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The Genesis of an Ethnic Community: the Case of the Kurds in Canada

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The Genesis of an Ethnic Community: the Case of the Kurds in Canada INFORMATION Ta USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly trom the original or copy submitted. Thus. sorne thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is depend.nt upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print. colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. ln the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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ProOuest Information and leaming 300 North Zeeb Raad, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 USA 800·521-0600 THE GENESIS Of AN ETHNie COMMUNITY: THE CASE OF THE KURDS IN CANADA Josephine Esther Sciortlno March 2000 Department of Soclology McGili University, Montreal CANADA A thesis submitted to the faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the Requirements for the degr..of Master of Arta. @ Josephine Esther Sciortino National LbaIy 8IJIiaNque nationale of Canada du Canada AcquiSitions and Acquililionl et Bibliographie Services ..Niees bibliographiques 315 ·.VtIIi....sn.t •.ru. w......'ID' a...ON K1A0N4 OI.-ON K1A0N4 e.-II c.n.da The author bas granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence aIlowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library ofCanada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, lo~ distnbute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies ofthis thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur fonnat électronique. The autbor retains ownership ofthe L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts ftom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. 0-612-70623..0 Canadl "We rarely torgel that which has made a deep impression on our minds." Jonathan Edward "Without something to belong to, we have no stable selt, and yet total commitment and attachment to any social unit implies a kind of selflessness. Our sense of being a person can come from being drawn into a wider social unity; our sense of selfhood can arise through the little ways il which we resist the pull. Our status is backed b y the solid buildings of the world, while our sense of personal identity often resides il the cracks." Erving Goffman ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FinallylH For his encouragement, advice and insighttul comments, 1tta1k my advisor, Professor Morton Weinfeld. He was a good help and very available for consultation. 1thank him for his interest in this new ethnie community il Canada and for giving me the opportunity to research and write on this most timely subject. When 1decided ta study the Kurdish community il Canada, my knowledge of the Kurdish people was extremely limited. 1 1hank Elizabeth Sherk for opening up the doors for me and for introducing me ta many Kurdish familias and for her hospitality while 1was il Toronto. Iim glad her excitement and genuine concem for the Kurds rubbed off on me. Ta ail the Kurdish men and women who gave me their time and who shared their experiences with me: 1tip my hat to them for their courage and honesty. 1thank the families who graciously opened up their homes to me il Toronto and Ottawa. A special thank..you to the Kurdish Cultural Association, the Kurdish Federation of Quebec, the Kurdish Association il Toronto and the Kurdistan Committee il Ottawa for giving me access to many articles and information. Notable mention 90es ta Dijan, Hassan C., Salih, and Zagros. 1thank Kathleen Rodgers in Ottawa for her friendship and availability and for allowing me to get a glimpse of the Kurdish people through her eyes. Iim reminded of Thoreauls Walden, "Could a greater miracle take place 1han for us to look through each others eyes for an instant. Il 1treasure our time il Kurdistan and the vivid memories that are forever stamped in my mind. Much admiration goes ta the group with whom 1went to Kurdistan and Turt<ey, especially to Kathleen Radgers, Lamek, Elizabeth Sherk and Svend Robinson. 1 will never forget our experiences there and the majestic mauntains of Diyarbakir. Ta the Kurds, the teachers, joumalists, and hlmal'l rights workers who tough it out day after day in their troubled land - my prayers are with you. 1 thank Professar Shahrzad Mojab and Amir Hassanpour for 1heir encouragement and time. Thank-you ta Ihab Hashim far taking the time to reprint the maps and for being so meticulous. 