PREFACE
The idea to study the conditions and the level of social integration of Kurdish exiles in Italy, first arose four years ago, when President Ocalan, who had come to Italy from Moscow aroused the affection and the solidarity of the hundreds of thousands of Kurds living in Rome, in Italy and in the whole of Europe. In these difficult, dramatic and intense days which moulded and shaped all future developments with respect to the Kurdish question, we as Europeans and Italians especially, witnessed an extraordinary and inexplicable (for those who do not know the Kurds) mass mobilisation. We also saw cases of humanitarianism and strong relations of solidarity between Italians and Kurds, who were shown to be living in conditions of poverty right under the nose of the international media.
At this point we began to wonder whether the televised images bombarding Italian homes during those days would finally do justice to the anonymous way in which the Kurds had been conducting their fight for freedom and democracy - an anonymous battle which, with the exception of certain associations - concerned all the citizens of our country. We asked ourselves whether that solidarity and those “neighbourly” sentiments which the images of those historic events aroused in us, would still be felt afterwards and would affect the daily lives of the Kurds and their usual rapport with the administration and with Italian society. During these days not only the Kurdish exiles, but all who helped or participated, were involved in this extremely complex international political event.
Without trying to explain the Ocalan event and without going into the Kurdish question - which is not the object of this report - it seems fair to say that since then, each time the media want to break the silence surrounding the Kurdish population whose identity has been denied through systematic violence, they inform us about the arrival of illegal immigrants on the Italian shore, or, worse still, about the discovery of bodies. The media speak of nothing else when such events occur, at least not in Italy. To make matters worse, there, are no other opportunities to learn about the history, the culture and the problems of a community of people nowadays numbering more than one million in Europe, except for those forms of independent communication led by the initiatives of associations or rare exceptions in the form of local government. These small, hidden initiatives to get the Italians and the Kurds to know one another, contrast with a myriad of incidents where rights have been denied (as very often happens when it comes to the right to asylum) and with situations of marginalisation and exclusion, if not exploitation and criminalisation.
It is for this reason that a detailed study of the Kurdish situation is required - one that is not limited to the situation in Italy, but that compares the Kurds’ situation in Europe. The study does not target a particular social class, instead, it looks at an entire ethnic group, regardless of the educational background or financial situation of its members. From a sociological point of view, it is interesting to note that this choice of focus may cause one to concentrate on thq, relationships between the immigrant’s social conditions in his/her adopted country and those in his/her country of origin, since the latter condition - that is, to be Kurdish and to come from Kurdistan - is the common base of the Kurdish people.
From a political point of view, however, it is interesting to highlight the choice of entrusting this study and analysis to members of the target group. The Kurds studied by the Kurds is a way (perhaps not the best way) of giving more value, in both a political and a human sense, to this social research. When we asked the Ufficio di Informazione sul Kurdistan in Italia to participate in this project, they were enthusiastic not only because this research made the Kurdish community the centre of attention and therefore politically active, but because the research was conducted by the Kurds themselves, with the help of universities, institutions and others, and not vice versa. For practical and other reasons (availability of staff and logistics, interest in the Kurdish situation by those countries) we chose to work with the Kurdish centres in Paris, Stockholm and Berlin, who were also enthusiastic participants.
In this report we will present both the organisations as well as the researchers who contributed towards its compilation. We would like to thank the European Commission’s Board of Employment and Social Affairs who believed that our project needed to be prioritised, once again as part of European action against social exclusion.
I would also like to thank all the members of the Associazione per la Pace's National Office who have been involved in this research in various capacities, namely: Monica D’Angelo, Romolo Calcagno, Marco Solazzi, Alessandro Rossi, Marco Dell’Armi and Farshid Nourai.
Finally, on behalf of all the researchers, my heartfelt thanks to the Kurdish families who hosted people during our workshops in Paris, Berlin and Stockholm and who warmly encouraged us in our work.
Rome, 26/09/2002
Davide Berruti
Associazione per la Pace Onlus1
The Associazione per la Pace (Association for Peace) is a non-profit organisation with a social function, created from a pledge for peace by some large national associations, numerous local peace committees and some members of the Italian or the European parliaments. Together, after the strong anti-militaristic pledge and the pledge against Euro-missiles in Comiso, these people founded the Associazione per la Pace at the historic congress of Bari in 26-28/02/1988. Since then the Association has spread across Italy with its 40 territorial areas. It has inspired or organised significant events such as the March for Peace in Perugia - Assisi, the march of Aldo Capitini, promoted by the Associazione per la Pace together with the ARCI and ACLI in 1988 and since then it has been organised every two years by the Tavola della Pace, co-ordinating more than 500 associations and groups, in which Board of Directors the Associazione per la Pace takes part.
