Interviwe BY: AZAD KARIMI
Before founding Kurdipedia, I started working as a digital archivist in 1995. The works in the late 1990s included the book Hawrenama for history of Kurdistan & Kurd, published in 1999 by Sardam Publishing House in Slemani
Interview
Kurdipedia General Director
Hawre Baxewan
By Azad Karimi
This introduction includes happy messages, condolences, and thanks from various people and organizations because of the social revolution of the people of Iran, which was a reaction to the killing of Jina Amini or Mahsa Amini in Tehran. This Kurdish girl from Saqez, Kurdistan-Iran was first arrested by the mandatory hijab guard and after two hours her body was handed over to her family while she was brain dead due to torture. She died two days later in the hospital.
The latest consequences of this tragedy were the sanctions of the European Union against Iran's compulsory Hijab guard, the Iranian police, the police of Sanandaj province, the police chief of Saqez, Bukan, Diwandara, Babol, and some other Iranian security officials. This sanction took place about an hour ago.
First of all, I declare my condolences to the families of the prisoners killed yesterday in Evin prison by the criminal regime of Ali Khamenei.
I also offer my condolences to the family of the Ardabili girl who was killed on Thursday in the classroom by the criminal Mullah-Pasdar Ali Khamenei forces, the world's number one terrorist.
I present my condolences again to the families of the youths who were killed in Sanandaj a few days ago. I offer my condolences to the family of Bukani's young daughter who was killed by the repressive forces of the Iranian regime. I offer my condolences to the family of Amin Bazrgar his bones were found in the nearby Shiraz mountains. I express my sympathy to the family of Hossein Rounaghi. I also declare my hatred for Farnaz Fasihi and Behnam Nateghi for publishing incomplete news to hurt the people of Kurdistan.
Please convey my condolences again to the dear people of Zahedan, more than a hundred of whom were killed by the criminals of the Islamic regime of Iran on Friday two weeks ago.
Condolences to the families of all those killed in the last month across Iran, which according to the latest figures has reached 240 people.
Thanks to all the artists, musicians, singers, brands, celebrities, athletes, poets, politicians, philosophers, governments and parliaments, and great personalities of the world for supporting the social revolution of the Iranian people.
Thank s to Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, and Mr.Josep Borrell for their firm support to the disaffected people of Iran who have risen against the authoritarian Islamist regime of Mullah-Pasdar.
Thanks to Volodymyr Zelensky for exposing the destructive role of the Islamic regime of Iran in logistically supporting the Russian dictator against the heroic people of Ukraine.
Many thanks again to the President of the United States of America, Mr.Joe Biden, who announced his strong support for the Iranian people tonight.
I can't forget that last night's terrible scenes from Evin prison reminded me of the September 11 terrorist disaster. I ask the international community to hold the Iranian regime responsible in the Security Council for its violent behavior, which is an example of the genocide of the Iranian people, and punish its severely. The wise man can never accept that eight people have been killed. This crime is aimed at cleansing and also diverting public opinion from the revolution and people's protest demonstrations.
I again ask the great governments to give me military equipment to overthrow this evil regime. The promised day has arrived, so we should not send more people to the evil palate of Tehran's Duhaak with unnecessary doubts.
I dedicate this introduction to the missing teenagers of Sowllawa (Sarvabad), Ardabil, Saqez, Sanandaj, and other cities in Iran. These children have been stolen by the repressive forces of the Iranian regime in the last few days. Also Congratulations to Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi. I hope she will be successful.
Dear readers, please read the text of our interview.
I wish success to my dear friend Mr. Hawre Baxewan.
Thank you!
Østland-Norway
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Please present yourself: Name, education, Civil status, and...?
My name is Hawre Qadir Rasul, I am known as Hawre Baxewan. I was born on 28-02-1966 in the Goidja neighborhood of Slemani city, Kurdistan-Iraq.
I completed my primary and secondary education in Slemani. Then I studied law at Mosul University for four years and received my bachelor's degree.
