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AS IT IS
Kurdish Areas Face Uncertainty
May 11, 2019
Kurdish students attend class at a school in Qamishli, Syria, March 11, 2019. (REUTERS/Issam Abdallah)
Kurdish forces now hold about a quarter of Syria, ruling across the north and east of the country.
Kurdish activists who previously could not protest without risking arrest now have printing presses, festivals and even television stations. The area even has what amounts to its own government.
These changes have led neighboring states to fear separatism within their own Kurdish communities. Millions of Kurds live in Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq.
The Turkish army has come across the border twice to push back the Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria. And the Syrian government has also pledged to take back YPG territory.
Syrian Kurdish leaders say they do not seek independence but instead want to keep some amount of autonomy.
Education system
Semira Haj Ali is a member of the political wing of the YPG. She leads education efforts in Kurdish – controlled areas of northeast Syria.
In the early days of Syria’s conflict, Haj Ali and other activists tried introducing a Kurdish class. The Syrian government shut down the schools.
Today, she heads an education group running thousands of schools. It has built a curriculumin Kurdish, Arabic and the Syriac dialect for students to learn their native language.
“We never imagined this. This was a dream,” said Haj Ali, speaking about young students who have grown up learning Kurdish.
“With the parents and the students, we broke down the doors,” she said. Months later, state employees returned. “Of course, we will not go back to before 2011. We will not turn back,” said Haj Ali.
The Syrian government does not recognize the schools in the northeast, nor does it recognize the Kurdish administration.
Relationship with Damascus and the PKK
During the war in Syria, Kurdish fighters and Syrian government forces have rarely clashed. At times, they fought common enemies including Turkey-backed rebels.
This relationship let the Syrian government hold onto part of Qamishli, including an airport that flies planes to the capital city of Damascus.
It has allowed Kurdish leaders to make money from oil sold in government territory. And the self-run administration also issues documents to its own people.
Still, attempts to negotiate a political deal with the Syrian government in Damascus have gone nowhere.
The lack of a deal has caused concern among Kurdish leaders. They want to keep the gains they have made. They hope such a deal would help protect their region from attack by Turkey, which says the YPG is a branch of the Kurdish PKK movement.
Critics also accuse the YPG of imposing its ideas in city councils that include Arabs and other ethnicities. At an education institute in the town of Amuda, the walls even have pictures of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
The PKK, labeled a terrorist organization by both the United States and Turkey, is fighting against the Turkish government.
Some Kurdish people believe they have sacrificed too much to turn back now. Nujin Kali is a pre-school director. She said her husband, a YPG fighter, died so she could do her job.
She added that he said, “I’m doing this for your children’s future… for them to learn their language, for people not to lose their rights.”
Abdallah Shekho owns a bookstore in Qamishli. He noted the uncertainty of the situation in the area: “… God forbid, if there is an attack from the regime or another side, we will have to burn these books or bury them underground again.”
I'm John Russell.
Ellen Francis reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
festival – n. a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something
autonomy – n. the state of existing or acting separately from others
activist – n. a person who uses or supports strong actions (such as public protests) to help make changes in politics or society
curriculum – n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.
regime – n. a particular government
underground – adv. located or occurring below the surface of the earth
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AS IT IS
Which Kind of Diamond Is Better for the Environment?
May 11, 2019
FILE PHOTO: An illegal diamond dealer from Zimbabwe displays diamonds for sale in Manica, near the border with Zimbabwe, September 19, 2010. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo
Which kind of diamond is better for the environment and the world we live in: a diamond from a traditional mine or one made in a laboratory?
Some recent reports suggest the answer may not be so clear. At the very least, these reports provide evidence of tensions between two different sectors of the diamond industry.
Lab-grown diamond companies say they are more ethical and cause less harm to Earth’s environment.
The traditional diamond sector notes that its businesses help the communities where they operate mines. It says they provide jobs, help build roads and other infrastructure and make investments in conservation.
Some companies, such as De Beers, work on both sides. De Beers sells natural and man-made diamonds.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigates reports of deceptive, or misleading, advertising. In April, the commission sent warning letters to eight lab-grown diamond companies.
