Teachers, students in Derik, Jal Agha: marginalizing Kurdish language is attack on our identity, existence

Popular and official demands are escalating in the regions of North and East Syria for the recognition of the Kurdish language as an official language within the new Syrian constitution and for guaranteeing the right to education in one's mother tongue.

In this context, teachers and students from the city of Derik called for the Kurdish language to be enshrined as a fundamental law within the future Syrian constitution, emphasizing that the language issue for the Kurdish people is a matter of existence and identity.

Teacher Shamal Khalil emphasized that the mother tongue education system built over the past years must receive constitutional and official recognition.

She stated, "For years, we have been building a comprehensive education system in the Kurdish language. Therefore, it is essential that our language be enshrined in the Syrian constitution. We see our existence through our language, and we will not accept a return to policies of marginalization."

Khalil warned against attempts to change and Arabize the names of Kurdish villages and cities, stressing that this represents an erasure of the cultural and historical identity of the Kurdish people. She added, "We have a unique cultural and historical identity linked to the names of our regions, and changing them is an erasure of our lived reality. We will continue our protests and activities until we secure our legitimate rights."

For his part, teacher Bashar Muhammad pointed out that Syria is a country of diverse ethnicities and components, and it cannot be reduced to a single language. He explained that imposing a specific language on students and preventing them from studying in their mother tongue contradicts the principles of justice and democracy.

Mohammed stated that the experience of Kurdish-language education at Rojava University represents the efforts of great sacrifices and long-standing efforts to preserve the language, adding, "For us, the language issue is a matter of existence, and there is no compromise on it."

For her part, student Erivan Hisham expressed her rejection of policies imposing Arabic as the sole language, emphasizing that the right to learn in one's mother tongue is one of the most basic rights guaranteed by international conventions. She stressed that ignoring the educational reality that has existed for years constitutes a violation of the rights of Kurdish students.

In the city of Jal Agha, teachers and students, during meetings held at Zagros High School, affirmed that constitutional and legal recognition of the Kurdish language is a legitimate right of the Kurdish people in Syria.

High school student Mitra Yousef said that Kurdish students have learned in their mother tongue throughout their school years, emphasizing that the Kurdish language represents the identity and existence of the Kurdish people. She added, "Whoever does not recognize the right of the Kurdish people to learn in their language does not recognize their existence as a people on this land."

She explained that the demands for recognition of the Kurdish language are not aimed at imposing it on other groups, but rather at guaranteeing the national and cultural rights of the Kurdish people within a new Syria.

For her part, student Akhin Abdul Aziz Mohammed emphasized that the Kurdish language represents the identity and existence of the Kurdish people, calling on all segments of Kurdish society to rally around the right to education in Kurdish.

Diala Ali, a Kurdish language teacher, affirmed that the exclusionary policies during the Ba'athist era deprived the Kurdish people of their right to learn in their mother tongue. She pointed out that the July 19th Revolution restored this right to the Kurds and established educational and university programs in Kurdish.

She added, "The Kurdish people made immense sacrifices to reach this stage, and today the time has come to officially enshrine the Kurdish language in the Syrian constitution, because every people has a legitimate right to learn in their own language and culture." In concluding her remarks, Diala Ali pointed out that Decree No. 13, which recognized Kurdish as a national language, is a positive step, but it is insufficient unless it is translated into actual constitutional and official recognition that guarantees the use of Kurdish alongside Arabic in official and educational institutions.

ANHA

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