The journalist describes his journey with a unique intro:
“In March of 2015, I set off to the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Syria to begin a new personal project. In the beginning, I thought perhaps it would be a still photography trip only. But just as I left the door, I decided to grab my GoPro kit in case anything interesting happened and I could just film it myself. This is that footage.”
You can find behind the scenes shots of this documentary by clicking here.
Image Source: Kurdishstruggle, Flickr, Creative Commons Kurdish female fighters associated with the YPG. YPG / YPJ
“It’s past time for the citizens of the West to demand that their governments recognize an independent Kurdistan. When the Western powers used the Sykes-Picot Agreement to carve up the Middle East, the Kurds were left out in the cold. The territory their people inhabited was divided up and now their people are spread out in five present day countries. With no homeland of their own, they’ve been the victims of ethnic cleansing campaigns. They are an ethnic minority in every country and are trampled upon constantly by the national governments in all but one of those countries.
The Kurds in Iraq already have effective self-governance over a large section of Northern Iraq. This is because the Iraqi Kurds are self-reliant and hardened by years of persecution under Saddam Hussein. The government in Baghdad is a joke, but the regional Kurdish government in Ebril has been able to stand on it’s own two feet even against the onslaught of the Islamic State. It’s time to demand that the Kurdish people are given a chance at self-determination.”
