Creative Project: Highlighting the Life and Story of Kamil Barzanji
On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi troops to invade Kuwait in attempts to seize control of oil in the Middle East, and convince Kuwait to waive a wartime debt it had loaned to Iraq in its war with Iran. At first, it was rumored, President George H.W. Bush told Hussein via his envoy, April Glaspie, that he wanted nothing to do, nor would he interfere, with the conflict Iraq had developed with Kuwait. However shortly after the invasion, President Mubarak of Egypt, as well as Jordanians, Syrians, and Saudi Arabian politicians begged for western intervention. The U.S. backed by the U.N. (especially the Soviet Union, which was huge because they held major veto power in decisions based on attacking the Middle East) stationed south of Kuwait and along the Saudi Arabian border of Iraq in what was known as Operation Desert Shield. An ultimatum was given to Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait by January 1991, or else they’d be aggressively counter-attacked by the allied forces. When no withdrawal took place by said time, the U.S. and other allied forces wreaked havoc on Iraqi military installations and barracks, as well as government buildings from the air with tactical and technologically advanced missile strikes. After several weeks, ground troops moved in, and within 100 hours, Kuwait was declared liberated in what would become known as Operation Desert Storm.
The poem that follows entails the story of Kamil Barzanji, a male claiming Kurdish ancestry who was born and raised in Northern Iraq. When he was 21, he was forced into the conflict. He surrendered to U.S. troops the first chance he had, and was treated as a P.O.W. After years of incarceration, he was granted political asylum to, and has since acquired citizenship in, the United States, where he peacefully works in healthcare, and resides in Murray, Utah, today.
The poem that follows entails the story of Kamil Barzanji, a male claiming Kurdish ancestry who was born and raised in Northern Iraq. When he was 21, he was forced into the conflict. He surrendered to U.S. troops the first chance he had, and was treated as a P.O.W. After years of incarceration, he was granted political asylum to, and has since acquired citizenship in, the United States, where he peacefully works in healthcare, and resides in Murray, Utah, today.
U.S. Troops Being Deployed to Saudi Arabian Desert, Iraqi Oil Pipelines placed in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, U.S. Battleships firing long range air missiles to land.
Villain from a View, Saint at Heart
I start my story with the history of a War.
Date, August 2, 1990, the day Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Either called the Persian Gulf War, The First Iraq War, Kuwait War, Desert Storm…
Now they all share the same name and, what became, my fate.
Technically, I grew up in Northern Iraq, family of 7, but…
I’m Kurdish, not Iraqi, because Kurdistan exists no more.
Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran;
You now know my homeland, heritage, and identity, as split into 4.
Please, therefore, with your inherited western bias, don’t hate.
Realize that I’m not the extreme Jihadist Muslim many would presume me to be. I’m like you.
I have a family I love. But was your father killed and sisters raped in front of you?
Vigilant I tried to be, but they still forced me to join the military. I was an unwilling-solider.
I do my best to be a good person, a peace-loving citizen, and member of the human family.
Learn that I don’t want war, blood, or Hate. As soon as I saw allied troops, I surrendered.
Everyone should know that the prison camps and brutality I went through was not easy.
God has made me humble, respectful, loving, unbiased, helpful, peaceful, and a friend of all.
Even when people call me terrible names, I’m privileged to know I’m not those names.
Invading Kuwait was something I never wanted to be a part of,
Never for one moment did I support Hussein and his desire to control oil, and seize money.
Everyone labels the Middle East as terrorist, extremist, and murderers.
Quit it. Could not the world say the same of America?
Unfair to blacks, to women, to immigrants, to gays?
And if we focused only on your gangs, your criminals, your corrupt politicians,
Light would be shed on the truth…you have just as many bad people as we do.
I would then ask you, what makes us so different?
Truthfully, nothing.
You must stop with the inequality. Treat everyone equally, and make the world a better place.
I start my story with the history of a War.
Date, August 2, 1990, the day Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Either called the Persian Gulf War, The First Iraq War, Kuwait War, Desert Storm…
Now they all share the same name and, what became, my fate.
Technically, I grew up in Northern Iraq, family of 7, but…
I’m Kurdish, not Iraqi, because Kurdistan exists no more.
Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran;
You now know my homeland, heritage, and identity, as split into 4.
Please, therefore, with your inherited western bias, don’t hate.