1 offer a special note of thanks to my friends who were very patient and understanding over these years. My family deserves distinctive recognition for their patience and support. ABSTRACT Ethnicity and political action have always been interesting connections. With diaspora groups, this connection is intensified due to their strong desire for a homeland. Sorne members of the Kurdish community in Canada do not leave their politieal aspirations back home. As refugees, they use their newfound freedom to promote their political causes. Along with their political aspirations, also come political divisions. For Kurdish immigrants (mostly refugees), the importance of the homeland, their desire for "nation-status" and recognition of their ethnie identity are paramount concems. These desires take on different shapes and forms for different members of the community. This study shows that their degree of activism and their success are primarily a result of their attitudes toward Kurdistan, their family situation, their past experiences and their ability to put regional differences behind them. The Kurdish community is not homogeneous and these rifts in the community may keep it from flourishing. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 The object of this stucty 2 Research question. 3 Historical background 7 11 Thepol~ 11 The matr.x 14 The interest group 19 The diaspora as interest group 23 Mobilization 25 Mobilization of member. 26 The role of the environment 29 Foreign policy implications 33 The potential problem of dualloyalti.s 34 The question of permanence 35 Conclusion 36 '~'jiE"'!';: 7ifà~A-·'-rô.ê-"~:.· "'#I~li·i-. :Clili'. "'_~' .p. .. _~__~ lIettiéièlo/o... ".. ~ .~ .: _.. .g:.- __ ".~~L.PR~ ... _...._!...~_ !J~'I. __III..-.. 38 :ChiP~._~~.;,d~L~~~'1.K:""4:~~ ~;:Küfdfi1J7':Co-~~ >-~...,._m!JJ.IL'l.·U~· ~ 48 ___ o ••• • ..• __ The Kurdish entry to Canada 48 The homeland on the mind 54 New Year'. Day 58 Determinants of political involvement 60 78 The opportunity structure in Canada 78 The Kurdish organizations 79 Obstacles to the group 85 Variations within the associations 88 The Kurdish "etwork 89 The media as a tool 91 Educational seminars 93 99 The visit to Kurdistan 100 Firat stop: Ana,. 101 The journe, to Kurdistan 104 The state of Turkish prisons 105 Newroz in Dirarbakir 107 The Teach. s Union 108 Conclusion 113 115 Possibilities for further research 122 ~ 124 Blti1ltlllAWi 127 ~ïiR~~~lIlÇ~fIt1nrtILtfiQilIrr..'lolflTJi!ÇilfM 133 :4"'~~ë_" nllœ~~·Ifii~ii.~Kïiiilfj·_.~_.~1!iJ~.~ .'P~-~ ~ 134 ._- P•. .....__ o.;_.•__ ~p.lf4!rilc:f..t:TC~Qij.ii.itlq*~UhJ!ilf1IIi'.r;j[_135 LIST Of TABLES Table 1: Countries with Kurdish Populations 5 Table 2: Humber of Permanent Residents Living in 54 Ontario and Quebec, 1993 Josephine Sciortino 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION The year 1999 marked a year of unprecedented visibility for the Kurdish Diaspora. Nestled in the Dolomite Mountains in Tuscany, Volterra is an ancient city surrounded by Roman walls. Within this historie setting, a group of Kurds demonstrated against the arrest of Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party. Kurds also protested the continued mistreatment of their people back in Kurdistan. The capture of Ocalan in February 1999 and his subsequent sentencing in June 1999 sparked a wave of Kurdish protests around the wortd and in Canada (See Appendix 1). After Ocalan's capture, Kurds tram 20 European cities and tram Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal stormed Greek embassies in protest of Greece's involvement in the capture. There were al50 many pro-Kurdish demonstrations in Canadian cities throughout the year. Most of the time Kurds do not picket alone, they solicit the help of other immigrant groups and political movements. For example, on April 13, 1995, about 200 Kurdish people, along with representatives from The Coalition Opposed to the Arms Trade (COAT) and sympathetïc Canadians, rallied on Parliament Hill ta protest Canada's arms sale to Turkey. They wanted to attract media attention to their cause. Demonstrators carried placards and shouted slogans. Public displays of dissatisfaction are a normal occurrence in a democracy. What is interesting about the Kurdish case is that thase expressions of unrest are new to many refugees, who could not have dreamed of standing up against theïr oppressive govemment in thair homeland. This demonstration, though not the tirst Josephine Sciortino 2 one of its kind for the community, illustrates the presence of an organized Kurdïsh community operating as an ethnie poIity. There are many ethnie groups represented in Canada. Each group tries to preserve their cultural distinctiveness and assert their needs through various means. Immigrant participation within the Canadian polity is not a new phenomenon.
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