In 1988, hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled northern Iraq as Saddam Hussein’s armies hunted them down. Many ended up in Nashville, making this southern city home to the largest Kurdish community in America.
Liquor stores and LED crosses
I spent my first few mornings in Erbil taking long walks, trying to explore my new neighborhood before the full heat of the day.
Welcome to the Classy Hotel Ankawa
In this first travelogue from WPLN’s Rose Gilbert, we arrive with her in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, for her five-week reporting trip.
This Nashville asylum seeker faced prison for a tweet. Trump’s executive order jeopardizes his future.
The family came to Nashville as asylum seekers about two years ago. Now, they are among thousands facing an uncertain future.
‘USA, defend your Kurdish allies!’ Nashville’s Kurdish community outraged following Turkish attacks on Syrian Kurds
The Kurdish forces in Syria have been the United States’ main partner in the fight against ISIS. However, the United States and Turkey are also allies, which makes things complicated.
This Kurdish Nashvillian supports Trump. The reason is rooted in history.
During his first term in office, Donald Trump had a complicated track record when it came to Kurdistan. Following his reelection, a politically engaged member of Nashville’s Kurdish community weighs in.
Two Nashville restaurants make coveted New York Times list
The New York Times’ much-anticipated, annual restaurant list dropped Tuesday. And of the 50 featured spots from across the country, two Tennessee establishments made the cut.
Heading farther into the field than ever before
In just a couple short weeks, I will be traveling to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan and Nashville’s newest sister city.
For Nashville’s Kurdish community, clothing and culture are interwoven
For Nashville’s Kurdish community — a people whose culture has historically come under fire — clothing is a tangible way of preserving their traditions.
A new wave of Kurds fleeing Turkey bring their own sound to Music City
Nashville has the largest Kurdish population of any city in the U.S., and most are from the Iraqi region of Kurdistan, also known as Bashur. They arrived in waves starting in the 1970s, with the largest influx prompted by Saddam Hussein’s genocidal campaigns in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
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