One of the FTC’s concerns was the use of the word ‘eco-friendly,’ and similar terms, to describe diamonds made in a laboratory. The lab-grown process requires very high temperatures and uses a lot of energy.
Trucost is a company that estimates the costs of using natural resources. Asked by the Diamond Producers Association to study the issue, Trucost found the carbon intensity of natural diamonds was lower than lab-grown diamonds.
The Trucost report did note that diamond miners should reduce their effect on the environment by using more renewable energy, such as wind power and sunlight.
The Reuters news agency reported that the International Grown Diamond Association did not immediately respond to requests for comments about the story.
I'm Susan Shand.
Barbara Lewis reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
sector – n. an area or part that is different from others
ethical – adj. following accepted rules of behavior: morally right and good
conservation - n. the careful use of natural resources (such as trees and oil) to prevent them from being lost or wasted
resource – n. materials required for a person or organization to operate normally
renewable – adj. replaced by natural processes; able to be replaced by nature
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AS IT IS
Talk With a Fellow Human From This Library
May 11, 2019
The saying, “Don't judge a book by its cover,” means you should not guess the worth or value of something based on how it looks.
That message was clear at a recent event called the Human Library Project . The event took place at the Northern Virginia, or NoVa, Community College, outside of Washington. D.C.
The Human Library began 19 years ago in Denmark. It grew from a youth organization called “Stop the Violence.” Today, it is a worldwide movement.
At the NoVa event, students got the chance to learn from a person -- a “human book” -- instead of a library book.
Patricia Cooper organized the event. She said that human books celebrate diversityby telling their life stories in an easy-going setting.
“The goal of the human library is to talk to people in your community who you may otherwise not speak to because you have your own prejudices and hopefully to break down some of these barriers.”
This is the third year that NoVa has held such an event. The collection of human books included a civil rights activist, a scientist from the American space agency NASA, and an opera singer.
Fighting prejudices
Najeeb Baha is director of recreation and wellness at the college. He knows about dealing with prejudice – an unfair feeling or dislike for a person or group because of race, sex or religion.
Baha has fair skin, reddish hair and an Arabic name. People are often surprised to learn he is from Afghanistan. Baha said security officers at airports often stop him because he does not look like what people see as a usual Afghan.
He also experiences prejudice when he goes to Islamic religious centers in Virginia.
Baha spoke about his story to NoVa student Angel Navia.
“My goal is to inform everybody about the things that I've gone through.”
Baha told Navia he thinks people should not focus so much on skin color. And, they should not judge individuals by their last name or how they speak.
Navia said the time he spent with Baha taught him a lot.
“The struggles that just come from something simple, just a name or where you’re from, and how that dictates some aspects of your life.”
Value of education
Student advisor Connie Robinson was another human book. She shared how she survived an abusive relationship.
“Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we deal with it."
Robinson said that a college education helped her get out of a terrible situation. She was able to take control of her life.
“When I talk to students, I just want them to know that whatever they're going through, you know, continue to strive for their education because it is so important.”
Learning from travel
Artist Brian Dailey was another human book. He spoke about his travels to 113 countries in seven years. Dailey said that, during his travels, he asked people he took pictures of for a one-word answer to a series of other words – such as love, freedom and war. He discovered that people in different countries often had very different reactions to the same word.
When Dailey asked people in Africa about the word "war" they used words like justice, liberation and peace. When he asked the same question to people in Syrian refugee camps, the answer was: “tears, hunger, fear, destruction.”
Dailey said people in most of the countries had a similar answer when he said the word government. Most people, he said, do not seem to like theirs very much.
I’m Jill Robbins.
Deborah Block reported on this story for VOA News. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
diversity - n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization
library - n. a collection of similar things
opera - n. a kind of performance in which actors sing all or most of the words of a play with music performed by an orchestra
focus - v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific
dictate - v. to make (something) necessary
aspect - n. a part of something
strive - v. to try very hard to do or achieve something
Have you met someone who is very different from you? What did you learn from them? Write to us in the Comments Section.
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