The most considerable commitment to date for all the Association’s groups has been the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which we tried to take a critical and sometimes “radical” stance, condemning the Israeli occupation in no uncertain terms, but, at the same time, preaching non-violence and encouraging dialogue on the Palestinian side. Over the years we have developed strong, friendly and collaborative relationships with numerous Palestinian and Israeli associations through our constant attempts to create opportunities for dialogue amongst the two populations. Dialogue is not always possible and it is never easy. Alongside the Associazione Per la Pace, the Italian network of the Donne in Nero (Women in Black) have been involved in this dialogue. In many parts of Italy, the Association’s territorial groups and Donne in Nero groups have organised meetings, seminars, debates and gatherings of solidarity in order to inform and counter-inform people about those who refute the logic behind war and who are victims of evil choices. In this respect, the Association’s motto is “two national groups - two states”.
When the Balkan war broke out in 1992, the Associazione per la Pace's territorial groups were committed, as were many other volunteer groups in Italy, to helping victims of the war and to the mobilisation of protest against the conflict. From this, the Italian Consortium of Solidarity was created. The latter is a strong consortium of support consisting of 20 national associations and numerous local organisations and committees, capable of co-ordinating and managing hundreds of projects on solidarity, humanitarian aid and community development in all the Balkan countries. Since then, the Association’s commitment in the Balkans has never diminished.
The third geographical area which interests Associazione per la Pace is Kurdistan. We have also maintained strong and friendly relations with the Kurdish community in Italy. We have approached them on the Kurdish question and have sought to contribute to the awareness of this conflict in Italy. Every year, a delegation from the Associazione per la Pace participates in the Newroz (“new day”) celebrations, the Kurdish New Year. This is a traditional festival at the beginning of spring which has been suppressed with violence by the Turkish police. The international delegation acts as a deterrent for possible violent repression, which almost always occurs.
The experience of acting as a deterrent over the years in Palestine, Kurdistan and in the Balkans is invaluable and is put to use when members are involved in activities of awareness, training and educating about peace, in schools, groups and institutions all over the Peninsula. Emerging from this experience is the Association’s commitment to study, be proactive and experiment with forms of alternative defence such as the Caschi Bianchi and the Corpi Civile di Pace.
Another area which the Association has always been committed to is the area of research, firstly with our own Study and Research Office, which in 1998 produced a volume entitled “Formarsi volontariamente”2 and secondly, in 2000, in collaboration with the Centro Studi Difesa Civile, an independent group but a member of the Associazione per la Pace, together with a network of researchers on a national as well as an international level, produced the following two research documents in the past three years: “La difesa civile e il progetto caschi bianchi” (White Helmets)3 and “Le ONG e la trasformazione dei conflitti” (NGO’s and the Transformation of Conflicts)4.
The Association is still committed to its anti-militaristic pledge begun in 1988, when, together with five other large associations, it created the “Campaign of Objection to Military Spending”.5 Today the Association is still part of the Political Committee of this campaign and takes part in activities to promote fiscal strikes and popular non-violent defence (DPN). As a result of all the Italian pacifist movements, in 1998 a new law concerning “obiezione di coscienza” (the opportunity, in Italy, of volunteering one’s services within a charity or similar organisation as an alternative to compulsory military service), n° 230/98, was passed. This law, amongst other things, includes the possibility of carrying out the abovementioned civil duties abroad as well as the creation of an Institute for the study of DPN.
The Associazione per la Pace aims to be politically active for the good of the country and for the European and global community, to facilitate the creation of peace and dialogue between the Earth’s nations, particularly in the areas of Europe and the Mediterranean. It aims to take part in conflict, introducing contradiction to hamper the interests of war, acting on the belief that there is no such thing as a just war, a humanitarian war or a preventative war, but only cruel and unjust wars. It aims to take part in politics with the use of facts rather than words, creating opportunities for dialogue and verbal confrontation both inside and outside national confines, not forgetting that populations afflicted by ethnic, civil or social conflict, are, above all, in need of our help, hence the commitment of all our territorial groups to support projects which target situations on the edges of humanitarian interest, such as the Gaza Strip refugee camp, two hospitals in the Ukraine, a school in Haiti and many small, hidden situations in the Balkans where there are still incidences of war.
