Kurdish shop signs reflect Hasakah's diversity

According to the report, these changes became possible after the fall of the Baath regime, which had imposed strict restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language. Speaking or writing Kurdish in schools, government institutions, and public places was prohibited and treated as a threat to national security, with violators facing arrest and prosecution.

Following the Rojava Revolution on July 19, 2012, Kurdish became an official language in Rojava alongside Arabic and Syriac, allowing the region's communities to exercise their cultural and national rights freely and democratically without exclusion or marginalization.

Many shop names are written in Kurdish and reflect the region's cultural and historical heritage, including names such as Şehîd Şervan, Serê Kaniyê Kurdistan, Dicle û Ferat, and Roj Ava.

Several shop owners said that using Kurdish alongside other languages helps Kurdish speakers identify businesses and services while expressing their attachment to their language and culture.

They noted that Kurdish was rarely used on commercial signs in the past but has now become much more visible alongside Arabic and Syriac, reflecting Al-Hasakah's linguistic and cultural diversity.

Jamal Majid Issa, owner of the Dicle û Ferat store, said he had included the Kurdish name on his sign for years, initially using small Kurdish letters despite the difficulties of using the language before the fall of the Baath regime.

Issa said that under the previous government, "we tried to speak and write in our mother tongue and worked toward that goal. After the Rojava Revolution, we achieved it, and I changed the small Kurdish letters on my sign into larger ones that are more visible."

He added that the Kurdish people have remained deeply committed to their language and culture despite facing policies of erasure, marginalization, exclusion, massacres, killings, and torture.

Issa described the Kurdish language as an essential part of his cultural identity, saying he is keen to display it alongside Arabic. He added that multilingual signs reflect coexistence among the region's communities and do not conflict with the use of any other language.

Expressing pride in his cultural and linguistic identity, Issa said, "Language means everything to us. It represents our identity and our existence."

He explained that he also included Arabic on his sign as a way of respecting and welcoming all communities without favoring one over another. He chose the name Dicle û Ferat ("Tigris and Euphrates") because Rojava lies between the two rivers.

Issa argued that the real problem is not the relationship between the region's communities but rather ruling systems and external interventions that seek to divide them through exclusionary policies.

Wael Abdul Qader Youssef said he named his shop Roj Ava in 2012 to encourage younger generations to use the Kurdish language in their daily lives.

The owner of the Şehîd Şervan shop called on other business owners to use Kurdish on their storefronts, saying it is an important part of Kurdish cultural identity.

In addition to Kurdish-language shop names, many business owners display pictures of Kurdish figures, symbols, and fallen fighters, as well as military flags, inside their stores as expressions of their Kurdish identity and appreciation for those they describe as having sacrificed for the cause.

Throughout Hasakah's markets, commercial signs written in Kurdish and Arabic—and sometimes Syriac—are widely visible, reflecting the city's linguistic and cultural diversity.

ANHA