Kurds: Through the Photographer’s Lens

The Kurds have a population of over 28 million people, spread out over five countries but without an existing border of a country to call their own. The land known as Kurdistan presently comprises parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Armenia. It is a land of stark beauty but one also engulfed in conflict; for centuries, empires, states and warring tribes have fought for control of this most inaccessible mountainous region with varying degrees of success. Since the first Gulf War a myriad of unsettling images, together with the alienating effect of the language of so-called war on terror , have created a deep divide between nations and cultures of the Middle East and West.This year the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) celebrates its 15th anniversary- commissioned by the Delfina Foundation, this book brings together images by world-famous photographers to celebrate the life and times of the Kurdish people over the last 15 years. Susan Meiseles (Magnum Photos) and Jan Grarup (Noor Images) are just two of these photographers whose images have touched on the beauty and vibrant heritage of the Kurds, whilst travelling there to document the other harsh realities of existence, as the Kurds are continuously denied the right of land, from every direction.