Yassin Aref is a Kurd from Iraq. He was a resident of Albany, New York. He was unfairly accused of supporting terrorists and sent to a special prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. The purpose of this site is to tell you who Yassin Aref really is and his interesting story; his struggle as a Kurd in Iraq, how he survived the Anfal genocide, his struggle for freedom, his journey to America with his family; and above all, how he ended up in prison. To learn of his story and about the Kurdish struggle for rights and liberty, Yassin wrote for you his life's story, Son of Mountains.

If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or criticisms, we would love to hear from you. Please email your comments to Lynne Jackson or send comments via postal mail to Yassin Aref.

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Welcome Democracy Now! Listeners

Read “Dead Life in a Political Prison” as mentioned in the broadcast

Read about Dr. Rafil Dhafir, the Muslim Solidarity
Committee and more information about the CMU-
"Little Guantanamo" on the Links page here

Read more about the CMU Prisons

“Little Guantanamo”–Secretive ‘CMU’ Prisons Designed to Restrict Communication of
Jailed Muslims and Activists With Outside World
Broadcast on Democracy Now! April 17, 2009

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Read more about unjustly prosecuted Muslims at Project SALAM
Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims

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Open Letter to President Talabani

BAREZ MAM JALAL, SALAW WA REZ

Dear President Talabani,

How great and beautiful it is that I, an Iraqi citizen––even a Kurdish Iraqi––can write to the president directly! And that I feel I even have the right to criticize, without fear of being disappeared! This was not possible in the time of the dictator. Our dream for decades was to have the government and a president represent us, protect our rights, and care for us. Now, for the first time, we Kurds exist! Thank God the tyranny against our people in Iraq, especially in Kurdistan, is over––now Kurds are not second- and third-class citizens, and a Kurd is the president of Iraq. While a few years ago this would have been an unfulfilled dream, now it’s real; the dictator is gone and a new dawn is upon us in our great country.

You have a great responsibility and a big chance to show the world that the time of darkness, injustice, and humiliation in Iraq is over; it’s a new day and a new Iraq. The president is there for all citizens regardless of their race, ideas, party, or social status––he is there for all Iraqis, inside and outside the country.

I wrote a letter similar to this one to Kak Masoud Barzani, and all of what I said to Kak Masoud applies equally to you, because you are the Iraqi president now and I am an Iraqi citizen. I know and understand that the situation in Iraq is hard, and that there are many challenges and big problems, and that it will take time to end decades of war, injustice, and instability. But at the same time this should never justify what took place in our country. The Iraqi people paid the highest price, and they still don’t see the fruit of all their sacrifices. They expected real change in their lives, thought that law and justice would come, and wanted their country to be an example for peaceful modern life.

In the free world, no country neglects or accepts humiliation of its citizens, or allows any other government to target and persecute them. It’s possible and easy for everyone in Iraq to make excuses and pardon themselves for what has been happening, but that doesn’t change the fact that everyone is responsible and must do what he can. The president’s duty is to protect his citizens, their rights and their dignity, and restore the law and protect the Constitution.

It is sad that millions of our citizens are suffering and being humiliated in refugee camps. And many of our citizens are unfairly targeted and imprisoned, especially in neighboring countries. What has this new government done for them? You know that tens of thousands of our citizens are behind bars without a court order or any charges against them. Many of them have been tortured and are still being tortured! How can you accept that? What kind of change and freedom have you struggled for all your life? How can you accept being president of a country whose citizens have no rights? Is their blood cheaper than oil?

I believe you are really unhappy with the situation, and I know you are playing a great role in terms of reconciliation and unity. I know others have been trying to limit your power and authority, but your history and personality, not your title, are your power. You should not accept the humiliation of any of your citizens under any circumstances––you must protect their rights and dignity. You should take it upon yourself to learn how the people are doing, and let no one and nothing prevent you or separate you from the people. Living in a castle––or in the protected Green Zone––and leaving people to die everywhere, even in their homes and schools, with bodies on the streets, is not a good example of leadership!

Umar bin Khatab, when he was Caliph, used to walk through the city at night to see if there were any homeless people needing shelter or poor people needing food, and even when everything was going right he used to say, "Even if an animal is wronged under my authority, I am responsible for it." When Muetasam was Caliph in Baghdad, and he heard that an Iraqi woman was jailed in Rome, he sent the army to bring her back and then freed her. I certainly am not asking you to send in the army, and I do not want another war! But I am asking you: what you have done for me and for thousands of other citizens who are imprisoned and suffering in foreign jails––have you even heard about us?

What kind of friend and ally are you and your government to America while it targets your citizens and prosecutes them for their political benefit? I am just one example. Mr. President, I have been targeted, prosecuted, and jailed in America for being stateless. I have never committed any crime, I was never aware of any plan for one, and I never did or even said anything I should be in prison for––but no one is better and easier than a Kurd and an Iraqi immigrant to make a scapegoat for justifying a policy!

Did America ask your permission and inform you of this? Did America tell you what it was going to do to me ahead of time? Did America inform you after the fact? If it did, why and how could you accept this? At least you could have sent someone to interview me and find out who I was, and if America did not inform you either before or after, what kind of friend and ally is Iraq to America? Do you think anything similar can be done to a European or Australian citizen? Why not? Those countries respect their citizens and protect them––so what is the new government in the new Iraq doing about stateless Kurds and poor immigrants from the Middle East like me? Who will care about them, if not you? What about your ambassador in Washington: did he send you any reports about me and my case? Or is he busy with politics, and his politics had nothing to do with protecting Iraqi individuals and families, especially immigrants? I know that for many other foreign prisoners here, their ambassadors have sent someone to visit them, or they themselves came and visited them, wrote to them, or helped their families. And those countries are not even American allies––but they respect their citizens.

