Turkish ideas about issues related to identity never fails to surprise me. Before booking this summer's ticket to Sweden, I knew that Sweden was one of the "gateways" out of Iraq since they have friendlier immigration policies, that they have a significant diaspora community (about 50,000?) and that some of those in the Swedish diaspora are now returning back... to study in our university!
What I did NOT know is that some people in Turkey believe that the Kurds and the Vikings were blood relatives. This claim was discovered in a Turkish newpaper by another Turkish news agency, Zaman. I have never really read Zaman, but as its biases are somewhat in contrast to my own, it might make an occasionally interesting read. This article presents a short history of the contact between the Swedes (and the vikings) and the Kurds... including the 2002 honor killing which shocked Swedes and others. I was thinking that it might be interesting to try to visit the Kurdish Women's Association in Sweden and the Kurdish Student Academic Association (KSAF) in Sweden as it might be interesting/useful to do a little research before the next academic year... (students in our university also go through a kind of culture shock - the university culture is different to what exists outside in the community), but so far, I have not found any addresses for these associations... nor for that matter, for the Kurdish Institute in Stockholm.
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If you to this page: http://www.ksaf.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7&
you can find the mail-addresses for the leaders of KSAF, and you can ask them where you can find them.
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