Residents of Derik refuse efforts to change names of Kurdish cities, villages

cities and towns in Rojava have been facing recent controversies regarding changing the names of Kurdish cities. The residents have strongly reacted against such attempts; particularly those of the city of Derik in al-Jazira region.

In this regard, citizen Muhammad Abdul Rahman said that the Kurds are loyal to their history and historical rights, and renaming cities and villages is nothing but continuation of exclusionary policy against the Kurdish identity during previous eras.

She further added that the efforts of thousands of martyrs make it obligatory for the citizens to preserve the Kurdish names because they belong to the history and identity of the area. Meanwhile, citizen Wasfa Musa stated that village, town, and school names shall stay in their original Kurdish language, and no identity can be changed by administrative decisions.

She further added that these names are part of the region’s history and culture.

Conversely, the citizens Mazloum Fandi argued that the name changes were aimed at attacking the identity of the Kurds, noting that the names of the towns and villages go beyond the physical identification of the area and signify a past, culture, and heritage of the people.

His final argument was that the people would reject any attempt at denying this identity because the people in the region had paid a price for the land and their existence.

ANHA