I came to the Netherlands via Lebanon in 1992 and am living there til now (2022) with my wife, Mrs. Banaz Jola, and our two children, Mitan and Artin.
In the Netherlands, I worked for many years at the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Kosovo.
Since 2021, I have been dedicating my work to Kurdipedia Institute.
2-When did you become such a Founder and Director General of Kurdipedia?
Before founding Kurdipedia, I started working as a digital archivist in 1995. The works in the late 1990s included the book Hawrenama for history of Kurdistan & Kurd, published in 1999 by Sardam Publishing House in Slemani. Hawrenama is the largest Kurdish chronology until then and (I think) still.
Afterward, I kept thinking about sharing my digital assets with my Kurdish fellow speakers. In 2008, I registered my first Kurdipedia article and it was online in November.
At first, I did my work lonely. Later it became a national organizational work and now (2022) Kurdipedia has more than twenty archival collaborators in all parts of Kurdistan(Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Syria) and our work is mostly professional. We have tens of thousands of visitors daily who benefit from Kurdipedia's archived articles.
3-Given your professional background, I ask: What role does work your activities play in the development of a society?
The role of Kurdipedia and me is caring role to preserve our national archive. We classify items in a modern way to preserve them for future generations.
4-Are you thankful and happy because of your activities as a director general of Kurdipedia?
Not just for me! For many Kurdipedia archivists, Kurdipedia has become an important part of our lives. We work on it daily and continuously. We feel that we exist and that we are doing an important job for our nation.
Kurdipedia has made me feel very comfortable abroad. Because of it, I am always close to the sorrow and suffering of my nation. I know what happens and why they happen.
5-You have studied history and Law. What are the history and Law logic in our culture? Could there be a fundamental relationship between these two concepts?
In my view, history is the umbrella of all human research. Everything becomes history, even these words I am writing now will go into the past in a few seconds. The past is history. Law is in every way in the service of creating a better history from its philosophical point of view.
My desire to study law in the 1980s was not a good job! I have known myself for a long time and have been interested in history and historian field. However, along with studying law, I have mostly been interested in studying history. I have published several books on history.
Indeed, what my colleagues and I are doing at Kurdipedia is historical. Because archives mean history or a very important part of history.
6-Please, tell us what Kurdipedia is. Why was it established? What is the difference between Kurdipedia and Kurdish Wikipedia?
Kurdipedia has a large multilingual source about Kurds and Kurdistan!
These articles have become our very large database. The number of registered articles in Kurdipedia has reached 400,000 and we have published more than 15,000 books on Kurdistan and Kurds online, which is very useful for readers, researchers, and students.
It was important that we, like other nations, have a digital archival database. Kurdipedia has filled this gap to some extent.
Kurdipedia has nothing to do with Kurdish Wikipedia. Our work is only about Kurdistan and the Kurds. Theirs is a mixture of Kurds and others.
On Wikipedia, anyone can register articles. There are so many items that it is not easy to control! This is why Wikipedia articles are often marked with ambiguity in the source. Everyone can open it and register articles thanks to Wikipedia (a Wiki-Media website).
Our work is different. Before publication, four eyes and two brains control all the content so that it reaches the reader. We have made some mistakes and we are constantly improving the articles and correcting the mistakes.
I would like to thank the Kurdish Wikipedia colleagues who are doing a good job we have more or less contact with each other and have often asked us for information. We will take their articles that are useful to our project and refer to Wikipedia as the source.
7-What are the obstacles and challenges facing the founders and administrators of Kurdipedia since the beginning?
Every project has challenges. Kurdipedia is the same. Our work is multilingual, each of which uses a different script. For example, Central Kurdish (Sorani) and other dialects are available on Kurdipedia. These are each spelled differently.
There is no complete agreement on the Kurdish script. Everyone writes and records as they please. The classification and search process will not be easy. You can see Thousands of examples. If you search for Kirkuk in Kurdipedia, you can't find it! However, in our 15 years of working at Kurdipedia, we have solved many of these problems. But obviously, there have been many other problems and others will come up.