In Iraq up until now, no one knows for sure how many Iraqis have died; the gap between the “official” number of dead and the number from an independent organization is 800,000. Yes, dear Mr. President, I am talking about 800,000 Iraqi lives and bodies, not dollars! For decades, Iraqi dictators used thousands of Kurdish lives: brought them to a laboratory and tested all kind of chemicals on them, cut many others to pieces and sold their hearts or kidneys or other body parts. Millions of Iraqis––including me––fled our beloved country to avoid this fate and save our families––but look what happened to us!

It seems that the blood of millions of Iraqis has been spent in vain and there is no real change. We are not liberated until we have rights equal to any U.S. citizen’s. There is no way America would accept it if the Iraqi government did to its citizens what America has done to me. If you do nothing, it means that you accept and agree with what America has done––and if you do accept it, please don’t blame anyone when he wishes for the time of the dictator. In fact, there is no difference between the dictator and the present if Iraqi citizens have no rights, if the Iraqi government does not care and does not protect its citizens, if Iraqi blood is not sacred, if Iraqis are suffering. If Iraqis’ own government does not respect them, how will anyone else?

I believe it is my right to blame you more than the president of Kurdistan because:

1. All my life in Iraq I lived in the area controlled by your party (PUK), and thousands of my friends willingly gave their lives for independence. I grew up with them, I helped them, I loved them, and I knew when, where, and how their lives ended. I cannot forget them, and I feel that this new Iraq is not worthy of their sacrifices. It’s your duty to show that their blood was not spilled in vain.

2. Your own son, Mr. Qubad, is the Kurdish representative here in the U.S., and I believe he knows about my case, but he has never come to my aid, never sent someone to speak with me, and never spoken to my family, even just to ask who I am and what happened. Even if I were a criminal (which everyone knows I am not), my wife and children are clearly innocent, and they have the right to hear something from their representative!

3. Your government has good relations with America, and you have an ambassador in Washington. But what is he doing about my case?

4. I met you and spoke to you when you visited Syria in 1998. Of course you don’t remember me, but I remember what you told us. You assured us that the Iraqi regime would change because the American Congress had just approved support for the groups opposing Saddam! You turned out to be exactly right: Saddam is gone, there is a new government and president, the regime had changed, there is even a new flag––but the peoples’ lives are no better.

Dear Mr. President, are you aware that in the new Iraq:

- one million Iraqis have died and four million are refugees;
- more than 50,000 Iraqis are behind bars on the orders of your government or the American government, yet they have not been charged with any crime;
- torture is still used;
- children still die from lack of medicine and malnutrition;
- Iraqi life has no value and ethnic cleansing is rampant;
- fear, gun violence, poverty, and unemployment are spreading everywhere in the country;
- no one cares about the law, no one reads the Constitution, and Baghdad has become Mogadishu or Kabul, rather than London or New York.

Are those the changes you struggled for for fifty years? Are those the changes for which a million Kurds sacrificed? Iraqis deserve freedom and a better life, and it is your responsibility to do everything you can to obtain it for them.

Finally, I am sorry if this letter is not polite and some words are harsh. I hope you understand my situation, and certainly I have a great deal of respect for you and your history of struggle, but it’s hard for me to read every day in the newspapers and hear in the media that Kurds are the best allies and friends to America, because in America I am a victim twice over: first of the American government, which ruined my life and my family by making me a scapegoat to justify some of their policies; and second, of many Muslims, who look at all Kurds as betrayers and American workers. I hope you will not accept this.

I am looking forward to seeing what my government will do for me, and what my president is going to order on my behalf. My hope is also to see peace, justice, and freedom in our beloved country and in the world. I pray to God to keep you healthy and to help you bring all of Iraq’s people together and end their suffering. The Iraqi people deserve to get their rights back, and to live peacefully with honor and freedom.

Be safe and do your best for our country.

Assalamalaikum
Respectfully,
Yassin Aref
12778-052
USP Marion
P.O. Box 1000
Marion, Illinois 62959

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Open the Door

IN MEMORY OF DR. KING, AND BY INSPIRATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF HIS DREAM, I SHOUTED FROM MY CELL"OPEN THE DOOR!"

Open the door
Do not claim
there is a law
preventing me
from hugging my baby!

Stop phony mendacity
For me to shake
the hands of my children––
how that will jeopardize
the national security?

Do not tell me
you have the right
to ruin my home
to destroy my family
to punish my children
to cut off my kin
because I am in prison!

Open the door
You know I am not a criminal
I did nothing
I am here
paying for your leaders’ wrong policy
a victim
of the government's corruption

In the name of democracy
they took this country back
to the Dark Ages
they established
an Inquisition
they humiliated human beings
they used torture
they spread enmity
between people and nations

Open the door!
Enough! Stop your aggression!
I did not commit any sin
If not for false accusations,
if the government had not disabled
the entire justice system,
right now I would be free
living with my family
Your leaders should be here
in my current position!

Yassin
1-19-09
Dr. King’s Day

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Yassin Aref, February, 2009 Photo taken at the CMU in Terra Haute, IN

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LA AWI LELA RAW AKA

(which means, “He is hunting in dirty water”)

This is the way Kurds describe hypocrites and selfish people who are looking for any opportunity to take personal advantage of [a situation]. Such people are like bacteria: they can survive only on dirt and corruption, and chaos is their favorite season. In a normal situation, they can’t get anything, so they are looking for an opportunity to get people. They take advantage of someone’s poverty, or sickness, or lack of knowledge, to misguide him and trick him.

The root of this proverb is true: when the river is not clear [muddy] after the rain, and the fish can’t see, you can catch them. Many times after a rain, I used to go to the small river [near my village] and search under the rocks in the water and catch fish. Kurds use this [proverb] for anyone who tricks people when they don’t know something or [when they don’t have] something they need.

