AKIN’s New Year Message

December 30, 2002

Dear Friends of Kurds and Kurdistan,

As children of one of the most blighted nations on earth, we thought of writing you in the spirit of the season and wish you a joyous holiday with your kith and kin.

We also thought we would share with you a snapshot of our homeland, as we see it from here at AKIN, and thank you for your ongoing support of our work to be worthy of our people and its enduring dreams.

The world continues to be a dangerous place for us Kurds.  To the winds of violence and intolerance, the West may be adding a hurricane of its own, soon, doing possibly some good, but definitely a lot of harm.  The local thieves and the international ones are working feverishly to cheat us, yet again, of our inherent rights.  We may be in for a New Year’s gift, perhaps from the north, that may make us long for the good old days of Saddam and his ilk.

Here in Washington, we have always raised our palm for the will of the Kurds to be respected and accepted.  Our interlocutors continue to regard us as if we are retards.  Our leaders are engaged in acrobatics that delight our adversaries, but cringe the Kurds and their friends.  Thousands of Kurds who did not look back to pay Kurdistan’s debt are wondering what is wrong with their offspring.  Those who have yet to be born will wonder what was the source of this brush of cowardice that gripped the Kurds of generation circa 2000.

When fear rather than hope guides a nation’s policy, the domination of our adversaries becomes automatic  --  they call it prophetic.  Those who subscribe to this point of view often note, “What can a Kurd do when faced with a hungry wolf?”  The analogy is faulty for it takes away the initiative from the victim.  Thousands of Arabs, Turks and the Persians may choose to act as famished canines, the least we can do is to turn ourselves into porcupines.  Those who have viewed eating the Kurds as a sport will have to find something else for their nefarious appetites.

Freedom’s work is noble and we are honored for the opportunity to be part of it.

It goes without saying that we would love to see you consider a role of your own in it.

Or you may be one of those individuals with no time for the Kurds but with a generous heart and a deep pocket to boot.  If so, please consider clicking on the following link.

http://kurdistan.org/donation_portal.html

As always, we thank you for your support of Kurds and Kurdistan.

From all of us at AKIN

Kate, Marcos, and Kani