sense of place the kurds - case study

• describe the location and background of kurdistan

  spread across a no. of Middle Eastern Countries

  ethnic group

  about 35 million kurds

  history of persecution due to conflict with the turkish police and military
• history of the kurds

  1920 after the dissolution of the ottoman empire kurds were promised their own state in the treaty of sevres

  
  

  the deal was later rejected by turkish leader

  
  

  1988, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein launched poison gas attacks on Halabja because kurds sided with Iran
• facts about the kurds

  • own language/culture

  • not arabs

  • sunni muslims

  • some independence in North Iraq and Syria (Kurdistan regional government)
• what is the current situation for the kurds

  Syria - Kurds have taken land off ISIS

  Iraq - fought in the gulf war, Peshmerga helped

  autonomy (independence) gained in the 2005 constitution

  2011 GDP - $23 bill
• how big is the Peshmerga

  200,000 people