How sad it is when a person looks for sincere advice or a little help, but someone uses this as “unclear [dirty] water” and hunts him, misguides him, or takes his money:
- When the businessman holds and hides his goods until people [really] need them, and then doubles his price, he is hunting in dirty water.
- When someone tricks a stranger or foreigner and sells him something for a much higher [price] than it should be, he’s hunting in dirty water.
- When someone looks for an opportunity to destroy relations between two people, or parties, or nations, when he gets the chance he is hunting in dirty water.

What kind of human being looks for people’s pain and suffering [so he can] take advantage of them and make life harder for them? This proverb tells us that these people are hunting in dirty water if they take advantage of when the fish can’t see! We must all be careful of them, and if we know them [know who they are] we must warn others to avoid them. Can you imagine if you are sick and have too much pain, and you need to go to the hospital, and the driver knows that and asks you to pay double price—and if you don’t, he won’t take you? Or you are a foreigner who doesn’t know the language, and you ask someone what is the word for “thank you” and he tells you something bad instead––which, if you say it, will get you in trouble? Kurds say such people are wolves in a sheep’s skin.* So this proverb tells us to know these sorts of people, and avoid them.

* Westerners know the saying as, “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

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BARDE NAZAN BIKHATA GOMWA BA HAZAR ZANA DAR NAYA

(which means, “The stone thrown in the river by a thousand foolish intellectuals can’t be brought out”)

How many disasters have we seen or gone through, and fools and ignorance brought them upon us? Starting from zero is much easier than fixing and building what is unprofessional, what was made by ignorance—when the foundation of a wall is cracked, it’s impossible to straighten the wall. It’s not right that we see in every nation millions of their scholars and scientists suffering because of what their [nation’s] fools have done. This universe works best as a highly organized system; do not accept corruption or mistakes. Life will be beautiful and will go smoothly when people understand the laws of nature (the basic rules that everything works from) and follow them. Any transgressions of the laws of nature will cost us dearly. These laws are the challenge and guidebook for using this planet. If we follow them, we will enjoy using the planet and it will last for us. If we do not follow them, we will damage our planet and it will become useless for us.

We should not allow ignorant and arrogant ones to destroy our planet. The healing [aspect] of this is that we should never say or do anything until we know it’s right, and that we are doing it in the perfect way. Throwing stones into the darkness [into the river] and waiting for chance, or looking for an accident, takes us nowhere and gives us no future. Anything we get by chance or accident very rarely happens again, but anything we make by following the laws of nature will remain as long as our planet lasts. In Kurdistan, they give an example of how hard it is to fix what ignorant people have done. Someone smokes a cigarette in summer when the grass is dry. So when he finishes [the cigarette], he throws it away without [making sure] it is turned off [put out]. Then the grass catches fire and houses and villages burn down, and thousands of people are not able to turn off [put out] the fire that the fool lighted.

The only way to end and prevent the disasters that fools bring upon us is to not do anything until we know it’s right, and we know why we do it and how we should do it. Those who can’t control themselves, or who don’t want to control themselves, we should control by law.

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PET BAQAD BARAKAI KHOT RAKESHA

(which means, “Extend your leg [feet] on your carpet,” or usually it means “Stay within your limits”)

No doubt, knowing ourselves and our abilities is the first step for success if we [want to] stop [stay] within our limits. I am not going to argue with philosophers about the definition of a human being, but I accept their philosophy that knowing ourselves is the key for knowing our universe and our Creator. But this proverb is not for teaching us who we are, and it does not explain for us our planet. If you would like to know something about this, I recommend that you read Dr. Alexis Carlyle’s book, Human, That Unknown Creature.

Kurds, who were mostly poor and lived in mountainous areas, struggled to survive and did not have an opportunity to educate themselves, and there were not a lot of philosophers among them, but they learned from life and experience, and by their nature understood who they were! Until now, I myself have not spent time reading philosophical arguments about where we came from: we are here, and this is the fact. So I will share with you this Kurdish proverb, which instead of arguing about where we came from, tells us what we should do [to live properly]. It’s easy and simple: “Do not do anything that is bigger than you are, [or that exceeds] your ability.” Each of us has different capacities and we know our abilities; this proverb tells us to stop there, within our limits.

When people try to do whatever they are not good at, or have no knowledge of, or have no means for doing, or [find that the action] is far ahead of their ability, they will never be successful, but will end up in corruption. When, in Kurdistan, they see someone try things that are above his capacity, they tell him, extend your feet on your carpet! When someone claims [that he has done] things that are impossible for him to have done, Kurds tell him, stop [stay] in your limits. This is really true today. All the economists are approving this [not staying within your limits] economically, as the scientists do scientifically, but with that we hear that banks are declaring bankruptcy, and we read a lot of sad stories about people and what happened to them because of loans (credit cards) and payments. Some people end up in tragedy, and others end up living under stress because they don’t know how to pay back [their loans], and they can’t make all these [different] payments. It’s not fair: many companies push people and deceive them by advertisements to take [over] the loans, or to use [another] credit card, and after that people are in trouble [trying] to make the payments. Some people have car or house payments for the next 10 or 20 years; if anything happens [to them]––they get sick or lose their jobs––they will lose everything. We start to hear about banks and companies declaring bankruptcy––this is all because they extend their legs [farther] than their carpets. This Kurdish proverb tells us we should spend only what we have.

- We must do only what we can, and we should say or ask only what is possible. A famous and pious ruler, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, heard that his son had bought a ring for 1,000 dirhams. At that time it was a very expensive ring. So he wrote to his son advising him, "It has reached me that you bought a ring for 1,000 dirhams. Sell the ring and feed a thousand people. And buy another ring for 2 dirhams and inscribe on it 'May Allah have Mercy on the one who knows himself (ability) and who stops within his own limits!'"

- How many people break their backs because they carry weight they can’t [manage]?

- How many people lie because they are not able to return [pay] a loan on time, and how many of them are stressed by paying back a loan that they used for unnecessary things?

- How many people break their promises because they promised what is bigger than themselves [their abilities]?

- It’s beautiful to drive a new car, but if you can’t get one, it’s no shame to drive an old one!