Realize that I’m not the extreme Jihadist Muslim many would presume me to be. I’m like you.
I have a family I love. But was your father killed and sisters raped in front of you?
Vigilant I tried to be, but they still forced me to join the military. I was an unwilling-solider.
I do my best to be a good person, a peace-loving citizen, and member of the human family.
Learn that I don’t want war, blood, or Hate. As soon as I saw allied troops, I surrendered.
Everyone should know that the prison camps and brutality I went through was not easy.
God has made me humble, respectful, loving, unbiased, helpful, peaceful, and a friend of all.
Even when people call me terrible names, I’m privileged to know I’m not those names.
Invading Kuwait was something I never wanted to be a part of,
Never for one moment did I support Hussein and his desire to control oil, and seize money.
Everyone labels the Middle East as terrorist, extremist, and murderers.
Quit it. Could not the world say the same of America?
Unfair to blacks, to women, to immigrants, to gays?
And if we focused only on your gangs, your criminals, your corrupt politicians,
Light would be shed on the truth…you have just as many bad people as we do.
I would then ask you, what makes us so different?
Truthfully, nothing.
You must stop with the inequality. Treat everyone equally, and make the world a better place.
Now I’m an American. After being imprisoned as a P.O.W. for 2 years, I was granted political asylum to the United States after American soldiers heard my story. They found out I was a nurse in healthcare, and allowed me to work in prison hospital. After helping many injured American and U.N. troops, they were willing to listen to my story. My family is still in Iraq. They’ve been denied passports to the U.S. The Iraqi government controls all the airports, and I’m not allowed to go back. To them I’m a traitor. I had to sneak into the country to see my family, putting my own life at risk. I miss my family. But I’ve learned to love my neighbors and co-workers as family. Although I’m poor, I invite them over for dinner. They are my guest. And I’m closer to them (geographically) than I am to my family, so I must rely on them. But living here has been a blessing. I’m free from the Tyranny of my homeland. I’m free from people like Hussein and others who paint a bad picture for my people. If people want to know me, they should just ask. I would tell them that,
“I’m just a human being. I have feelings. I love people. I respect people. I want to help people. When I do it, I do it with my heart.”
“I’m just a human being. I have feelings. I love people. I respect people. I want to help people. When I do it, I do it with my heart.”
Works cited:
Axe, David. “Stealthy-Land Attack Destroyer”. Photograph. wired.com. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Darwish and Alexander. “How Bush 41 Tricked Saddam into Invading Kuwait; Excerpts on Iraqi Document on Meeting with U.S. Envoy, The April Glaspie Interview”. nytimes.com New York Times. 23 Sept. 1990. Web. March 15, 2014.
Estes, Kenneth. "ISN: The Second Gulf War (1990–1991) – Council on Foreign Relations". cfr.org. Council on Foreign Relations. Web. March 14, 2014.
Gause, F. Gregory, III. "The International Politics of the Gulf". In Louise Fawcett. International Relations of the Middle East. Oxford: The University Press. pp. 263–274. 2005. Web. March 11, 2014.
“General Article: The Persian Gulf War”. pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience. National Endowment for the Humanities. Web. March 5, 2014.
Harak, Simon G. “Why did Iraq invade Kuwait?” mcadams.posc.mu.edu. Voices in the Wilderness. Web. March 14, 2014.
“Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait”. cspan.org C-span. 2 Aug. 1990. Web. March 9, 2014.
“Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait”. Map. Google Maps. Google. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
“Iraqi Oil Pipeline”. Photograph. englishalarabiya.com. Alara Biya News Channel. 29 June 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Johns, Dave. “The Crimes of Saddam Hussein: 1990 The Invasion of Kuwait”. pbs.org. Frontline World. WGBH Educational Foundation. 2011. Web. March 12, 2014.
“Operation Desert Storm”. ushistory.org. U.S. History of Independence Hall Association. Web. March 16, 2014.
“Tenth anniversary of the Gulf War: A look back”. cnn.com. Cable News Network. 17 January 2001. Web. March 11, 2014.
“Thunder and Lightning”. history.mil.navy/wars/desertstorm. Naval, History, and Heritage Command. Web. March 7, 2014.
