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.
Middle Tennesseans from Turkey and Syria are organizing relief efforts for earthquake victims. Here’s how to help.
Locals with connections to Turkey and Syria advise giving money to organizations that already have infrastructure the region.
Curious Nashville: How the city became a destination for Kurdish families, and how the community is evolving
You may be aware that Nashville is home to the biggest population of Kurdish people in the United States — Kurds, who are considered the largest ethnic group in the world without a sovereign state. But one Curious Nashville listener asked how Nashville came to be such a destination for Kurds. The answer is multi-layered.