- It’s nice to live in a huge house, but if you can’t afford it, it’s fine to live in a small one.

- It’s easy to go shopping and eat in restaurants––if you have extra money. But if not, it’s foolish to [pay] by loan and credit card.

Hopefully this proverb helps you to know your limits and to stop within them.

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Written for Albany March, 8/22/08 (read by Kathy Manley), and for Muslim Innocence Conference, 8/23/08

My Dear Friends and Justice Seekers,

Thank you very much for coming together and supporting me and my family––this gives me hope and makes me believe the truth will come out and justice will take place. In my tradition we say that the rights people struggle for will never truly be lost. As long as you are standing for justice, my rights will remain. I will lose my rights and it will be over only when you give up!

As a Kurd my history is full of bitter memories, and as an Iraqi there are many sad occasions in my country. But I was always opposed to reviving them, not because they were not tragic and remarkable, but because I was afraid that such memories might push the new generation to revenge and put hate in their hearts. I was not in favor of re-opening our wounds; instead I wanted to leave the past and look toward the future. I believed reconciliation and unity required us to forget the past and forgive each other for the sake of our children’s future, and in order to rebuild our lives and our country. I still believe that. I know what you are doing is different even though the occasion is sad, and you are remembering the tragedy that happened to me and my family––there is no hate and no revenge here. Our message today is very clear.

1) The government must know:
• You reject what they did to us and our families;
• They must stop setting up plots and terrorizing people;
• They must stop framing innocent people and destroying their families;
• They must stop politicizing the justice system;
• They must stop targeting the Muslim community and its organizations, centers and mosques;
• They must stop jailing peaceful family men for election propaganda;
• They must stop wasting your tax money by following, watching and wiretapping law-abiding people.

2) You are here today to tell the government that there is no room in this country for secret courts and secret evidence.

3) You are here today to tell the government that their duty is to protect the citizens and legal residents; to protect the law and the Constitution; to protect people’s rights and freedoms; to protect people’s privacy and property––to look at them equally and establish justice, not destroy it. You must do what you can to keep this country from becoming a police state.

4) You are here today to tell the Muslim community that they have the right to practice their religion and not live in fear. We are all living together and we are neighbors––we should trust each other and not allow the government to separate us.

5) You are here today to tell the courts that they must remain independent and must protect the people, not act as tools for the government. We are asking the courts to correct their mistakes and return the rights to the people.

6) You are here today to tell the world that you are against the war and that you need peace and good relations between all the nations.

You are supporting justice; you are seeking the truth; you are telling the world that you need America to lead by example, not by force. Hopefully everyone will see and hear you.

Again, thank you very much for your time and your support. Please stay firm till we reach freedom.

I am sure you will not forget my family, and that you will make sure my children are taken care of.

May God bless you all.

Yours in peace,
Yassin Aref
CMU, Indiana
August, 2008

 

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To the Children of Palestine

Palestinian and Kurdish children need our love and care. We should always talk
and write about them and about children everywhere. They must never be the
victims of our actions.

Oh children of Palestine,
to whom do you call?
Your friends in the West are sleeping,
your brothers in the East are dead!

Between Gaza and Ramallah
between most Arab countries
between blood brothers
there is continuous war
cold and hot
indicative of the untruth of our motto,
"the unity of the Arab nation"!

We have put our people under siege to die
we abandoned the truth and history
we gave up entirely on the cause
we have come to speak with the tongues of others
we blame and accuse the victims
we accuse the children of Gaza of terrorism
we permitted their blood to be spilled by invaders
we left them to the mercy of
smart bombs, white phosphorus
and Apache helicopters!

Oh children of Palestine,
due you is my greeting of respect and honor
You die only once with dignity
while we die every day––rather every minute––
consumed in the flames of humiliation and disgrace!

Where are the Muslim leaders?
They must be coming
but not to aid their children
rather they are coming to the Western capitals
to congratulate the conjurer
and to declare their own innocence
from their peoples’ demonstrations!

Oh children of Gaza, your severed limbs in the streets
and your blood in the alleys
are testimony to the truthfulness of
the callers for democracy
You will prove the success of their plan
for the new Middle East:
to spread peace
and establish the Palestinian state!

2009 by Yassin Aref

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O Who Lives in My Heart

O you who lives in my heart
you are the most beautiful song ever I wrote
O the most valuable thing in my life
O who you keeps my thought busy
you are the most beautiful memory-
and the most pretty flower in my garden
dont think you are a stranger
nor confined in my heart
you are sitting on the throne
you are commander in the control room
I am stripped of free will
I am confined by your wish.

O who lives in my heart
do you feel my chests fire?
my hot blood and warm love?
do you hear my crying voice?
do you see my eye's teer?
when will your heart soften,
and release your prisnor?

my only hope before I die-
is To permit me one visit
to see your smiling face
or to receive a letter from your hand
" from your beloved to her lover
greeting of longing and respect"
that will be enough
then I will close my eyes peacefully.

2009 by Yassin Aref

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New Year's Letter from Yassin

Dear Friends:

Our lives are spent between fear and hope. As long as we live, we never free ourselves from them. Of course, our concerns differ based on age, need, time, environment, position, etc. It’s normal to have, and hold, both fear and hope simultaneously. But we must balance them. One factor must not overcome the other. Hope overtaken by fear leads to weakness and pessimism, yet hope absent of fear can cause laziness and carelessness. Just as concern motivates us to work hard to prevent hazards and dangers from occurring on our planet, we also need hope to strengthen us and make us patient as we struggle to realize our dreams.

