Athikhom Saengchai

Photographer

athikhom.visura.co

Field Notes

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Clients: National Geographic Thailand

Endless suffering  &a...h state through violent means.

1 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Endless suffering – A long struggle of the Kurds for land and identity since the 20th century has led to countless losses of life and property. Pictured here are ruins of houses in Sirnak, Turkey, destroyed in 2016 during nine-month clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish militias linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which aims to create an independent Kurdish state through violent means.

Kurdish identity  &am...l of the Kurdish resurrection.

2 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Kurdish identity – The Kurds are spread in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and the diaspora worldwide, with an estimated population of 30-40 million. Yet, without a state of their own, what unites the Kurds across borders is their identity, which became stronger after a history of political and cultural persecution. In this photo, the Kurds in Diyarbakir, Turkey, celebrate Newroz, the new year in Kurdish culture. After the Turkish government lifted a ban on Kurdish cultural expressions in 2003, Newroz became more politicized as a symbol of the Kurdish resurrection.

Ancient culture  &...king the soup for generations.

3 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Ancient culture – The traditionally nomadic Kurds have been settling in the territory of Kurdistan since the second millennium B.C. They have lived in tribes and developed distinctive cultures and traditions. In this photo, an elderly Kurdish man prepares a special soup for the Pir Shalyar Festival, an annual mid-winter festival of Hawraman-Takht, a village in Iran. The elder’s family has been responsible for making the soup for generations.

Kurdish costume  &...unique to the Hawraman region.

4 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Kurdish costume – For every visitor to Kurdistan, it is striking to see most Kurdish men and women wear traditional clothes in everyday life, showing pride in their Kurdish identity. In this photo, the boy is wearing kavapantol, a traditional costume for men, and faranji, a woolen jacket with pointy shoulders, which is unique to the Hawraman region.

Religious diversity  ...rimination by Kurdish Muslims.

5 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Religious diversity – Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but significant Kurdish minorities also follow other religious beliefs, such as Shia Islam, Sufism, Alevism, Syriac Orthodox Church, Yazidism, and Yarsanism. In this photo, a Kurdish man is praying in the sleeping hall of the Islamic School of Byara in Iraqi Kurdistan, which welcomes visitors from all walks of life and religions to sleep and eat for free. Nevertheless, Kurdish followers of minority religions have become victims of violent persecution and discrimination by Kurdish Muslims.

Kurdish resistance  &... Zrebar Lake in Marivan, Iran.

6 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Kurdish resistance – After suffering discrimination and oppression by authoritarian rulers for centuries, the Kurds have continuously fought for their rights and territory. The ruling nations perceived this resistance as a threat to national security and responded harshly to Kurdish uprisings. This catalyzes militant movements to adopt increasingly violent methods to achieve their opposing goals. In the photo, young Kurdish men shoot air guns on the promenade around Zrebar Lake in Marivan, Iran.

Remote and neglected &nbsp...ployment rates in the country.

7 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Remote and neglected – The Kurds have lived isolated in high mountains, which provided natural protection from enemies in the old days. But in modern days, remoteness is a structural obstacle to development. The central governments discriminate against the Kurds by leaving most Kurdish-inhabited areas underdeveloped, leaving the Kurds poor and dependent on the state. The photo shows the route through rugged mountains in Kordestan Province in Iran, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

Teahouse  - Every nei... a teahouse in Silvan, Turkey.

8 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Teahouse - Every neighborhood in the city or countryside must have at least one tea shop as a meeting point for socialization and information, especially for men. Pictured here is the atmosphere of a teahouse in Silvan, Turkey.

Kurdish language  &am...uage of instruction at school.

9 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Kurdish language – The Kurds have their own languages. However, under the nationalist policy, the central governments perceive Kurdish as a threat to national unity and have imposed harsh restrictions, such as a ban on the Kurdish language in Turkey in the 1980s. Pictured here are Kurdish schoolchildren in the village of Dolaw in northwestern Iran, where Kurdish is not allowed to be taught or used as a primary language of instruction at school.

Kurdish genocide  &am...illing more than 5,000 people.

10 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Kurdish genocide – Throughout Kurdish history, authoritarian rulers committed massacres against ethnic Kurds several times. The most brutal one was in 1988, at the end of the Iraq-Iran War, when Saddam Hussein ordered an operation known as the “Anfal Campaign” to eliminate Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and to relocate Arabs to the Kurdish areas. Around 100,000 Kurds died in this operation. The photo depicts a recreation of the poison gas attack in the village of Halabja, killing more than 5,000 people.

Displacement  &nd... homes in the tragic conflict.

11 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Displacement – Because of violent persecution and conflicts between national forces and Kurdish militants, millions of Kurds were displaced in their own countries or were forced to flee to bordering countries, Europe, and the US. In the picture, mother and son are walking past the ruins of houses in Sirnak, Turkey, a battlefield between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants. The Turkish government has built apartment buildings in the photo’s background for families who lost their homes in the tragic conflict.

Mountains  &ndash... Iran-Iraq borders were drawn.

12 of 12 © 2024 Athikhom Saengchai

Mountains – As the Kurds live predominantly in mountainous areas, they have a solid connection to mountains; as they say, “the Kurds have no friends but the mountains.” This saying alludes to a long history of betrayals since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Western countries asked the Kurds for help and promised them autonomy or protection. But when their wishes were fulfilled, they broke their promises. In the photo, a Kurdish man is sitting amid the mountains of Hawraman. The region has been home to the Hawrami tribe since ancient times, but it was split into two countries when the Iran-Iraq borders were drawn.

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Public Project

Field Notes

Copyright Athikhom Saengchai 2024

Updated Apr 2023

Location Kurdistan (Iran, Turkey, Iraq)

Topics Spotlight

Summary

As Part 1 of a two-part series from my personal project on Kurdistan, “Field Notes” is a visual record of my journeys and tells stories of the lives and complex history of the Kurds based on keywords that will give a broad overview of Kurdistan.

I heard of the Kurds for the first time in 1991 when I saw on the TV news waves of Kurdish people walking in the mountains with their belongings. As a 10-year-old boy, I was moved by the scene, but I also had many questions: Who are the Kurds? Why did they have to flee? From what? I could not understand what was happening there. I found out later that it was news of the Kurdish exodus from Iraq.

Many years later, when I found my strong interest in photography and wanted to use it to help me explore subjects I am curious about, the questions about the Kurds from my childhood came back to my mind. So, in 2018, I decided to make my first trip to Kurdistan, or the “Land of the Kurds,” on my own. The visit to Kordestan Province in Iran sparked my curiosity about the Kurds and drew me back to learn more in the following years.

“Kurdistan: Field Notes” is the first part of a two-part series from this personal project. It is a visual record of my experience on numerous journeys to Kurdish-inhabited regions in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Each image tells stories of the lives and complex history of the Kurds based on keywords that will give a broad overview of the Kurds, the world’s largest ethnic group without a country of their own.

For my reflection on the fate of the Kurds, read Part 2 “The Other Side of the Mountains."

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Also by Athikhom Saengchai —

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The Other Side of the Mountains

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