8-How do we know if Kurdipedia has been successful and will remain successful?
It is not easy for me to say whether Kurdipedia is successful or not. Will it remain successful?
But according to the data we have; Kurdipedia is the largest multilingual source for Kurdish information!
In April 2022, we moved the website to a better server and we were down for several days. During those days, Kurdipedia visitors sent many letters and phone calls to my colleagues and me asking for the website to be returned soon.
In answer to this question, I will say the last thing; Kurdipedia readers have downloaded more than 12 million books so far!
9-I want to ask a general question but an answer from your personal opinion... What have the Kurds done to other people? The Kurdish people have always lived in their territory. Why do the Kurdish ?neighbors treat the Kurds so hostilely? For example, why does the Kurdish language cause such pain for Iran, Turkey, and some other countries? Why is the word Kurd and Kurdistan the reason for these open reactions against the Kurdish people and Kurdistan territory?
Nice question and needs a very long answer! I have talked a lot about this here and there in two volumes of my books and articles. In short, our dominant nations have all the Kurdophobia as follows: The Persians have always been afraid of our language and culture because although we are subordinate to them, we have always been dominant in the field of language and culture. Our language is older, more refined, and purer than theirs. Theirs is seventy percent Arabic!
Our music and culture are a thousand times their epic and literary works, but they serve it and ours is deliberately neglected. Therefore, they are always afraid of our language and culture.
Turks, worse than Persians, just read the travelogue of Awliya Chalabi, and you will find that the now famous Turkish bath used to be ours! Turkish coffee used to be Kurdish, and three-quarters of Turkish music now belongs to Kurds! They came to Anatolia empty-handed and stole Kurdish and Armenian culture. Their fear is the consolidation of the theft for which they always oppose us.
The Arabs do not have a language problem with us. The Arab problem is the problem of land, water, and population! The problem has grown bigger in recent years. Now, because of this problem, a large number of Arabs have come to South Kurdistan. They have always been against the Kurds to deprive us of what they do not have and what we have.
But most importantly, the problem is ourselves! We do not know ourselves, we do not know our enemies, we are not united, and we are not loyal to our Land, Kurdistan. Most importantly, we don’t have common interests with each other! Because the establishment of the state has nothing to do with land, water, religion, and other very common things. Rather, it is about the common interest.
10-How do you see the development of the Kurdish language and literature?
Not enough! South Kurdistan, for example, has so many universities! They should have written about the big and small linguistic and literary subjects of the scientific thesis! However, we still have that bad spelling and nothing has been done about it.
11-One essential question: Will Kurdish culture and language disappear or develop?
Now, the situation has changed with new technology. Google Translate translates two major Kurdish dialects from dozens of other languages.
I don't think our language and literature are going to disappear, but we must serve them more, and be loyal so that they do not decline. Especially since the Persians and Turks are systematically working to destroy our language and literature.
12-How do you see the culture, in the world, in perspective?
The culture is life and history of nations. Without it, life is worthless! My view is that other nations pay more attention to their culture, not ours. Our society is undergoing strange and rapid changes. For example, Kurdish clothes have changed completely in the past hundred years. Look at the Arab Agal and Dshdasha as the same was before! English coats and ties are the same! We at Kurdipedia have been paying a lot of attention to our national culture. We have created several important categories and maintained the information, including; Kurdish food, tradition; proverbs, Culture, folklore, and more.
13-Can you become one part of the cultural movement for motivation in youth or new generations in your country and so on?
If you mean Kurdipedia, there are currently about 10 young archivists working in Kurdipedia and they are among the people every day and collect articles and information. Yes!
14-How can you help our world become a better place to live?
This is not the work of individuals, it is the job of systems and organizations. Peace is not easy! Or it is not easy for us Kurds! When peace comes, we will have our states like Turks, Persians, and Arabs. Without a state, peace is a big lie. [1]