The Kurds are an ethnic group that has historically inhabited an area called Kurdistan but are now stateless due to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and creation of new borders by European powers in the 1920s that did not include an independent Kurdistan state. As a result, around 30 million Kurds are divided among Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and other states where they have faced violence and oppression, including Saddam Hussein's Anfal Campaign against Iraqi Kurds in 1987-88 that killed over 200,000 Kurds.

1. THE KURDS: A
STATELESS NATION

2.  The Kurds are an ethnic group that has been around for
thousands of years
 Until the 1920s, they lived in a state called Kurdistan
 Due to the fall of the Ottoman empire (Caucasus region),
Europe created new borders that did not include Kurdistan.
 As a result, the Kurds are now a stateless nation with no
formal region to call their own
HISTORY…

3.  Kurds have fought for independence and their own state
unsuccessfully numerous times
 Saddam Hussein’s Anfal Campaign against Iraqi Kurdish –
1987-88
 Gendercide and Genocide
 200,000+ Iraqis v. 1000-2000 Kurdish guerilla forces
 Kurdish language and culture in general was outlawed in
Turkey until the 1990s
 Turkey’s attempt at Turkish nationalism
VIOLENCE IN TURKEY AND IRAQ

4. CURRENT PRESENCE

5.  50% - Turkey
 25% - Iraq
 8% - Syria
 7% - Iran
 10% Armenia and other states
 30 million Kurds divided over many states
NUMBERS….

6.  http://www.gendercide.org/case_anfal.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kurdish-
inhabited_area_by_CIA_%281992%29.jpg
SOURCES