All of our work takes place completely autonomously from political parties and ecclesiastical hierarchies since our association is secular and a-political. Having said this, however, anyone who so wishes may enter into dialogue with us. With respect to gender awareness, all the roles in our association are filled by both men and women.
Ufficio d’Informazione del Kurdistan in Italia6
In May 1999, in the midst of the Kurdish movement, the Kurdish Information Centre in Italy (UIKI) was founded. It was the last Kurdish Information Centre to be founded in Europe. One of the centre’s primary functions is to represent the Kurdish National Congress, which consists of more than 200 organisations and dozens of political parties from all over Kurdistan. Moreover, it serves as a fundamental point of contact for Kurds arriving in Italy for the first time.
The creation of such a non-profit organisation with a social function came about because of the need to exchange information, to reach consensus and to gain the support of the Italian public with regard to the Kurdish movement and its activities, and Kurdistan in general. Rome was chosen as the site for the Centre’s Italian office since it is the centre of Italian politics and since most non¬governmental associations and organisations in Italy which deal with international solidarity, are located there. The city was chosen despite the fact that the majority of the Kurdish community live in the north of Italy.
Since its creation, the UIKI’s main function has been to provide general information, both on the Kurdish question in Kurdistan as well as in Europe. More specifically, the centre provides information on oppression, discrimination and on the war against the Kurdish people in the four countries into which Kurdistan was divided in 1923 with the Lausanne Treaty, when the Kurdish nation was split. The Kurds currently living in these four countries are subjected to severe discrimination and marginalisation.
Both Italians and Kurds are involved in the centre’s activities and most of these people work as volunteers. They take part in conferences in order to present the Kurdish question and the problems faced by Kurdistan and the Kurds and often speak on topics which directly involve Italy, such as the fight against the sale of weapons, the issue of human rights in Turkey, the opposition to the war, or the immigration phenomenon - a phenomenon which sees thousands of Kurds arriving, passing through or settling, in Italy.
The UIKI is often recognised as the Kurdish people’s political representative in Italy. In this regard, the centre fights for their legal acknowledgement, so that the voice of the Kurds may finally be heard in political and international diplomatic circles. But this is not all. Much of the Kurdish Information Centre’s work is to establish relationships with other non-governmental organisations in order to create lasting relationships amongst the Kurds themselves through their organisations as well as through Italian associations, with the aim of strengthening Kurdish society and creating public awareness of the Kurdish question and of the general problems concerning the Kurdish people and Kurdistan.
Another important aspect of the centre’s work is to organise cultural events. The UIKI often works with other Italian associations and organisations in order to spread the Kurdish identity and Kurdish culture and traditions and encourages the participation of Italians. Furthermore, with this aim in mind, the centre organises trips to Kurdistan for observers on the occasion of important cultural events, such as Newroz, the Kurdish New Year.
Apart from this, the centre’s objectives include the organisation of trips for the purposes of study, research and alternative tourism or with the aim of international co-operation in Kurdistan. In fact, the UIKI is a member of the Italian Committee for the Development and Co-operation of South East Anatolia (the Comitato Italiano per lo Sviluppo e la Cooperazione dell’Anatolia del Sud Est or CISCASE), located in the Province of Ancona. This committee is currently starting and completing several international co-operation projects between local administrations in Italy and those in the Kurdish zone in Turkey. At the moment, they are focussing on sending delegations of observers to Turkey for the up-and- coming elections. This is an opportunity for the Kurds to participate in national politics in order to find a peaceful political solution to the Kurdish question.
The distribution of information, however, remains one of the principal activities of the UIKI. This is achieved by means of informational pamphlets, newsletters, magazines and the production of various other documents. The main publications are the following: the bi-weekly political and cultural newsletter entitled Del mondo kurdo, which is distributed by e-mail or fax and which discusses the political, cultural and social issues affecting the Kurdish people; the Italian version of the Kurdistan Report, an informational magazine containing political and cultural debate as well as current affairs and articles concerning the relations between the Kurds and organisations or individuals, especially Italians.
The UIKI’s website may be viewed at www.kurdistan.it. The site was designed by the centre. It is in Italian and contains historical, cultural and political information on Kurdistan, the Kurdish people and the Kurdish movement. Photographs and other documents may also be viewed.