The new year is a good occasion for all of us to take account of ourselves, to reflect on our accomplishments and setbacks of the previous year, and to renew our lists of goals for the coming year, setting them in order based on priority. It’s true there is no end to our needs; as we grow, our needs grow with us proportionately. If we ask people about their hopes and fears, we will hear many different dreams and concerns. Each person will have his/her own opinion about ideal living conditions, yet few worry themselves with the problems that affect the entire planet and humanity as a whole. Maybe we forget that such dilemmas will have an impact on our own lives also. We must focus some of our energy and efforts toward rectifying the general issues that affect us all. We have to set definite goals aimed at education and at benefiting the people. If a unified effort is not made, perhaps we will be the victims of our own actions. Perhaps we will pay for not fulfilling our responsibilities.

The following is a list of some of the threats we are going to face in the new year or in the near future. Please make working hard to prevent them a part of your new year's resolutions, and whenever possible inform and warn people about them.

1. Economic crisis/recession
I am not an economist, but I know that worldwide the downward spiral of the economy will affect the lives of millions in different ways. History has clearly proven to us that hunger and unemployment leads to fighting and conflict. Many people have their own ideas about how to solve this crisis, but few strike at the root of the matter, thus leaving us where we are today. We need to make real, fundamental changes in our way of spending and in our spending habits. Food, energy, and other resources should never be wasted.

2. Poverty/necessity
It’s good to follow the reports from the UN (and from other humanitarian organizations) dealing with hunger and food shortages in different parts of the world. You will be shocked to find out how many people at this very moment have no place to rest. You won’t believe the number of people who go to bed hungry every night, who have no clean water to drink, who are living with sickness and pain, deprived of medical treatment and proper medication, who are living in darkness with no electricity. Let us reflect how we feel when the power in our own homes goes out, when we miss a meal, or when we experience the pain from injury or sickness––and then let us remember that for millions worldwide, this is their everyday plight.

3. Global warming and climate change
Those who know me know how much I worry and talk about this issue. In fact, I wanted to place this issue number one on the list, but I felt that the previous two threats have a more immediate effect on many people, and while the majority of people may have trouble understanding our environmental challenges, they can easily relate to poverty and unemployment. I, however, truly grasp the serious nature of this threat. I am a student and supporter of Mr. Al Gore, and I encourage you to support him and his organization or to join any other organization that is working to reduce humanity's negative impact on the environment, which may soon leave millions homeless, jobless, hungry, and sick.

4. War and conflict
How sad it is to see human beings destroying the planet instead of humanely building it up. Instead of saving lives, lives are ended. With just a fraction of the money and energy we are spending to wage war, we could provide food and medication for all the world’s needy. It’s shameful to increase the number of refugees, homeless, injured, sick, and poor while we fail to prepare for and recognize Mother Nature's warning signal––global warming. We can claim whatever we want, but history, reality, and fact tell us that war is just a distraction, and it’s the wrong way to go about achieving any good.

5. Sickness and disease
Do you know how many people worldwide suffer from HIV/AIDS and cancer and don’t have access to the proper medication? Do you know how many people here in the U.S., the richest country in the world, live without medical insurance?

Although there are many, many more concerns that need to be listed, I just wanted to remind you of some of them, with the hope that you will add them to your list of personal concerns. Surely they will have a profound effect on the lives of millions, and there will be no fleeing or safety from them. I hope this will motivate us all to change our behavior and to make us understand our great responsibility. We need to ask ourselves every single day, what can we do to help solve the problems plaguing humanity?

But as we welcome the new year, there are also plenty of good signs, and new discoveries should encourage us to start the new year with hope and to be optimistic. Let me remind you of some of them:

A) There are many good, honest, restless scholars and scientists who work hard at solving our problems and innovating new concepts to make our lives easier. Their discoveries in neurological research, for example, have shed light on some of the mysteries of the function of the brain, and this may soon aid us in curing and preventing many diseases.

B) The new treatment for cancer is another big discovery, which promises to be of benefit to millions now suffering from this devastating ailment.

C) There are many wise people who have dedicated themselves to lives of peace. They are coming together and working to promote better understanding among the people of the world by calling for dialogue, peaceful relations, and peaceful coexistence between nations, sects, races, and religions instead of fighting. We should appreciate what they are standing and working for, and help them in every possible way to make that dream a reality.

D) The achievements of the peace-seekers and justice-lovers of the anti-war and civil rights movements are on the rise. Each year millions of new people join them. We should find hope and glad tidings in the new loud voices we hear from these groups.

E) People are tired of war, tired of being lied to, tired of racism; hopefully they will stand up for truth and justice and refuse to sacrifice their lives and the lives of their beloved ones for warlords and their interests and bloody business in the name of security.

Let us look forward, wish and hope for the best, and do whatever we can to make a difference. Please stay strong and keep firm. If we have the will and patience, we can make it.

I ask God for His mercy and guidance for all of us, and I WISH YOU ALL A BEAUTIFUL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Yours in concern,
Yassin Aref

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HAMO SHTE LA BARIKIDA ABRETAWA
TANHA ZULM NABE LA ASTORIA'
which mean "things will end after becoming thin and weak but wrong and aggression will end after becoming thick and strong.”

With all the corruption and accidents we see in this world, all the senseless events happening here and there, still, if we look deeply and study the reasons, we will find out this Universe is running according to rules which will never change. Do not be disappointed when you see fools in high places; illiterates teaching philosophy; ignorant men preaching; racists talking of love; and peaceful, educated, pious family men falsely accused and discriminated against! We are living in a time when things are upside down - this unusual situation will not last because it’s unjust and against the rule of nature.

I know human corruption and pollution will affect our planet, bring disaster upon us and make our lives harder, but no one can change any fundamental natural law of this Universe. Any power, wealth, joy and success which does not fit into the natural law is the fruit of corruption, and the abnormal situation should not deceive us.

We Kurds have been victims for centuries and are paying a high price for corrupt and wrong policies, but we faced all the aggression and genocide by saying, “things will end after becoming thin and weak but wrong and aggression will end after becoming thick and strong."

As "Malik bin Nabi"* says, any civilization will go through three stages as human beings go through life.

The first stage is the beginning which is small and weak like a baby or young child.

