Pertencimento étnico e compromissos morais: curdos em diáspora na Dinamarca e os direitos humanos no Curdistão

• Main Author: Tiago Duarte Dias
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal Fluminense, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia 2020-04-01
• Series: Antropolítica : Revista Contemporânea de Antropologia
• Subjects: human rights; kurdistan; denmark; diaspora
• Online Access: https://periodicos.uff.br/antropolitica/article/view/41992

The concept of otherness means the ability of recognizing oneself in the other and placing oneself in their place. Considering themselves to be a part of the same people, the Kurdish population in diaspora and the Kurdish population in Kurdish territory maintain social, political and cultural ties. Among Kurdish populations in diaspora all over the world, it is very common that groups organize themselves both to create solidarity over political matters involving Kurdistan and to act in favour of Kurds suffering in Kurdistan. This article analyzes how such movements occurred in the Danish capital during the ISIS offensive in Mount Sinjar, located in the Iraqi Kurdistan. It suggests that the usage of the concept of human rights by Kurdish groups in Copenhagen is part of a strategy that mobilizes Danish political actors to intervene in favour of an ethnic minority suffering from an attempt of genocide, whereas Kurdish-Danish political disputes serve as a background. Thus, this article will discuss the ways in which the individuals articulate Human Rights, and the morality that comes from this concept. By invoking Kurdish history–who were historically denied of their human rights–and the historical role that Denmark has of defending such rights, these actors aim to articulate both Kurdish ethnic belonging and Danish identity.