British African, afro American, i would have believed you. And until couple a days ago i never knew that we have afro kurdish people. But believe it or not, i am very happy to know such things like this, if we have accepted your families centuries ago at that time what kind discrimination were against colored people, i am sure we accept it now better than every other nation. But we have to remember that most of the kurds dont know about peoples like you kak BC, we are not a country like America where a very big proportions are black and the entire population know about it! . If i was meeting you or your cousin in kurdistan and you would say that you kurdish i would be taken by surprise and happy. I am sure that this would be the reaction of most of the people these days!