Why it is Necessary to Refrain from Drawing More Borders

By Payam Dargalayi:

They say that history has a way of repeating itself. If in fact, history does repeat itself, are our mistakes preordained by history, or are they perpetuated by human error? I argue in favor of the latter. Humans are imperfect; often they are unable to learn from their past mistakes and the mistakes of others. Thus, our imperfections, our faults, and self-righteousness, are at fault for our misfortunes, not history. I say all this to make a point concerning the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) latest attempts to “secure Kurdistan’s borders.”

If nothing more, the end of World War I taught us that, not only does power have the capacity to rule, but those with power can play God in creating artificial boundaries. The signing of the Treaty of Lausanne by the victors of WWI officially ended the war between Britain, its allies and the Ottoman Empire. More than that, the treaty defined the borders of modern-day Turkey. Recognized as a sovereign state in the international community, Turkey was no longer obliged to grant Kurdish autonomy (a term of the treaty of Sevres).  Consequently, the Kurds became the sacrificial lamb. Ninety-one years later, Kurds are still paying the price for the mistake made by the self-righteous, power- hungry few that took on the work of God in drawing boundaries.

For ninety-one years, we have blamed the WWI victors for our misgivings. Today, we must stop placing the blame upon them and look to ourselves. As our brothers and sisters flee from the West seeking sanctuary in North, the leaders of the Kurdistan Regional Government shut the door on them and rob them of their right to acquire refuge in their own home. Let us put boundaries and borders aside and for one moment think about morality. Are our leaders not bound by the same moral principles of humanitarianism that guide international norms? Maybe not. Rather than welcoming our kin, and providing them with protection, we have again reestablished the same artificial boundaries created ninety-one years ago.

For me, and millions of Kurdish people, the concept of boundaries between the North and the South, and the East and the West simply does not exist. The artificial boundaries drawn up by the victors of WWI are meaningless to a nation subjugated for almost one hundred years. Being Kurdish is a source of pride so intense that no boundary and no border can ever repudiate one’s ‘Kurdisness’.  In this instance, history has repeated, but it is certainly not at fault for our calamities. It is true that the best predictor of the future is the past, thus history should have acted as a lesson to be learned by our leaders and prevented such behavior as drawing up more borders within the greater Kurdistan.  It is somewhat of a conundrum as to why the KRG has lost sight of this fact. We should welcome our kin warmly to their country, and more importantly, we should refrain from re-drawing the same artificial boundaries that divided our country many years ago. If history is any indication of what lies ahead, one thing is certain; closing the border on our kin and re-drawing boundaries will have major implications for the future. Shutting out our kin from their homeland is morally corrupt, and it is politically devastating.

Payam Dargalayi: Master of Arts in Political Science. Currently residing in Murphy, Texas.