Are We Racist or Is Donald Trump?
A protestor with a flag of Iraqi Kurdistan, Washington, 2015. Photo: AFP
Luqman Hma Salih | Exclusive to Ekurd.net
The Iraqi army officer with moving his hands, shouted furiously over one of the Anfal survivors that he should throw away Kurdistan’s flag. That flag was around the Anfal survivor’s neck and shoulders as a symbol of nationalism and patriotism. This Kurdish survivor visited a mass grave with many of the Anfal survivors in Iraq’s Samawa city several weeks ago that contained the remains of Kurdish villagers buried alive during the Saddam Hussein regime in the Anfal campaign.
The campaign included eight comprehensive military offensives that lasted from February 23, 1988, to September 6, 1988, as well. During the Anfal Campaign, Iraqi troops used chemical weapons and other heavy guns, resulting in the whole destruction of 2000 villages, which included prohibited zones. After the officer’s racist attitude in front of the Anfal survivors, I merely asked myself, “will this officer act with the same racist mindset with Kurds, if he had the United States citizenship when the officer leaves Iraq due to security and military tension, and seek political asylum from Americans?”
It is liable I cannot infer the answer to this question yet because I am speaking about a topic that did not materialize. However, I cannot see the future for this officer who is still living in Iraq. I can have a persuasive answer to some degree after I had been living in the United States over the last four years and six months. At this time, I have encountered many chauvinists and racists. Actually, it is likely that the officer’s attitude could be a typical behavior in Iraq’s Samawa city, but for the Iraqi Arab in the United States, it would be strange if he is going to try to attack me as a racist. Since we have the same rights and guaranteed privileges under the US constitution.
When I moved to the United States in 2015, two weeks after the necessary procedures, my first impression was that all of the immigrants that came here made changes in their views of freedom of expression in religion and nation. Correspondingly, they really erode their racism ideas. Nevertheless, with these thoughts my social worker recommended me to endeavor to learn English, I suspected this is a huge opportunity. So, I immediately enrolled in the Adult Basic Education school in Moorhead, Minnesota state.
The story starts here, it had been a week since I constantly studied in the Adult Basic Education school. Once, there were nine students in the group in our classes: two Kurdish, two Arab Iraqi, two Somali, two Mexican and one Colombian. At that time, our instructor spoke about the rule and structure of the introduction in the United States. So, she enquired to introduce ourselves to the group. When it was my turn, I said, “I am Kurdish and I am from Kurdistan.” At that moment I heard a grumpy and strange voice who did not let me finish speaking and said, “what is Kurd? Why did you not say I am from Iraq?” I disregarded what he said.
Likewise, I faced the instructor and I strappingly said, “I am Kurdish, my father is Kurdish, my grandfather is Kurdish and the Iraqi Arabs have always oppressed Kurdish rights.” Tensions in the class had been rising at that time, so our instructor did not give anyone time to carry on with our conversation. Therefore, she turned to the Iraqi man and explained, “Everyone has freedom in the United States to represent his nation and religion how they choose, like how you are proud of your nationality, he could be proud of his nationality as well.” she said, “Please, I would like to close this subject.”
Presuming that the Iraqi’s conduct is normal, then what is the agenda behind the Somali person that is against me for not practicing one of the pillars of Islam? Or him enforcing Iraqi nationality on me and taking away my Kurdish nationality. In August 2016, it was the Ramadan. Every Thursday we usually had a class mostly conversation about a story or an article that was published in the media. In that week our teacher was a volunteer who was an American woman. She has chosen a story about the Ramadan in Islam and opened a dialog about this topic.
Then, she asked me, “Are you fasting?” I undoubtedly and unconditionally said, “From 1999 till now, I have not been fasting during Ramadan.” This sentence was like a bomb detonated in front of two Somali youth who was sitting next to me. One of them punctually said, “We should not speak with you, you do not adhere to the pillars of Islam and you are an atheist.” Despite I tried to calm them down but I could not control myself, I said, “You are so racist. How did you come up with that I am an atheist?” The volunteer felt the hostility in the speech of the Somali youth, so she did not allow him to worsen the atmosphere of the group. Later the volunteer clarified, “I have considered how you have committed to the pillars of Islam, as well as he has the right to not adhere to it in the United States.”
It has also expressed strong racism from Arab people against Kurdish in this story. It was the first day of the first semester of Minnesota State Community and Technical College. My teacher in order to learn our names in the writing class who used a new technique to introduce ourselves. It was required from each student to give information about themselves to two other classmates. Then those two students would introduce you to the teacher and all other classmates. A Chinese and American girl obtained some information about me. When I gave information about myself to the American girl and I said, “I am from Kurdistan.” An Iraqi Arab turned back then as he made fun of me and said, “I did not know that Kurdistan became a country!” I proximately answered him, “you were asleep when we declared the country. Do you know?” The American girl was stunned by this situation, so she requested him not to interrupt our conversation.
The fourth scenery is more awful than anything else. In the United States, most Iraqi Arabs not only unrelentingly abolish the Kurdish national identity, but they have motivated Arabs from other countries intentionally to eliminate the Kurdish identity. Last year, in the second semester of college, I wrote an article about the effectiveness of Kurdistan’s Referendum. Several times I mentioned Kurdistan. In fact, at the arrangement of the article with a few of my American friends, I heard an edgy and nasty voice from Egyptian youth who repeatedly asserted, “Where is there something as Kurdistan?” Moments later, one of my friends said to the Egyptian youth, “You are so racist!”
Based on the above, if the Iraqi army officer in Samawa city is going to arrive in the United States, will he likely have a racist attitude toward Kurdish? One thing is clear, almost all of the Middle Eastern, Asian and African people come to the United States carry on racist mindset. More often the Middle Eastern would attempt to erase each other and with this mindset, they come into a culture full of democracy and freedom.
Up until now, more Arab people were racists against me, while we both have been living in the United States which we have the same rights and guaranteed freedoms. On the other hand, I have not realized a white person has been racist towards me except for a few times. In conclusion, before we confront Donald Trump that he is racist, we should stay away from racism ourselves, methinks. It is the duty of every immigrant that should recognize that they are in front of a golden door in the United States, therefore, we will have to extend this path on our generation in order to educate them about forgiveness.
Luqman Hma Salih, a Kurdish writer and student in the Minnesota State Community and Technical College in USA. Salih is a senior contributing writer for Ekurd.net, see below.
The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Ekurd.net or its editors.
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