The Ultimate Sacrifice
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EAWAR JALAL BARZANJI In
our existence as Kurds we have come upon enormous vicious acts against us;
many of us have lived to tell the tale but countless of us have not. We have
survived life through slight promising chance of living, but the remarkable
thing is most of us have made it through those atrocities. Today we live in
countries like United States of America, Canada, Europe and several more
countries where we have found refugee. We have been given the opportunity to
make something of ourselves rather than sit silent in the little boxes that
we were provided with by our neighboring enemies. So, why is that we as
youth of today have not seized upon those opportunities and make the best of
it? Many
scholars in western societies believe that youth have a certain way of
representing themselves and youth culture is a culture of its own, it
defines its individuality in the society. If that is the case what role do
we play in the societies we exist in as a Kurdish youth outside of our land?
Kurdish youth of present day can be the most powerful weapon for the future
of Kurdistan. But this message has not been conveyed to the youth of this
generation. Living in each and every one of these countries abroad most
definitely has provided us with an opportunity but what is an opportunity
without a consciousness. I believe that there is not a Kurdish youth culture
where we can identify with and work on it, nor have youth of today’s
Kurdistan have adopted a culture where it’s definite to be gratifying.
However; there is a "Western" youth culture where for the most part has been
adopted which essentially is influenced by the societies we have found
refugee from. In a
city that I reside in we have had the lowest achievable graduation rate and
hardly any post secondary education among the Kurdish youth, with the
outcome of this type of reality we come to a place where we have to ask one
another: Is the influence of the western society on youth so big that no one
has the admiration to achieve the so simple possible that our fathers and
mothers sacrificed their life for? ; Is it not true that many of our
families left our native land so the new generation of Kurdistan can have a
better future and if we are the future leaders of Kurdistan how are we going
to lead without a realization and the dream of being part of the greater
intellectual society that exists in the western culture? The
perceptive that we will be the next generation to lead a future Kurdish
state is the ultimate dream for all of us, the more rapidly we create a
sub-culture where we can positively influence the society we live in with
the knowledge of where we come from will be the accomplishment that our
fathers sacrificed their life for and left their mother land to bring about
the greatest generation ever would exist in future days of Kurdistan. In a
personal statement: I would like to thank my father (Jalal Barzanji) for
sacrificing his pen and what he had furthermore for leaving all the memories
behind in order for me to have a better future.
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