The second stage is power and strength like a youth or man in his prime.

The third stage is corruption and disease like an old and sick man. Then will come the end – death.

Look at any civilization - when it started it was small and weak; then it became strong and powerful; finally it became corrupted and came to an end.

Read about any party, group, organization, revolution or school which was built by good people and leaders who wanted to end corruption and make a difference. What happened to them after they achieved success?

Maybe they made some changes, built for awhile and stayed clean. Then they themselves became corrupted and needed to be removed from power by a new revolution!

As hard as it is to reach some goals, keeping them in sight after we reach is even more important, and even harder. We can build and increase things until we complete them, but for how long can we keep them after they are complete? We can improve a situation and correct it until it becomes perfect but then what is going to happen? As Umar bin Khatab said, "there is nothing after completion, only loss…"**

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND IMPORTANT STAGE IN OUR LIVES IS THE STAGE OF BUILDING AND STRUGGLING TO REACH OUR GOALS. Heroes throughout history are those who lived and struggled in the times of building and reform.

This proverb tells us that if anyone understands the rules of nature and follows them, he will have peace in his mind, tranquility in his heart, and he will stay hopeful and patient. He will not be deceived by fools and tyrants; he knows that they will come to a tragic end, and no one will be truly happy and successful in that way. Their power and aggression will only increase the madness and doubt in their hearts, because wrong and aggression will not fit into the beauty of this Universe and will not last under the laws of nature.

You can read history and look around you - you will find out what happened to those who have tricked, cheated, harmed and destroyed people's lives for their own benefit.

Justice and truth can be hidden and delayed but surely no one can end them. They will never die and always they will return and appear once more. When in 1988 Saddam destroyed Halabja* in a chemical attack, I was - like all Kurds - very sad and angry. One day I were sitting by myself and thinking about Halabja and other acts of genocide against my people. My friend Rizgar came and said, "they are going to finish us. Look, now they’ve started using gas and dropping chemicals on us" I told him that we are a nation with a long history, and we have the truth in our hands. And we are the oppressed, not the aggressor. No one can put an end to us. "Halabja" will mean their end rather than ours. I started to mention some examples from history where abuse of power and extreme aggression resulted in the end of the aggressors, not their victims. Look what happened to Pharaoh and his army. What about Hitler? Where is Stalin and his army? But Kak Rizgar was not optimistic at all. He said “we will see.”

After a couple months the Anfal operation started and Saddam's Army destroyed almost all of the Kurdish villages and many small cities. At least 182,000 innocent Kurds were murdered and buried in mass grave - most of them buried alive. When I saw Kak Rizgar I was completely speechless and I was not able to look in his eyes which were full of tears. He said, "look, I told you they are going to end the Kurds." Again I told him Anfal is another big step toward their end not ours, and hopefully it will come soon. Do not forget, I said, "everything will end when it’s weak - only aggression will end when it’s strong." Two and a half years later Halabja was a completely free city and Saddam’s Army had collapsed and fled from all the destroyed areas. I went to see Kak Rizgar and said, “show me, where is the aggressor’s army now? What happened to their power? Who has been ended?”

Kak Rizgar hugged me and asked how I knew this was going to happen. I told him I learned from history and understood it from the natural laws of this Universe. He said, “but it took two and a half years.” I told him that two and a half years is nothing for change like this. The end of tyrants and fascist regimes sometimes will take decades, even centuries, rather than two and a half years.

Whenever any tyrant or bloody regime crosses all the borders; when they go beyond what we can imagine; when they humiliate people and shed their blood; when they became more and more arrogant and believe they own and control everything under the sun, then we know their end is near. Let us never be deceived by aggression and never become arrogant, but remain humble and do what we know to be right. No one can win in the end by doing wrong, and no real successes can be achieved by aggression.

The natural law of this Universe tells us we cannot reach the right solution until we have the right formula - the correct result is the fruit of the perfect means.

Permalink for SHTE LA BARIKIDA ABRETAWA TANHA ZULM NABE LA ASTORIA'

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Pack Up

what do I have to pack it up?
where can I go?
I am just a stranger
for decades I have been looking
for a kind heart
for an open mind
for soul's mate

since Adam fallen from the sky
I have been searching for the promised land
I went to Greece
learned Ploto's wisdom and argument
but never saw
his utopian city!
I read Torah,Gospel and Koran
but no where on the plant
can justice and God's kingdom
to be found!
I memorized the communist manifesto.
I shouted for equality
but never lived with people
in socialist community!

certainly I am not a tourist
even not a traveler,
for decades I have been walking
packing my mind,
packing my heart,
searching to find the land
where people are free
living in peace
feeling and receiving the love
Preserving humans dignity.

now.how ever
I have more "bad news" for you
finally I discovered
what we saw, was a Mirage
we are living in the desert
no matter which way or how far we go
theres no droop of water "to be find"!

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Stranger

when I was living with you,
in our private spring,
covered by the warmth of your love,
your hands were always holding mine
or tied around my neck.
It was our country's spring ,too,
and the sun was always bright.
and yet, even then, my beloved,
I felt I was stranger!

yes, I was a stranger
to so much of the world.
my thought and mind heart
were so focused on my beliefs
and goals that
my eyes could barely see
and my ears could barely hear.

this is human's nature
even if we live together
in a crowd home and city
as long as our thoughts and hearts
did not meet
as long as our souls,
did not match,
we must be stranger.

at that time, in my Village
every night
in my solitary meeting
with the Moon
i would tell it
My story.

i am a prisoner now,
fearful and a lone.
there is no bright sun.
there is no listening moon.
I cannot see or touch you, my beloved.
they stoled our spring.
Now i am truly stranger.

