By: Bashdar Pusho Ismaeel

As We Rejoice in the Dawn of the Spring Equinox - Let Us Never Forget the Sacrifice of Our Martyrs

March – Forever, the Divine Month in Kurdish Folklore and History.

From ubiquitous hardship throughout existence to the brutal persecution at the hands of tyrants and oppressors in recent times, the Kurds have survived against the odds.

No amount of sophisticated military arsenal, attack helicopters, superior jets or even chemical weapons could defeat the resolve and determination of the nation. Even as global powers watched passively as merciless regimes across the mountainous plains committed unprecedented crimes in sheer daylight, the Kurds rejected repeated attempts to erase their identity.

Indeed for many a year, the mountains have been our only friends. On the eve of this Newroz, 2008 can mark a new dawn in our heritage and existence. Lands can be divided and people can be dispersed against their will, but the unity of their hearts is indivisible.

Let us never forget the tremendous courage of our slain brothers and sisters, who fought in the mountains in spite of no food or shelter whilst facing bitter temperatures, without their families and against the toughest of obstacles. It is the immense courage of our martyrs that prevailed in battle. It was a refusal to succumb to second-class citizenship, to accept tyranny and to accept demise.

Weapons may wipe thousands of villages off the map but for a ferocious loyal, proud and valiant folk, their identity can never be driven off the maps of history.

As divinity and fortune would dictate, March will forever stand as a truly remarkable month in the history of every Kurd. There are three events that are perpetually imprinted within our blood and sprit.

The occasion of Newroz, marks the beginning of the vernal equinox, the beginning of a new day and the beginning of a new era in our existence. Each Newroz through thousands of years has reminded us of our ancient culture, civilisation and how the undiminished resolve of a forceful soul can overcome even the fiercest of tyrants, the cruellest of rulers.

It was in the March 1991 uprising that Kurds chose to forever expel evil from their land, to no longer accept second-class citizenship and begin a ‘Newroz’ or a new chapter of existence. It was the ‘Raparin’ of 1991 that opened the passage to the freedom, democracy and prosperity of today.

As we rejoice, dance and sing in delight on the occasion of Newroz, let us also pay the highest respects and tribulations for the thousands of our men and woman who faced death, in the manner that their legendary resistance fighters based their ethos. Without the selfless sacrifice of the thousands who chose their nationality and moral integrity over their own lives throughout history and in the uprising of 1991, we would never be where we are today.

Above each and everything let us never forget the atrocity of Halabja committed in March 1988. This will forever be etched as the blackest day in our history and also the day of greatest triumph. The day, as the world stood by and watched one of the gruesome acts ever afflicted – in the hour of beckoning and sorrow, the Kurdish eagle refused to die down. The eagle instead chose to strengthen its sprit, its resolve and the ferocity of the way it flew through the mystic lands.

Let us not forget ourselves in the mist of high-rise buildings, new highways, airports and the freedom of today. There is nothing wrong with assimilation into a democratic, modern and prosperous way of life - everyone has the right to a high standard of living, to a brighter future and to happiness, the Kurds are no different but let’s never forget the very essence that has made us who we are throughout our history. Let us not forget, our common spirit and ties of kinship that has placated our eternal path.

Our history has been tainted with stories of double-crossing and betrayals. Let us not linger in false sense of security, in a cocoon of neglect and taking for granted and to believe that we can depend on our allies. Let us not rest on our laurels and accept self-deception and belief that we have reached the end.

In our struggle and fight to preserve our identity, culture, history and to defeat the forces of repression – our fight is not over. For this is only the end of the beginning, our fight for stature, solidarity and nationhood begins on this Newroz.

Let the Newroz of March 2008, mark yet another epic milestone in our history.