The Syrian Kurdish Diaspora and Its National and Pan-Kurdish Role

By: Dr. Abdel Hakim Bachar

While we salute all those who held fast to their homeland and remained inside the country despite years of repression, fear, kidnappings, and assassinations, as well as harsh living conditions and the near-total lack of basic services—except for those available to groups affiliated with the regime—fairness requires us, at the same time, to pause and consider the phenomenon of mass emigration witnessed in Syria’s Kurdish regions and to ask about its causes and motivations.

What drove thousands of Syrian Kurds to risk their lives and those of their young children on dangerous sea crossings and journeys fraught with death and uncertainty? The sea has claimed the lives of dozens or even hundreds of migrants, and many of us still remember the story of the child Alan al-Kurdi and other tragic stories that have come to symbolize the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe experienced by Syrians, including the Kurds.

This raises a legitimate question that must be posed objectively:

Why did we not witness these massive waves of migration from Kurdish regions before the emergence of what came to be known as the “Self-Administration”? And why did they not reach this scale under the former regime, despite decades of oppression, tyranny, and discrimination against the Kurds?

Asking this question does not mean exonerating the former regime of its historical and political responsibilities, nor does it mean downplaying the magnitude of the injustices it committed against the Kurdish people. Rather, it means attempting to understand the immediate causes that drove large numbers of people from Kurdish regions to leave their towns and villages.

I would argue with considerable certainty that most of those who left—some of whom sold their possessions and abandoned their homes and lands to head toward an unknown fate—did not do so merely to seek a better standard of living, as the matter is sometimes reduced to. They were also driven by political and security concerns, as well as deteriorating living conditions and the practices of institutions and agencies affiliated with the administration in power at the time, which led them to believe that their future and that of their children was no longer secure in their regions.

Our national responsibility requires that we dare to acknowledge these facts, free from partisan justifications or the defense of any political faction.

Mass emigration is not merely a matter of numbers; it is a human, social, and national loss, as it deprives Kurdish regions of a significant portion of their population and severs the ties of generations to their land and community. Nevertheless, discussing emigration should not lead us to view the Kurdish diaspora abroad solely as a loss.

The Syrian Kurdish diaspora has proven to be an important national force.

Despite the geographical distance, it has managed to preserve its identity and sense of belonging and has played a prominent role in defending the Kurdish cause and explaining its justice and legitimacy to the societies in which its members live.

We have all witnessed the large demonstrations and mass events organized by the Kurdish diaspora in many European countries in defense of Kurdish rights and presence, free from partisan alignments and narrow loyalties. These movements have often served as a civic and popular voice for the Kurdish cause within European public and political spheres.

Through their social, media, cultural, and political activities, members of the community have also helped raise awareness among European public opinion and societies about the Kurdish cause in Syria, the long history of discrimination faced by the Kurds, and their legitimate demands within the framework of a democratic Syria.

Members of the Syrian Kurdish diaspora are not merely immigrants living far from their homeland; rather, they are an integral part of the Syrian Kurdish people and of their national and political movement.

Their bodies may be in the diaspora, but their minds and hearts remain tied to their homeland.

They are ambassadors for the Kurdish cause in the countries where they live, and they can serve as an important bridge between the Syrian Kurdish community and the international community, helping to convey a genuine picture of the Kurdish people’s aspirations and rights, free from distortion or partisan monopolization.

Therefore, what is needed is to build a strong national relationship between those at home and those in the diaspora, based on mutual respect, transcending partisan and personal divisions, and harnessing the vast potential of the diaspora in the fields of culture, education, media, politics, economics, and civil society.

The Kurdish cause is not the cause of only those who remained inside Syria, nor is it the cause of only those who were forced to leave.

It is the cause of an entire people, wherever its members may be. While it is the duty of those inside Syria to hold firmly to their land, identity, and rights, it is also the duty of the diaspora to continue defending these rights and to serve as an authentic voice for their homeland and their cause.

The Syrian Kurdish diaspora can be one of the most important components of the Kurdish mass movement defending rights, justice, and freedom and can play a national and pan-Kurdish role that transcends borders, geography, and partisan affiliations.

Being far from the homeland does not mean being far from the cause, and migration does not necessarily mean losing one’s sense of belonging.

Members of the diaspora have carried their memories, language, identity, and cause with them to the countries where they have settled. It is the responsibility of us all to transform these energies, scattered across the diaspora, into an organized national force that serves the Syrian Kurdish people, defends their rights, and contributes to building the Syria of the future—a democratic and pluralistic Syria in which all its citizens enjoy equal rights and responsibilities.