Abstract
This paper primarily focuses on second-generation Kurds who are active members or leaders of Federatie Koerden in Nederland (“Federation of Kurdish Associations in the Netherlands,” hereafter “FED-KOM”) and related organizations. FED-KOM has sympathized with the policies of the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (“Kurdistan Workers’ Party,” hereafter “PKK”). This paper considers how Kurdish nationalism is developing in the Netherlands in the midst of the changing context of the second generation in comparison to the first generation and the reasons second-generation Kurds sympathize with Kurdish nationalism.
Kurdish nationalism as propounded by second-generation Kurds is diverse. With no option of “returning” to Turkey and with the desire to succeed in the Netherlands, the daily lives of the second generation are not directly influenced by the political issue of the independence of the Kurdish region. Consequently, while understanding the policies of the PKK, each person in the second generation freely interprets their own expression of Kurdish nationalism. Another factor that influences the sympathy of second-generation Kurds toward Kurdish nationalism is individual experiences in terms of relationships with the Turks in the Netherlands that reflect the discrimination, oppression, and political developments in their country of origin.
