Medya Reaching For The Stars - Part II

MG: I think I've found from reading various Kurdish blogs, that there's a very strong love for Kurdistan, although Kurdistan doesn't exist officially on the map today, as the Kurds are scattered around the planet in a Kurdish diaspora. Will there ever be a nation of Kurdistan? Will the Syrians, Turks, Arabs, Iranians etc. let it happen?

Medya: It will happen for sure ... the word diaspora is not true. although many Kurds immigrated to USA and Europe and there has been several Arabization/Turkization process but still there is a united region called Kurdisatan there is only border between them, it is not like some 50% Kurds are in Eastern Asia and 40% in Africa, and 10% in America.

The thing that makes a nation is "common pain" or "common dream" ... and in this world of Internet, there is no distance between Iranian Kurdistan and Turkish occupied Kurdistan and we shout our pain and our dream in Internet. When a Turkish Police kills a Kurdish child we all cry for him, for example in blogs a Kurd blogger from Iraq, another from Iran showed their protest against that.

In Kurdistan Bloggers Union , we have Kurds from all over the world, even Jewish Kurd that her ancestors imigrated to Israel. Let them make foolish borders, we will break it, nothing can divide us some years ago you they could easily cut Kurd's tongue for speaking Kurdish, they wanted us to be Turk/Arab, but in this world of Internet they can't do without being watched by world. When we look back at history we see by fighting against "The Great Kurdistan"'s Dream, Turks, Arabs and Iranians earned nothing except nasty reputation in history for their own nation, black pages of genocide against Kurds.

MG: Well it's pretty evident Medya, that the spirit of a United Kurdistan burns deeply within you. Let's talk about another one of your interests, Photography. You have a Photoblog: Focus On The "Unfocused" (catchy title by the way) and it's obvious you love taking pictures. How did you get your start in Photography and is there any particular type of camera that you use?

Medya: Well, when I was child, I used to take funny pictures of myself... and everybody liked those funny photos, I wish I could publish them, may be after I moved away from Iran. After I bought a Digital Camera, I took more photos, because it was cheaper to take photo then I found taking photos from nature is safer to publish on internet, I really didn't think people would like my photos, when I got an e-mail from http://www.KMVT15.org to ask my permission to show my photos in their TV, I couldn't believe it; about my camera, it is a Benq Digital Camera, it is not a professional camera at all, I have to force it to give me a good picture.

I named my photo blog "focused on the unfocused" , because I believe Kurdistan is the most unfocused region of the world in the medias, here is a little math : x =(the nunmber of the times that Palestine word was said in medias) / (number of the Palestinians been killed) y =(the nunmber of the times that Kurdistan word was said in medias) / (number of the Kurds been killed) if you compare X and Y , you will find X so much bigger than Y.

MG: Thanks for clarifying the name, Medya. And I can't disagree with you about the lack of Media attention towards Kurdistan. Kurdistan and the Kurds are sort of in the Media Boonies (that's American slang for out in the boondocks or far away from the main focus of things), but then again perhaps that's a good thing. Generally the Media reports from areas of strife and conflict - old saying: If it bleeds it leads. Kurdistan (at least the Iraqi part of it) isn't bleeding too badly right now and seems to be becoming one of the more Progressive Democracies in the Middle East.

Would you agree with that statement, Medya? And what about one of Kurdistan's neighbors, Turkey? You've written a lot about Turkey in your blog. Could you give me your thoughts on Turkey and Turks?

Medya: This being ignored by medias has been for decades ...I myself am a Kurd, I didnt know about Anfal until last year, but I knew about the palesininans problem when I was 4 years old . Just in Anfal genocide more 180 000 Civilian Kurds been killed by saddam, thats too much ! so much more than all of the Palestinians that been killed.

I myself as a Kurd didnt know there is any Kurd in Turkey until 2 years ago , and I think thats the Medias Sin , because I always listened to Medias . (like American Farsi Radios) well you mentioned Turkey , yeah you are right , I worry about Kurd humans in Turkey . before 2 years ago , I liked AtaTurk I though he was a hero for his nation, I loved to go to Turkey, I thought Turkey is the country of bikini babes, Music, Beach, Singers. But one day that I was listening to a Ibrahim Tatlist the Turk singer, I heared from one of friend that he is Kurd, I used to yell at Ibrahim Tatils for not singing in Kurdish until I heard from one of teachers that "speaking Kurdish in Turkey is forbidden" that sentence was the start of a 180 degree change in my brain...

I started to find more articles about Turkey, the more I read, the more I found Turkey Evil, even worse than evil. Comparing Iran and Turkey I must say Iran is so much better than Turkey. Acording to the Human Right Watch, Turkey has the most newspapermans in prison after Iran. I bet if Turkey had more Kurd writers, then Turkey would have the first place, I am sure if you read more about Turkey, you will believe that all of the men and women in Turkey government has no no no job except thinking about destroying Kurds. The sad part is America Supporting Turkey. I am always on the Weak's side against the Powerfull side (even if Kurds are the powerfull side) for example I always do my best to help Turkmens, Assyrian Chrisitan and Jew minorities, Recently I sent an e-mail to the KurdSat TV and I asked them to make some programs for Turkmen and... and fortunately they did.

Today where I went out to take my driver's licence , there was an alone Turk with many Iranians surrounding him and making fun out of him, and I automaticly become as angry as hell and fell into verbal fight with those Iranian. You know Iranians say jokes about Turks , as american say about Blondes.

MG: Medya, that's very noble of you, as Fayrouz would say, you lighted a candle to cast away the darkness. I wanted to ask you a question about Kurdish food, since I know absolutely nothing about it. What's your favorite Kurdish food and what are some popular dishes?

Medya: Aaah again food ... I am the one who is not interested in food, I wish we didn't have to eat food, if my mother didn't force me I wouldn't eat at all. Generaly I don't like the foods that have meat but I like foods with bean, like "xoresht sawzi" that is called "qorme sabzi" in Farsi. The same feeling about dishes, I believe dish is dish, but some women pay thousands of dollars to buy foolish dishes, but I am so intrested in ancinet dishes, the first glass and metal dishes were found in Kurdistan.

MG: Okay Medya, I want to thank you for a nice interview. I think your mother is worried about your health and wants to keep her son feeling well. All moms are like that for the most part. I'm a picky eater too. I don't eat red meat, but like chicken and seafood. I love archaeology, so that dish information is interesting. Now, just one final question, Have you ever seen a ghost?

Medya: I thank you too and sorry for the long boring answers. And my final answer: Yeah I see a very handsome intelligent ghost that likes to sutdy abroad in the mirror everyday. Ha ha.