U. S. Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland (An older version of this statement was also delivered at Johns Hopkins University on March 21, 2005) Kani Xulam April 4, 2005 Imagine I were an American and lived some sixty plus years ago and said I am for the Japanese invasion of America, or a Russian who concurred… Continue reading
Speeches
The Plight of the Kurds
Voices From Around the World Monmouth County Library Manalapan, New Jersey Kani Xulam October 3, 2004 Long before the American beheadings in Iraq that are now rocking the world became part of your daily news intake, but after they had become old news in Turkey with Kurds filling in for Americans and the Turks doing… Continue reading
The Stolen Women of Kurdistan
Was There a Kurdish Part in It? Kurdish Human Rights Conference California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco, California Kani Xulam September 4, 2004 Last December, a letter was smuggled out of Abu Ghraib prison. It was signed by an Arab woman. It was addressed to her loved ones as well as “all the honest… Continue reading
Striving for Cultural Acceptance: the Kurdish Experience
Keynote Address School of International Training (SIT) Brattleboro, Vermont Kani Xulam August 17, 2004 If we were all birds, you would have healthy wings, mine would be broken. If we were all horses, you would have sturdy legs, mine would be limping. If we were all fish, you would have fins that would take you… Continue reading
Of Kurds, Rats and Locusts
The Statement of Kani Xulam St. Cloud State University St. Cloud, Minnesota April 21, 2004 Before the current spike in violence in Iraq, I ran into an American friend at Dupont Circle, a bustling neighborhood in Washington, DC. After exchanging the customary pleasantries, he asked me how I felt about the newly passed Transitional Administrative… Continue reading
The Second Spring of Freedom in the Middle East and the Kurds
The Statement of Kani Xulam At the National Day of Remembrance for Qamishli, Western Kurdistan Lafayette Park, Washington, DC, March 21, 2004 We have gathered here at a difficult time in our nation’s history. Arab hoodlums who miss their deposed cousin Saddam Hussein are targeting our brothers and sisters in Qamishli, Amude, Derbasiye, Sere Kani,… Continue reading
A Gagged People: the Story of the Kurds
The Statement of Kani Xulam The George Washington University Washington, District of Columbia Tuesday, November 18, 2003 I want to start with the obvious and that is to thank members of two George Washington University organizations, Amnesty International and The Islamic Alliance for Justice, for sponsoring this lecture, I have titled, “A Gagged People: the… Continue reading
Squandering America’s Blood Abroad
The Statement of Kani Xulam St. Cloud State University St. Cloud, Minnesota Thursday, October 23, 2003 This is my third time coming to your university and your fifth encounter with the Kurds — all, in a span of three years — and before I go any further, let me pay my dues, acknowledge my debt,… Continue reading
Squandering America’s Blood Abroad
The Statement of Kani Xulam St. Cloud State University St. Cloud, Minnesota Thursday, October 23, 2003 This is my third time coming to your university and your fifth encounter with the Kurds — all, in a span of three years — and before I go any further, let me pay my dues, acknowledge my debt,… Continue reading
“The Day I Die is the Day I Will Not Remember that the Dogs Ate My Son”
Salman Aziz Baban, Iraqi Kurdistan, 2002 The Statement of Kani Xulam At the Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, Tennessee June 20, 2002 As it is customary in settings like this one, I want to start by thanking your Professor, Dr. Louis Haas, as well as my friend, Dr. Pippa Holloway for giving me the privilege… Continue reading