2008 by Yassin Aref

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Ema zido kuzi mrdo parsteen

“We ignore and neglect our people till they die”

Many of us don’t understand or realize the importance of the people who live with us, until they leave us. If each of us would take some time to think about the beloved people we have lost, we would feel sorry and regretful for not taking more advantage of their presence. We could have learned more from them, had more fun with them, shared more time and ideas with them, and served them more before they died. But it’s too late now, and we can’t bring back either them or the time to do that. It is amazing that we don’t learn from our mistakes, and it’s not acceptable to most of us that we repeat the same [patterns] over and over. And so we lose the opportunity that we have to make a difference with those who are still with us now!

We do not know the importance of many people around us: we don’t know who they really are, and we do not put them in their right place [in our lives]. If we feel sorry for not having done enough for our parents, let us use the opportunity that we have to do for our children whatever we didn’t do for our parents. And if our parents are still with us, let us either take more benefit from them, or else use the opportunity we have with our children to do for them whatever we wish our parents had done for us.

We feel sad when we remember our beloved friends who left us, but that should not make us do anything differently with those friends who are still with us now!

As a nation, we Kurds never got the chance to balance our relationships and organize our time, because of the hardship and the situation we lived in. In fact, many of us worried only about saving our own lives, and it was not possible to think about people around us. That’s why we say we are Ema zido kuzi mrdo parsteen, which literally means, “We kill those who live with us, and then after their deaths we worship them”! I have no doubt that many Kurds were forced to behave like this because of their difficult lives and troubled situations, which did not allow them to lead normal lives. In a time of fear, hunger, conflict, and trouble, no one can think clearly and see things perfectly.

If a person doesn’t have anything to eat, how can he take care of his neighbor?

If a person doesn’t have a job, how can he find a job for his friend?

How can someone sponsor an orphan while his own children are hungry?

In a situation like this, it’s very hard for people to balance their lives. It’s true that a nation’s history and memory will keep the great people alive, but while they’re alive why do we not recognize them, understand what it means to have them, take as much as we can from their wisdom, appreciate them, serve them, and show them how important they are to us? This would make them happy and encourage them to do much more before they leave us.

       How many of us learned from a scholar? And how many of us now feel sorry for not getting more from, or doing more for, that scholar, whom we used to know but now is gone?

       How many of us wish that our parents had spent more time with us, and that we would now have more memories of [time with] them? But how many of us are now encouraging our own children to have the same [sad] wish?

       How many of us learned from those who lost their parents and who now regret that they did not serve them more or take better care of them? But how many of us now take advantage of the presence of our parents and do whatever we can for them, so that tomorrow we will not have the same regrets? We need to take advantage of our health, wealth, power, and life to do the best we can for them before we lose them. Our time is short, our life is limited, and it will soon be gone. If we do not use it wisely, we will be losers.

       One day Imam Ali visited a graveyard with some of his friends. Then he said, "O people who are in the graves, do you want to know what has happened after you left? Let me tell you: your wives are remarried now, your wealth has been inherited, and your homes have been occupied by others.” Then he said [directly] to the graves, “Do you want to tell us your news?” and he turned his face toward his friends and said, “Do you know what they would say if they could answer? They would say, ‘We should do more good, when we die we will take nothing with us, we will leave money, wealth, and property, but of all that we had, only our good deeds will remain with us.’" 

       I still remember when they assassinated Dr. Qasmlo.* One day I was talking to one of my friends about it, how sad it was and how it was going to affect the Kurdish cause. While we were talking, another friend came in and told us about the new tape by Razazi** and his beautiful song for Qasmlo. He had the tape with him, and we listened to the song "O Lalo,"*** which was really heartbreaking and beautiful. But my friend got mad and started to criticize Razazi.

       I told him that the song was very good and Qasmlo was worth more than that, that this was just part of Razazi's appreciation for what Qasmlo had done for our nation.

       My friend said yes, I was right, but he said it in a disapproving way…then he said, “But why did Razazi not appreciate Qasmlo before his death? For a decade Razazi had been talking against Qasmlo and cursing him for not being a real socialist, but now after his death Razazi cries for him and calls him uncle!”

       I smiled and said, “This only proves that Razazi is a real Kurd and is showing his patriotism.”

       My friend looked at me in a strange way and asked, “How?”

       “Because,” I said, “we are Kurd zido kuzi mrdo parsteen (“We Kurds ignore our people till they die"), and Razazi is still a Kurd, so he can’t be an exception!” Then my friend laughed and agreed with me.

       In Kurdistan we use this proverb when someone praises or cries about or does anything in the memory of the dead one, especially when we know he was not appreciated while he was alive. If a person doesn’t listen to his dad, doesn’t obey his mom, doesn’t respect his brother, argues with his teacher, doesn’t go to any poetry seminars, doesn’t attend any philosophers’ lectures, and doesn’t ask or learn anything from a scholar––what’s the benefit, when he loses them, to cry for them after they’re dead? Whoever does this, we say this proverb to him! 

_____
*Abdurahman Qasmlo was a Kurdish writer who wrote many beautiful books about Kurdish history. He was one of the most modern and honest of the Kurdish politicians and leaders. When he was assassinated in Prague, the Czech capital, he was head of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party.

**Nasiri Razazi is a famous Kurdish singer with a very nice voice. Most of his songs are patriotic, and like many other Kurds he left his country (Iranian Kurdistan) because of his political ideas, and is now living in Sweden.

***Razazi’s song about Qasmlo is called "O Lalo," which means, “O Uncle.” This is what I can remember of it:

When they killed you
perish their hand
O uncle, O uncle
you are not dead, still alive

They know you are the Kurdish eyes
they know you are Qandeel, Piramagroon and Halgoor [names of Kurdish mountains where the peshmerga were active]
you are the rain of glad tidings
for the new life and season

O uncle, O uncle
sun is your path
nergs [the Kurdish flower] is your eye
you are like the blood in our bodies
you are not dead, still alive

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Congratulations

Hi everybody,
       Yesterday was a revolution, not an election. It was a historic day. It will be the most significant day in America's modern history. Yesterday was Dr. King's wedding day, it was Rosa Parks’s celebration, it was payday for a century of peace seekers and human rights activists’ struggles. It was a victory for diversity, it was a victory for the United States.
       I hope it will be a new beginning for America to take the lead [in the world] again, but this time by example, not through the military!
       I hope this fresh young man restores this nation's principles and America's standing in the world.
       Worldwide, millions of us are waiting to see the changes we have heard about and are looking toward the future. Hopefully the new president will not disappoint us and will never fail his voters.

