WHEN THE BORDERS BLEED: The Struggle of the Kurds

Given that the Kurds have been in the news lately, I went searching to learn more. For me, the best place to start is with photographs and not so overwhelming text. I learned a lot, I was moved, I am motivated to learn more and to do more to impart information to others. Special thanks to Ed Kashi for his very thoughtful, sensitive, and story telling photos.

Ed Kashi's book "When the Borders Bleed: The Struggle of the Kurds" covers only the most basic history and timeline. Don't expect it to be ground breaking journalism or great writing. Most of the book is pictures/travelogue, and somewhat antiquated...a lot has changed over the past 20 years since this book came out. As one of the largest ethnic groups without a nation of their own, any book on the Kurdish people is better than nothing. Not a bad book...just not a great one either. Upset that I bought it? No. Could I have gone without this one? Probably. As mentioned before, any book on the Kurds is better than none.

Most of WHEN THE BORDERS BLEED is comprised of Ed Kashi's stunning photograhps of Kurdish life in Iraq and Turkey. These pictures document Kurdish life in detail, and give an accurate feel of living conditions in Kurdish communities. However, the textual parts of the book--the introduction and photo captions--portray the Kurdish situation in a rather one-dimensional light. Christopher Hitchens, author of the book's introduction, performed extensive research and travel to write his portion of the book; his thoroughness shows through in the detail of his comments. Much of Hitchens' factual information is correct, but so tightly bound with his pro-Kurdish agenda that objectivity is utterly lost..Kashi's photographs are magnificent. Their captions sometimes mar their clarity, however. For example, the photograph on page 116 shows a small boy waving a Turkish flag in an International Children's Day celebration. In the background, Turkish soldiers guard the celebration, as they normally tend to guard public gatherings all over Turkey. The caption declares, "On International Children's Day, a Turkish holiday, Kurdish children in remote villages are forced to take part in the festivities while commandos look on from the sidelines." In fact, the "commandos" (likely conscripts earning at most several dollars per month) are looking away from the celebration, ensuring its safety. Kashi's implication that the smiling boy in the photo is celebrating at gunpoint does not stand up to scrutiny...WHEN THE BORDERS BLEED is far better than no book on the Kurdish problem. It presents one dimension of the problem--oppression of Kurds and the lack of an official Kurdish nation-state--reasonably well. Kashi has documented the plight of Kurds more thoroughly than any other photojournalist, and Hitchens has worked diligently to know their situation. However, their talents are employed more to sway readers than to inform them in this work.

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