The Kurdish Barber's

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manolo
Posts: 1582
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:46 pm

The Kurdish Barber's

Post by manolo »

Folks,

I was down at the Kurdish Barber's yesterday. While he worked deftly with the cut throat razor around my neck and ears we chatted about Middle East politics.
There is something very authentic about talking politics with someone who knows, and who has lived in the relevant place. This guy was in Kurdistan 4 months ago and has family living there now. His confidence about the Kurds beating back Isis was high; he reminded me that "there are 50 million Kurds". He also said that he knew of many young people who had gone back from England to fight for the Kurds.

He bemoaned the fact that so many strong leaders had been lost in the Middle East recently and admired Bashar Assad for holding on, although he said "Not everyone agrees with him". With regard to Western involvement, particularly the USA, he was uninspired, and we both agreed that the US probably doesn't have a clue what is going on or who they are dealing with in the Middle East. At one point some boys came into the barbers, obviously his kids, and I could see how big this guy is on family. When talking about his parents in Kurdistan he had looked strained, although he said that "they are in a safe area".

A nice guy, and an insight into the situation from one who knows. Must have been hard for him to talk about this.

Alex.
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