Artist Bejhat Omer Abdulla remembers his own story of fleeing Iraqi Kurdistan. Through this personal account, Abdulla demonstrates the challenges of crossing national, ethnic and ideological boundaries. This photographic essay begins by pointing to the complexity of the notion of who is a migrant as an abstract notion within academic and policy conversations about migration. Featuring original art work inspired by his first-hand experience as a migrant, Abdulla's account portrays one migrant's story in great detail, adding nuance and texture to what we know about the experiences of Kurdish migrants to Europe.
“Creative Time Summit X,” CreativeTime.org.
Amar Kanwar, born in New Delhi, is a social activist and film maker who works, primarily in the documentary style and with archival materials. “Collection Online,” Guggenheim.org.
Saskia Sassen, is a Dutch-American sociologist who's writing and research focuses on globalization (including social, economic and political dimensions), immigration, global cities (including cities and terrorism), the new networked technologies, and changes within the liberal state that result from current transnational conditions. “Overview,” saskiasassen.com.
The Silent University aims to address and reactivate the knowledge of the participants and make the exchange process mutually beneficial by inventing alternative currencies, in place of money or free voluntary service. The Silent University's aim is to challenge the idea of silence as a passive state, and explore its powerful potential through performance, writing, and group reflection. These explorations attempt to make apparent the systemic failure and the loss of skills and knowledge experienced through the silencing process of people seeking asylum. “The Silent University,” thesilentuniversiy.org,.
Tawla, also known as backgammon is a popular board game played in the Middle East.
Kurmanji one of the four major Kurdish dialects. It is spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, some parts of northern Iraq and northern Syria.