“U.S. Troops Deployed Across Saudi Desert”. Photograph. Mintpressnews.com. Mint Press News. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Axe, David. “Stealthy-Land Attack Destroyer”. Photograph. wired.com. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Darwish and Alexander. “How Bush 41 Tricked Saddam into Invading Kuwait; Excerpts on Iraqi Document on Meeting with U.S. Envoy, The April Glaspie Interview”. nytimes.com New York Times. 23 Sept. 1990. Web. March 15, 2014.
Estes, Kenneth. "ISN: The Second Gulf War (1990–1991) – Council on Foreign Relations". cfr.org. Council on Foreign Relations. Web. March 14, 2014.
Gause, F. Gregory, III. "The International Politics of the Gulf". In Louise Fawcett. International Relations of the Middle East. Oxford: The University Press. pp. 263–274. 2005. Web. March 11, 2014.
“General Article: The Persian Gulf War”. pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience. National Endowment for the Humanities. Web. March 5, 2014.
Harak, Simon G. “Why did Iraq invade Kuwait?” mcadams.posc.mu.edu. Voices in the Wilderness. Web. March 14, 2014.
“Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait”. cspan.org C-span. 2 Aug. 1990. Web. March 9, 2014.
“Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait”. Map. Google Maps. Google. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
“Iraqi Oil Pipeline”. Photograph. englishalarabiya.com. Alara Biya News Channel. 29 June 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Johns, Dave. “The Crimes of Saddam Hussein: 1990 The Invasion of Kuwait”. pbs.org. Frontline World. WGBH Educational Foundation. 2011. Web. March 12, 2014.
“Operation Desert Storm”. ushistory.org. U.S. History of Independence Hall Association. Web. March 16, 2014.
“Tenth anniversary of the Gulf War: A look back”. cnn.com. Cable News Network. 17 January 2001. Web. March 11, 2014.
“Thunder and Lightning”. history.mil.navy/wars/desertstorm. Naval, History, and Heritage Command. Web. March 7, 2014.
“U.S. Troops Deployed Across Saudi Desert”. Photograph. Mintpressnews.com. Mint Press News. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Reflection
In hearing, learning about, sharing, and being part of Kamil's story, I learned that the themes of Identity, Privilege, and Inequality branch across more than just one culture, people, or nationality. I think that often we, erroneously, consider such themes to be one-sided, or only capable of applying to one person or group of people. What is fair or correct to one must be to all, right? That is not what I discovered here. So many people who have such a limited, and biased account of American History would view our actions in the Gulf as purely heroic, and wonderful. But Did any of those people consider that a person viewed as the enemy, like Kamil might have been as a Kurdish-Iraqi (forced) soldier, may have not been able to select their desired course or path in the conflict? I learned with Kamil that he had no desire to be considered 'Iraqi', and no desire to be in any way, shape, or form, involved with the invasion of Kuwait. When he tried to defy it, the Iraqi government killed his father and raped his sisters, then forced him to enlist in the military. At his first opportunity, he surrendered to the allied troops. This taught me in much broader sense and understanding of what Identity, Privilege and Inequality actually entail. Kamil's desire to be identified as a peace-loving, opponent of war in the Middle East, was thrust into an unfair, racist category of being (what many Americans would call) a Jihad Muslim extremist because of his service in the Iraq Military, when in-fact he was never any such thing in any sense of the term. When it comes to privilege, Kamil felt so when he was able to offer his services in the prison hospital, earning his way to political asylum in the United States, which led to his citizenry here. He feels privileged to be free of his past, though grateful to have experienced it. And with inequality, Kamil addressed in our interview one with another that although he despises the actions of extremists in the Middle East and condemns their interpretation of the Koran, he reminds us that we're only looking at the negative, or bad people of the Middle East. If they were to view us in the same light with regards to our gangs, cartels, drug and human trafficking, gender inequality, treatment of blacks and gays etc., then perhaps were just as 'evil'. Kamil's point of view on this aspect of our theme was very enlightening, and very inspiring. Our definition of the themes discussed is narrow-minded and viewed, I'm sure in most contexts, as only through an 'American lense'. Kamil reminds us that there are multiple cultures, stories, and people to take into consideration. There is not just one correct definition of Identity, Privilege, and Inequality. Each, in their own right, is very circumstantial, and flexible. We must give regard to all humanity when we aspire to interpret these themes.
