Joined at the Heart: Bonds Across Cultures

A few years ago, I remember my late grandmother, in her eighties and having lived through two world wars, turning to me with a troubled face and saying that she never recalled seeing anything more horrific in her whole lifetime than the plight of the Iraqi Kurds.

Iraqi Kurdestan, an autonomous region of north-east Iraq, has had a troubled history, particularly under Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq from 1979 -2003. During the Iran–Iraq War (1980 -88) the Iraqi government used chemical weapons against the Kurds and thousands died. The large Kurdish town of Qala Dizeh (70,000) was completely destroyed by the Iraqi army.

There are around 200,000 Kurds living in the UK today (these include Turkish, Iranian, Syrian as well as Iraqi Kurds). 

The story below involves two Iraqi  Kurds, Siti and Silan  and a French Angolan, Alexandrie who attend classes at Coventry Jesus Centre. (These are not their real names).

Siti looks lonely this afternoon. That’s because her 'daughter' is not with her. Her ‘daughter’ Silan, is an adopted one because her own daughter is far away, in Kurdestan.  

Siti and Silan are inseparable. 

Silan is better at English than Siti but I can’t put them in different groups. They are inseparable, tied at the heart. But today Silan is not here.

Siti tells me she is missing Silan.

Alexandrie comes in; she is smiling, smiling all over, like she always does. She sits next to Siti and helps her because the spelling is difficult today, difficult for them both and usually Silan helps her.
 
Siti is a Muslim and Alexandrie is a Christian but that doesn’t seem to matter. Today Alexandre has decided to treat Siti like mum. She helps her with the spelling. At the end of the class she gives her a big hug. 

Siti is someone who shines, shines with the smile and heart of a mother. She draws people. Alexandrie, too, the sun shines from her and when the sun shines, there is cheer. Even a darkened soul lights up; even a tired, tired Friday afternoon. 

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