'Help our suffering people'- Plead Kurdish protesters living in Wolverhampton as they gather in city centre to raise awareness
Dozens of protesters took to the streets of Wolverhampton as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the plight of struggling Kurds in Syria.
Residents from Wolverhampton's small Kurdish community took part in two rallies and a march in recent days in an effort to raise the profile of the plight of the country's Rojava population, whom they claim were being denied their human rights and were being subject to attacks. They claim West Kurdistan lying south of the Syria-Turkey border was at risk of being forgotten despite siding with western Governments against extremist terror groups.
Rawaz Mustafa, aged 40, a cupping therapist, organised two gatherings including a 60-strong rally on Saturday along with a small group march from Staveley Road in Whitmore Reans to the city centre to give voice to the diaspora campaign.
Mr Mustafa also plans to raise the matter with MPs and councillors representing Wolverhampton.
Birhart Jaksi, aged 33 and a Wolverhampton University researcher, explained: "The protesters are here appealing to the UK Government to support the people in the Rojava region who are being displaced due to pressure from Islamic State (ISIS) and Syria. We are not attacking them, they are attacking us.
"In the last five days the Syrian army has cut off utility supplies to the city of Kobane. There is no water, no electricity or internet services there at the moment. The people are suffering greatly. They're being cut off, Syria wants the Kurds to return to the situation which existed in 2011 when Kurds were even not allowed to speak their own language and had no rights.
"We have sacrificed a lot in the conflict with ISIS. We lost thousands of our people and we want more than being able to speak our own language. We want some autonomy and a right self-rule in a territory where we've lived for centuries. We don't want war or fighting. We simply want dialogue.
We're not convinced that the Syrians are willing to co-exist with us and that is why we want our identity to be recognised.
"We're at risk of being forgotten by the West after sacrificing so many in the fight against extremists.
"The Kurdish prisons were holding the ISIS prisoners, but since the Syrian attacks those prisoners have been escaping and returning to terrorist activities. It isn't a good situation.
"It appears the West doesn't care that terrorists are on the loose."
Kurds have no single homeland and settled across four countries comprising south east Turkey, northern Iraq where they now have autonomy, north west Iran and northern Syria. The region's population is 95 per cent Muslim with the remaining five per cent including Christians and Yezidis.
There has been conflict in the Kobane area for many years intermittently involving Syria, Turkey and ISIS. The protesters say their families back home simply want to live in peace.
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