Since 2001, the UIKI has been involved in a project sponsored by the European Commission on political refugees who have been victims of torture. The research is being conducted by an organisation called the Consorzio Italiano di Solidarieta, and contains examples of refugees and asylum seekers, who, unfortunately, increase in number every day.
Above all, the Kurdistan Information Centre’s main objective is to spread a knowledge of Kurdistan, the Kurdish people, Kurdish political structures and Kurdish culture and society in general, in Italy as well as abroad, and to involve as many Italians in this process as possible. It is therefore at the disposal of the public, the media and political circles for the provision of such information.
Centre d’Information du Kurdistan7
Our centre was founded in 1993 by French people and by Kurds living in France. Its aim is to denounce and prevent all forms of repression and of Human Rights violations. In this regard, we communicate the latest information on the situation in Kurdistan and alert members of parliament and political leaders. The CIK (Centre d’Information de Kurdistan) also alerts the international community on the situation of the Kurdish people by attending meetings of the United Nations Commission (or sub-commission) for Human Rights, the European Council and the European Parliament.
Furthermore, we work closely with different French organisations for the safeguard of Human Rights, we inform and guide anyone intending to travel to Kurdistan and we support research on the Kurdish people and their situation. We also provide the general public with information on cultural demonstrations by the Kurdish community through the publication of magazines (the tri¬annual Rapport Kurdistan, for example), reports and through the organisation of both national and international conferences. Finally, we provide a link between the Kurdish community and the French government in that we provide support for Kurds attempting to obtain documents when they arrive in France. We also provide support for the integration of the Kurds in France in the long term.
Kurdistan Information Zentrum8
The Kurdistan Information Zentrum was founded in 1995 in Cologne. Our aims and tasks are to work towards a peaceful solution for the conflict in Kurdistan, by providing comprehensive information on the situation in the Kurdish region. To this end, the Kurdistan Information Zentrum initiates contact with people and organisations in Germany, Turkey and other countries.
In this sense, our work contributes towards the understanding of other nations. We meet and exchange ideas or information with government representatives, ministers of parliament and political parties in Germany. Our representatives speak at meetings and panel discussions and we provide information on current developments.
We also constantly provide the media with information, and we maintain relationships between Kurds, Turks, Germans and other nationalities.
Furthermore, we provide information about political developments in Germany and other European countries concerning the Kurdish people.
Another focus of our work is the field of human rights. We send delegations to the Kurdish region and thereafter publish their reports. In this respect, we co-operate with several human rights organisations such as Medico International, Pro Asyl and IPPNW.
Kurdish Institute in Stockholm9
Kurdiska Institute, Instituya Kurd! li Stockholme has been created in September 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden.
This institute has during the last 6 years earned out different activities mainly in the shape of publication of different literary, cultural and linguistic works and also organising various seminars within these domains of activity. Avashin is a revue published be the Kurdish Institute in Stockholm.
Generally, the activities of the Kurdish Institute in Stockholm are directed to study, collect and develop literatures about the Kurdish language and culture. In order to achieve this objective, the Institute tends to carry out relevant research works on the mentioned field whether on it’s own responsibility or through financing external searchers.
Further, the Kurdish Institute in Stockholm aims at promoting the dialects of the Kurdish language and organising common projects for these dialects. Publishing bulletins, revues, papers and books is among other objectives that the Institute tend to realise. The Kurdish Institute in Stockholm endeavours to further organise language courses Kurdish for those people who are interested in Kurdish.
Another important objective for the Institute is among others to gather documents about Kurds and Kurdistan, in Kurdish as well as other languages.
Finally, the Kurdish Institute in Stockholm makes necessary efforts to within the frame of its activities and objectives develop contacts, cooperation and appropriate networks with other Kurdish and non-Kurdish institutes and organisations.
Department of Ethnic Studies,
Campus Norrkoping, Linkoping University
Tema Etnicitet has started its research activities in fall 1999. At the beginning, 2 professors, Alexandra Alund and Rune Johansson have been given the task to organise and supervise the admission and the research works of 11 doctoral students. Today, the number of doctoral students is increased and the domain of the research activities becomes much larger and deeper. Department of Ethnic Studies has even widened its external networks and contacts. There is today many research institutions and government authorities such as the National Institute for the Working Life Arbetslivsinstitutet, University of Malmo and the National Integration Board Integrationsverket. However, the Department of Ethnic Studies is considered as an important investment for the University of Linkoping and thereby a research institution for this university among many others.
