The National Identity Of Kurdish Immigrants In Germany

        The Kurdish people, ever since their existence as a nation, have
been subjected to massive repression. The Turkish Republic, since its
founding, has used all the means at its disposal to bring about the
non-existence of the Kurdish people. By banning Kurdish language and
culture, it sought to forcibly assimilate the Kurds. Despite this ban,
Kurdish continued to be spoken in certain villages and within families. But
the policies of repression prevented any further development of Kurdish
culture and language. In the 1960s, the number of Kurds living in Germany
increased. These people were from the poorest class of the Kurdish
population. The first generation of immigrant workers denied their national
background, made their Kurdish culture a private matter, and depoliticized
their social status. (Blaschke, 1992) So this generation ignored its
identity, not only because of the official policy of non-existence in
Turkey, but also because international diplomacy refused to recognize this
identity.
        The second generation of Kurds living in Germany were raised with
three languages. Kurdish was spoken at home or with other Kurds. Turkish
was used where it counts as the official language, such as when reading
Turkish newspapers, watching Turkish movies, or learning Turkish as the
mother-language in German schools.
        Even in their primary social stations, it's clear that this second
generation began to see Turkish and Kurdish culture as one and the same,
albeit with Turkish as the dominant language. Because no conscious
differentiation was made between the two cultures, the identity
consciousness of the Kurds became associated with that of the Turks.
        The children of Kurdish immigrant workers learned German as their
third language. In German schools, it was largely German norms and a German
world-view which was transmitted to these children, since they were
expected to serve the interests of German society. It was here that
problems began arising with respect to the differentiation of cultures
which are very different.
        The educational style of their parents were seen by children as
authoritarian and outmoded. The cause of this conflict was that the
immigrant workers had spent their primary and secondary social stations in
their homeland, Kurdistan. As was stated above, most of these immigrant
workers were from the lower class, and where they were from Kurdish was
spoken in the family and in the surrounding areas. Naturally, therefore,
they also took on the norms and world-view of Kurdish culture. But it's
also obvious that this Kurdish culture could not further develop the norms
and world-view of the population since all of its institutions had been
taken over or destroyed. For children who were educated in the "rather
democratic" school system in Germany, the schooling measures of their
parents seemed like something from the Middle Ages. The outlook and habits
of parents and children came into almost daily conflict. At the same time,
the children would not accept the authoritarian conduct of their parents.
(Gozlu, 1986)
        This clash of the many contradictions between German culture and
the culture of their homeland gave rise to cultural disharmony, which in
psychological terms led to a state of "psychological division". (Hoffman,
1981)
        After the start of the armed resistance by the Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) in northwest Kurdistan, which continues to grow even stronger
all the time, a new period of clarification began for the Kurds. This
hindered the assimilation process.
        In the major cities of western Europe, several independent
political, social, and cultural institutions were founded. Their members
were students, immigrant workers, refugees, and others. (Blaschke, 1980)
        Kurds who have grown up in Germany know, because of the resistance
struggle, that Turkey is not their homeland, and that they are no longer
wanted there. The Turkish government likes to claim that "the Kurds are our
brothers; that which lives together grows together". One proof of this
"brotherhood" was the March 1995 invasion of south Kurdistan, the largest
and most brutal military operation since the founding of the Turkish state
70 years ago. These are sufficient points for Kurds to think about their
own identity.

Translated from Ronahi #4, magazine of the Association of Students from
Kurdistan (YXK).