I chose Kamil for this creative project because of the uniqueness of his story, and the fresh perspective he brought to the themes. The minute after hearing about the specifications for this assignment and how we must select our person, I knew I wanted to interview Kamil. We work together and I knew a little bit, and I mean very little, about his past, and always desired to know more. But I was afraid of offending him by asking for what I'm sure is a painful past to recall, only for my own selfish, personal reasons. I knew that now, with this assignment in mind, I could present it as an opportunity to Kamil to share his story and perspective, his insight and feelings regarding these themes. He was so happy, and so helpful. We talked openly and he obliged to my every question. It was a very touching conversation and I feel really honored to have been able to speak with him. Americans too often instantly associate the Middle East and its people with 'terrorist' or 'jihad-extremists' condemnations. But I knew Kamil was a good person, and I knew he'd be the perfect fit to shed this false perception of his heritage and really help us all better understand how people there are much like people here. In class we've spent time talking about how judgments (specifically appearance) rendered at first impression are almost always false. We've talked about how certain people or cultures draw attention to themselves and are as a result condemned unfairly. Thinking specifically of blacks whether during the time of Martin Luther King Jr., or the Rwandans, these people were massacred and beaten, abused and violated. Often the mentality surrounding them was 'well what did they do to deserve it...because they must have done something'. This made me think of Kamil. Just because he lived in and was forced to enlist in Iraq's military, doesn't identify who he is or what he stands for. He is his own person. Much like the Japanese-Americans in WWII were their own persons. And like them, Kamil's story deserved being told. Without Kamil's story, and knowledge of how/why he is in America, I'm sure many people would think 'oh no...why is he here? What is he planning to do to 'us'?'. Think of the worst person in American History that has brought us the most shame globally. How would you like to constantly be compared to and associated with that person in the same sentence? Sound unfair? Kamil perfectly explains why this point of view is very unfair and must be done away with if we desire to find commonality and equality as a human race. We are each human beings with unique, personal, identifiable traits that make us each who we are, good or bad. Entire groups of people are unjustly labeled evil just because of their ethnicity. Kamil eloquently strikes this idea down, and it was for this reason that I knew because of he stood for, Kamil was the perfect subject, the perfect human being, with whom I wanted to tackle this project.
I selected a textual approach to Kamil's story because I felt it would do him the most justice and pay great respect to his story, while still being very appropriate, and mindful of how painful talking about his past was. I didn't feel that throwing such a personal, intimate, almost sacred story, into a cartoon setting, or comic strip setting, or even attempting to interpret into my own painting or other artistic endeavor, was appropriate. I was talking with a classmate about possible ideas for this assignment, and at first I thought of doing a song, or slideshow of pictures, or comic strip. But once I heard Kamil's story, I knew that all of those would take away from the raw passion and clear message of the story. I felt that by doing a poem, I could be artistic in the way of addressing Identity, Privilege, and Inequality, while at the same time paying respects and showing humble and sacred regard for his recollection of these difficult events. Having taken any other approach would have left me questioning myself if I'd done what was best, and would therefore, have shaken my own confidence, and credibility. I've always told myself, 'do what you do best', and in this particular instance, writing is what I'm best at, and I can't forsake my strengths in a time of doubt. It is for this reason we experience Kamil's story in a textual journey.
In hearing, learning about, sharing, and being part of Kamil's story, I learned that the themes of Identity, Privilege, and Inequality branch across more than just one culture, people, or nationality. I think that often we, erroneously, consider such themes to be one-sided, or only capable of applying to one person or group of people. What is fair or correct to one must be to all, right? That is not what I discovered here. So many people who have such a limited, and biased account of American History would view our actions in the Gulf as purely heroic, and wonderful. But Did any of those people consider that a person viewed as the enemy, like Kamil might have been as a Kurdish-Iraqi (forced) soldier, may have not been able to select their desired course or path in the conflict? I learned with Kamil that he had no desire to be considered 'Iraqi', and no desire to be in any way, shape, or form, involved with the invasion of Kuwait. When he tried to defy it, the Iraqi government killed his father and raped his sisters, then forced him to enlist in the military. At his first opportunity, he surrendered to the allied troops. This taught me in much broader sense and understanding of what Identity, Privilege and Inequality actually entail. Kamil's desire to be identified as a peace-loving, opponent of war in the Middle East, was thrust into an unfair, racist category of being (what many Americans would call) a Jihad Muslim extremist because of his service in the Iraq Military, when in-fact he was never any such thing in any sense of the term. When it comes to privilege, Kamil felt so when he was able to offer his services in the prison hospital, earning his way to political asylum in the United States, which led to his citizenry here. He feels privileged to be free of his past, though grateful to have experienced it. And with inequality, Kamil addressed in our interview one with another that although he despises the actions of extremists in the Middle East and condemns their interpretation of the Koran, he reminds us that we're only looking at the negative, or bad people of the Middle East. If they were to view us in the same light with regards to our gangs, cartels, drug and human trafficking, gender inequality, treatment of blacks and gays etc., then perhaps were just as 'evil'. Kamil's point of view on this aspect of our theme was very enlightening, and very inspiring. Our definition of the themes discussed is narrow-minded and viewed, I'm sure in most contexts, as only through an 'American lense'. Kamil reminds us that there are multiple cultures, stories, and people to take into consideration. There is not just one correct definition of Identity, Privilege, and Inequality. Each, in their own right, is very circumstantial, and flexible. We must give regard to all humanity when we aspire to interpret these themes.