The Department of Ethnic Studies is the only research institution in Sweden aimed at research fields such as ethnicity and so called IMER (International Migration and Ethnic Relations). The institution is a research forum for studying the Swedish multi-cultural society as well as migration and ethnicity in a global perspective. The main concrete research issues for the Department of Ethnic Studies can be fir example the relationship between minority and majority with the regard to emergence and developing of a minority identity, nation building, citizenship, education, culture, gender and labour market.
Between 20 and 22 November 2002, the Department of Ethnic Studies will with the co-operation of the Swedish Association for the Study of International Migration and Ethnic Relations, the Centre for Ethnic and Urban Studies and the National Institute for Working Life organise an international conference under the theme “The City and the State, Ethnicity, Migration and Citizenship” in Norrkoping, Sweden. The conference organisers have invited scholars, graduate students and practitioners from whole the world.
It is important to underline that our contribution to this report (Between integration and exclusion, Kurdish immigrants and refugees in Sweden) will be presented within the frame of a workshop at this conference.
The cooperation of the Department of Ethnic Studies with the Kurdish Institute in Stockholm was useful and enriching in realising „ of this report on Kurdish population in Sweden.
1 Via Salaria 89, 00198 - Rome. Tel: +39068841958, Fax: +39068841749, info@assopace.org, www.assopace.org
2 Donati M, Simoni D., Formarsi volonlariamente. Servizio Civile e Volontariato come nuovi percorsi di cittadinanza e formazione. research funded by the European Commission - DG
XXII and Regione Emilia Romagna, Associazione per la Pace, Innovanet - Rome 1998.
3 Tullio F., La difesa civile e ii progetto caschi bianchi, research funded by the Centro Militare di Studi Strategici, Franco Angeli - Milan 2000.
4 Tullio F., Le ONG e la trasformazione dei conflitti. Le operazioni di pace nelle crisi internazionali, research funded by Ministero Affari Esteri - DGAPMEDU, Edizioni Associate - Rome 2002.
5 It has since been renamed “Campaign of Objection to Military Spending for Popular Nonviolent Defence”.
6 Via Quintino Sella 41, 00187 - Rome. Tel.: +390642013576 Fax. +390642013799 E-mail: uiki.onlu@tin.it www.kurdistan.it.
7 Rue Lafayette 147, 75-010 Paris. Tel: +33110164489, Fax: +33140164723, E-mail: cik@wanadoo.fr.
8 Kaiser-Friedrich Strasse, 63 - D10627 Berlin. Tel.: +493032764023 Fax: +493032764028 E- Mail: kurdistaniz@aol.com www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/kiz/
9 Fridhemsgatan, 15 - 3tr - SE- 11240 Stockholm. Tel.: +46703447426 Fax: +46865243330 (E-Mail: kurdiskainstitue@hotmail.com
Introduction
At the researchers’ initial meeting held in Rome on 6 and 7 March 2002, the very first problem faced was how to go about the organisation of research which was to be conducted by a group of such heterogeneous and different people. Italy, for example, because of its geographical position, would want to look at a migratory phenomenon where people “pass through” the country, especially in the central and southern parts, where the settled community is limited in number. France, however, would already need to look at problems of integration affecting the third generation of immigrants and would want to bear in mind that a significant number of Kurds in France hold public positions. In Germany, the strong presence of Turkish immigrants poses a problem when it comes to relations between the two ethnic groups as well as being problematic for the recognition of the Kurdish identity. Sweden, on the other hand, has a long tradition of welcoming immigrants as well as an enviable welfare system, but at the same time there are contradictions as well as strong sentiments of homogeneity.
Amongst the researchers themselves - two Kurds, one Italian and one German - there are different scientific approaches. In addition to this, given the title of the research project, there was the problem of asylum rights. This particular legal issue has, as yet, no European norms or standards and it was confirmed that in some countries certain methods are used which are completely different to those in other countries. Faced with such diversity, comparison between the Kurds in the four nations becomes all the more important, provided that their situation is investigated and analysed using the same criteria and means of assessment, despite the difference in the sensibilities and backgrounds of the researchers. Thus, as far as possible, at the workshop in Rome we attempted to draw up a common working plan in order to obtain data. At the same time, a series of institutions and social groups were targeted for investigation, not only for the purpose of extracting information, but also to test their levels of knowledge and relations with Kurdish immigration.
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