Let us hope for the best and look forward.
Yassin
11-5-08

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CONNECTING THE DOTS

There is a Kurdish proverb that goes KAR LA KWF KAWTOA O KUNA LA KWF DRAWA. “Where did the donkey fall, and where did the skin break?”

The root of this proverb is the story of the man who took his son to get water (at the time there was no running water and people used skins to carry water) – the man filled the skin and put it on the back of the donkey. He told his son to hold it carefully on the way home, but his son did not hold the skin, and he rushed the donkey. The skin fell and the water spilled. The boy was afraid of his father, and to have an excuse for what happened, he started biting [biting? Really?] the donkey’s leg until he broke it and the donkey fell. The boy then went to his father, and said that the donkey fell and the skin ripped. His father discovered that the skin was far from where the donkey fell, and he knew he son was not telling the truth. He asked his son, “Where is the donkey, and where is the skin – how do you put them together?” Since then in Kurdistan whenever things do not match and dots can not be connected, we say KAR LA KWF KAWTOA O KUNA LA KWF DRAWA.

In the west this can be called Bush’s way of connecting the dots. After 911, many Americans blamed their government for not connecting the dots and preventing 911. So then their President Bush sent the army to Iraq and started the war there, and started spying on his citizens and targeting the Muslim community, deporting tens of thousands of them, and jailing thousands, and wiretapping millions. When people demonstrated and blamed the government, Mr. Bush said, “Before you blamed me for not connecting the dots, and now you’re blaming me for connecting them!” But in fact there was no connection.

The Iraqi dictator and his bloody regime had nothing to do with 911, and jailing innocent Muslims and terrorizing their peaceful communities have nothing to do with 911. I was in jail at the time Mr. Bush tried to connect the Iraq war with 911. I just said, where’s the donkey and where’s the skin? Whoever follows my trail, and trail of many other Muslims in America, and sees how the government has tried to patch and glue things together which just don’t fit, could repeat this proverb hundreds of times.

Permalink to Connecting the Dots

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I AM STILL A VILLAGER

I am still a villager
Living simply,
Straight and clear.
My hear is always open
For anyone to go through.

Surrealistic dreams
Are not for me
I mean what I say
And I speak with simplicity.
If you love me,
Come close, stay near
And let us live and die together.

To you I am a stranger
Who will never understand
Your rules and boundaries.
In my village people were not loved
Because they could argue
Or talk like a philosopher.
Simple eye contact,
A soft hug,
A warm kiss,
Are the true sign of love,
And the real expression of the lover.

I cannot taste a poem
Nor lecture about the feelings of beauty.
The poetry of surrealistic philosophy
I do not understand.
Its unbalanced words
Make people shun poems
And regard poets as lunatic.

I am still a villager
Returning always to nature
Using simple words
Which paint real pictures.
Between desire and love
There is only this difference –
The first is temporary,
But the second is forever.

Permalink to I am Still a Villager

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No More Clash

i know it’s really hard
what’s happened is very sad
but i want you to understand
you are always in the depth of my heart

this will not take forever
it will end, it will be over
I will come back sooner or later
we’ll be reunited again together

don’t give up, remain strong
stop crying and write a new song
what they did was very wrong
but forgive them, take no revenge

all they took was my body
my mind and heart are still free
never they can separate us
i am with you, you are with me

it’s always been the devil's job
to whisper, make rumors, make people sad
but we have the truth in our hands
along with the power of love and our trust in God

our message is worldwide
justice, peace, and equal rights
East and West together
no more fighting, no more clash

Permalink to No More Clash

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TWO OPEN LETTERS

1.
From Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama
If you are tired, keep going. If you are scared, keep going. If you
are hungry, keep going. If you want to taste freedom, keep going.
––Harriet Tubman

keep going
do not sleep
the night itself is not sleeping
do not stop
the day is not stopping
moon and sun
day and night
earth and sky
everything in this universe,
our life, our time,
all are running

keep going
you are moving in the right direction
in the path of the beloved King,
Martin Luther, who is waiting
tell him to rest
give him the glad tiding
that we reached his dream

keep going
life is struggling
there is no end
unless we die

keep going
millions of children are waiting
worldwide
to get food and medicine
every single kind heart
all the poor
all the peace seekers, the justice lovers
they are waiting
looking to you
to change course
to stop the war
to bring back the rule of law
to reduce global warming
to build better relations
between people and nations

keep going:
this the test
the world is watching
what you will do
when you reach

2.
From Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton

why do you stop?
is it honor or dignity,
or a kind of pride
that prevents you from giving me your hand
and working with me?
you did not fail
you already made history
come and involve yourself
for the sake of our nation
for the sake of the Democrats [or: for the sake of democracy]
for the sake of liberation
for better lives for everyone
for a brighter future
for the coming generation,
we all need to work together

2008 by Yassin Aref

Permalink to Two Open Letters

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Photos sent by Arif Gull, a friend of Yassin's of
Hashazini and Kurdistan.

 

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Me
by Yassin Aref

This is me
Wherever I am
I carry a pen in my pocket
and book in my hand
Tons of new ideas are in my mind
My heart full of love and caring
Looking forward hopefully
For justice, peace and a better life
For us all and the coming generation.
Searching for an answer to the question
“What exactly does it mean
that we are human beings?"

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Quote from Pastor Martin Niemöller

In Germany they first came for the Communists, but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then the came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.

from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Updated
May 21, 2009