With a population of 25 million spilling across the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the former Soviet Union, the Kurds have maintained their way of life for more than 2,000 years, despite attempts by various empires and nation states to eradicate their culture, and, in many cases, the Kurds themselves. Forbidden in Turkey to speak their own language, to sing their own songs, even to call their children by Kurdish names, the Kurds for generations have struggled to preserve their identity and to foster their traditions. In the early nineties, the Kurds of nearby Iraq found themselves suddenly supported in their old war for independence against Baghdad, when their interests coincided with those of Western powers fighting against Saddam Hussein. In the eyes of the State Department, the happy coincidence transformed them into "good" Kurds.