I chose Kamil for this creative project because of the uniqueness of his story, and the fresh perspective he brought to the themes. The minute after hearing about the specifications for this assignment and how we must select our person, I knew I wanted to interview Kamil. We work together and I knew a little bit, and I mean very little, about his past, and always desired to know more. But I was afraid of offending him by asking for what I'm sure is a painful past to recall, only for my own selfish, personal reasons. I knew that now, with this assignment in mind, I could present it as an opportunity to Kamil to share his story and perspective, his insight and feelings regarding these themes. He was so happy, and so helpful. We talked openly and he obliged to my every question. It was a very touching conversation and I feel really honored to have been able to speak with him. Americans too often instantly associate the Middle East and its people with 'terrorist' or 'jihad-extremists' condemnations. But I knew Kamil was a good person, and I knew he'd be the perfect fit to shed this false perception of his heritage and really help us all better understand how people there are much like people here. In class we've spent time talking about how judgments (specifically appearance) rendered at first impression are almost always false. We've talked about how certain people or cultures draw attention to themselves and are as a result condemned unfairly. Thinking specifically of blacks whether during the time of Martin Luther King Jr., or the Rwandans, these people were massacred and beaten, abused and violated. Often the mentality surrounding them was 'well what did they do to deserve it...because they must have done something'. This made me think of Kamil. Just because he lived in and was forced to enlist in Iraq's military, doesn't identify who he is or what he stands for. He is his own person. Much like the Japanese-Americans in WWII were their own persons. And like them, Kamil's story deserved being told. Without Kamil's story, and knowledge of how/why he is in America, I'm sure many people would think 'oh no...why is he here? What is he planning to do to 'us'?'. Think of the worst person in American History that has brought us the most shame globally. How would you like to constantly be compared to and associated with that person in the same sentence? Sound unfair? Kamil perfectly explains why this point of view is very unfair and must be done away with if we desire to find commonality and equality as a human race. We are each human beings with unique, personal, identifiable traits that make us each who we are, good or bad. Entire groups of people are unjustly labeled evil just because of their ethnicity. Kamil eloquently strikes this idea down, and it was for this reason that I knew because of he stood for, Kamil was the perfect subject, the perfect human being, with whom I wanted to tackle this project.
I selected a textual approach to Kamil's story because I felt it would do him the most justice and pay great respect to his story, while still being very appropriate, and mindful of how painful talking about his past was. I didn't feel that throwing such a personal, intimate, almost sacred story, into a cartoon setting, or comic strip setting, or even attempting to interpret into my own painting or other artistic endeavor, was appropriate. I was talking with a classmate about possible ideas for this assignment, and at first I thought of doing a song, or slideshow of pictures, or comic strip. But once I heard Kamil's story, I knew that all of those would take away from the raw passion and clear message of the story. I felt that by doing a poem, I could be artistic in the way of addressing Identity, Privilege, and Inequality, while at the same time paying respects and showing humble and sacred regard for his recollection of these difficult events. Having taken any other approach would have left me questioning myself if I'd done what was best, and would therefore, have shaken my own confidence, and credibility. I've always told myself, 'do what you do best', and in this particular instance, writing is what I'm best at, and I can't forsake my strengths in a time of doubt. It is for this reason we experience Kamil's story in a textual journey.