YARA AHMEDI

Urmia- The Kurdish language is spoken by the majority population in Eastern Kurdistan (Iranian Kurdistan). Several days ago, the General Director of the Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department of Urmia launched a tourism advertising campaign to promote the city as a tourist attraction. The tourism department prepared a multi-language tourism ad: Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, English, Chinese, Hindi and Arabic. The multi-language ad sparks anger among the people of Urmia because the Kurdish language is not among these seven languages.

“Many tourists visiting Urmia are from Bashur Kurdistan (Southern Kurdistan) and Basur Kurdistan (Northern Kurdistan),” said Roya M., who works as a translator at a hotel in Urmia. “Most of them travel to Urmia for medical care or business and look for translators who are fluent in Kurdish. The Kurdish language should have been used in the ad campaign.”

‘Many medical tourists are Kurdish’

“Urmia is one of the most tourist destinations,” said Samira Sharif, who works for a private hospital in Urmia. “Most of hospital staff are Kurdish and many medical tourists are Kurdish.”

Kosar Rahimi exports food products from Urmia to other parts of Kurdistan. “Speaking Kurdish is important for our business. If you are Kurdish or speak Kurdish, you always find more buyers.”

‘The Kurdish language is one of the most effective languages in the tourism industry’

Leila M. is an activist in Eastern Kurdistan. Pointing out that many people come from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for medical care, she said, “They speak Kurdish. Most people in Urmia speak Kurdish and middle-aged Kurdish people cannot speak Persian so they face many problems at hospitals. The Kurdish language is not among the seven languages in the ad. The Kurdish language has been targeted by assimilation policies for years. The Kurdish language is one of the most effective languages in the tourism industry of Urmia. It should be used in the ad campaign.”