Kurdish poets: 3 Kurdish-language classes do not meet our aspirations

Reactions continue to the latest decision issued by the Syrian Ministry of Education, No. 964/2068, which allocates three classes per week for teaching the Kurdish language. Kurdish figures and civil society actors have rejected the decision, considering it inadequate to meet the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish people in the new Syria, particularly following the phase of democratic integration.

Residents believe that the Kurdish language is an essential part of the existence and identity of the Kurdish people, and that preserving it and receiving education in one’s mother tongue is a natural and constitutional right for the Kurdish people and for all components. They reject limiting Kurdish-language instruction to three classes per week or treating it as an elective subject.

In this context, a number of Kurdish poets spoke to ANHA agency about the importance of the mother tongue and the need to incorporate it into official educational curricula and enshrine it in the new constitution.

Salwa Saeed Suleiman: our language represents our existence

Kurdish-language teacher and member of the Union of Intellectuals in al-Jazira region, poet Salwa Saeed Suleiman, told ANHA agency that every Kurd should write and speak in their mother tongue, as it represents their identity and existence.

She continued by saying that the region is going through a sensitive stage, which requires explaining and understanding the current situation, as well as demanding rights and recognition of the Kurdish language. She said, “Our language represents our existence, and constitutional recognition of it is a natural right.”

She added, “The Kurdish people have lived on this land for thousands of years, and it is shameful that they do not have a language recognized in the constitution, as it is a natural right of the Kurdish people, especially after the Rojava Revolution, the opening of schools, and the education of children in their mother tongue throughout these years.”

Salwa Suleiman called for the Kurdish language to be enshrined in the new constitution, stressing that Kurdish cannot be reduced to literary subjects alone, particularly since universities in the region teach in Kurdish.

“We cannot return to square one”

Poet Salwa Suleiman stressed that “we cannot return to square one and learn in Arabic. Education must be in Kurdish. The decision is rejected by the people, particularly the arguments concerning the teaching of scientific subjects such as mathematics, physics, and science.”

She concluded by calling for all subjects to be taught in Kurdish, as this is a fundamental right of the Kurdish people.

Mohammad Abdo: A person without a language is a person without a memory

For his part, poet Mohammad Abdo told our agency that language in the life of every human being is a fundamental right that begins even before birth, pointing out that “a person without a language is a person without a memory,” and that memory represents a people’s history and existence.

Abdo added that Quranic verses affirm the existence of multiple languages, and that this diversity is a means of coexistence among different nationalities, comparing it to spring with its colors and flowers.

Abdo said that the Kurdish language dates back more than 12,000 years, and that the Kurdish people have experienced occupation and attempts at dissolution throughout history, yet they preserved their language and defended their existence to this day.

He noted that mothers, poets, and writers, including Ahmad Khani, Faqi Tayran, and hundreds of others contributed to preserving the Kurdish language, alongside the sacrifices of martyrs and the struggle that began with the Syrian revolution, which was referred to as the “language revolution” and began from Afrin to Derik.

Where are the promises to preserve the cultural and political rights of the Kurdish people?

He added that Kurdish students had been educated in their language throughout these years, creating a historic opportunity that brought the Kurdish language to an advanced level after a period of suppression, culminating in the establishment of universities operating in Kurdish. This led to the emergence of hundreds of intellectuals who wrote in Kurdish about the tragedies and joys of the Kurdish people, as well as their history and rights.

Abdo also referred to the new Syrian situation, the integration between the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian transitional government, and the promises to preserve and recognize the cultural and political rights of the Kurdish people. He said that the issuance of Legislative Decree No. 13 and the recognition of the Kurdish language represented a step forward, although it was insufficient, amid demands for Kurdish to be adopted as an official language.

“The Ministry of Education’s decision does not match the scale of our aspirations”

Abdo stressed that the Ministry of Education’s decision does not meet the scale of aspirations, particularly after thousands of teachers and students graduated over the past years. He noted that the decision deserves condemnation and denunciation because it redirects the country toward a single-color identity, as was the case in the past before the Syrian revolution.

Abdo continued, pointing out that the former regime did not respect the rights of Syria’s various components, and that one of the reasons for the revolution was the absence of these rights. He said that the current decision fails to respect the rights of the Kurdish people and once again directs Syria toward a single-color identity.

“So that we, as a Kurdish people, feel that we are part of the new Syrian state”

He stressed that the Kurdish language is rich and capable of accommodating various literary and scientific fields, calling on the transitional government to adopt it across Syrian institutions “so that we, as a Kurdish people, feel that we are part of the new Syrian state.”

Mohammad Abdo concluded by calling for the Ministry of Education’s decision to be reconsidered, emphasizing the need for curricula to be taught in Kurdish because the Kurdish language represents the existence of the Kurdish people.

ANHA