For more than three decades, Kurdish refugees have found a safe place to land in Nashville, but the newest arrivals are experiencing a more skeptical reception.
The latest wave of Kurds is arriving from Turkey — fleeing political repression and nationalist hate groups. They’re coming to a very different America than the Kurds who have called Nashville home for generations. It’s an America in turmoil — a place where immigrants are increasingly seen as enemies within, to be rooted out and sent back to where they came from.
In this final installment from The Country In Our Hearts, we meet a new generation of Kurdish Nashvillians and leave on a hopeful note with a Kurdish new year celebration.
Series Credits:
The Country In Our Hearts was reported and produced Rose Gilbert, who also produced the visual trailer. Meribah Knight edited and co-produced the series. Sound design by Martin Cruz, and traditional music is by Arkan Doski. The original logo artwork is by Nuveen Barwari.
Special thanks to Paul McAdoo and Jennifer Nelson and huge thanks to Mehmet Ayaz, who made so much of this storytelling possible. Additional thanks for all of the people who welcomed Rose in Kurdistan, like Azad Sameen, the Barmarne family and the village of Chalke; and, of course, the many journalists she met along the way, Suha Kamel, Makeen Mustafa, Paul Idon, Namo Addullah and Wladimir van Wilgenburg.
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