This testimonies are part of Respond’s Kurdish storytelling project. Visit the main project page here.
The first step of assimilation
"I was asking my parents about the situation back when they were in school. I remember they were telling me about how they were beaten up for speaking Kurdish. This is always an example that I highlight. It might sound very simple – ‘okay, you don’t speak the country’s language’ – but it means this violence starts at a very young age, and this is where the first step of assimilation starts.”
- Rojda Arslan, Kurmanji and Zazakî speaker living in Germany