Awin Tayfur
When people talk about children's literature and the importance of reading stories, novels, games, etc., they should first address children and childhood and distinguish between their own life circumstances. Of course, in every city, children live in their families according to the freedom allotted to them. That is, in every country, children live according to opportunities. Kurdish children are different from children of other nationalities in every way.
Throughout history, Kurdish children's parents and grandparents have been massacred and looted. They are always in the middle of a war and the battle of life. Without parents, without food or drink, or a place to sleep. It is true that all over the world, during World Wars I and II, before and after, children lost their childhood in some wars, atrocities, and hardships in their lives, but this did not continue, and other children were born on normal days.
This did not happen to Kurdish children. Kurdish children live in hardship from the beginning of their lives until their death. For example, the burning of the Amud cinema in West Kurdistan, the Shangal (Sinjar) massacre, the Kobane massacre, and hundreds of other massacres and lootings that will not be forgotten in Kurdish history.
All these are the reasons for the regression of Kurdish children's literature in the world. Although literature was a pioneer among the Kurds and thousands of stories were written for children, parents could not access them for their children and read them with complete freedom.
But despite all this, Kurdish children are still not deprived of literature. An example of this is the emergence of dozens of Kurdish authors and their writings in Kurdish despite all the restrictions. In addition, there are dozens of publishing houses that publish Kurdish works of all kinds for adults and children.
A normal child lives in a peaceful environment in this world. Every day at school they normally learn their mother tongue and when they return home, they live peacefully with their family, their stories are normally read to them, and thus the type of children's literature for that child is good. When that child grows up, he or she usually turns out to be a good person with different skills, but a Kurdish child may have lost their father since childhood and lived on the charity of the people. When they go to school, they learn to read in the dominant language. They memorize a story orally from their mother that they heard, but if not, the child may grow up without their literature, and even when they grow up, they will not be an intelligent and well-behaved person, on the contrary, they will be a misfit.
Today, however, despite all the difficulties of the past, Kurdish children are learning and being educated in their mother tongue in schools. At least a dozen publishing houses have listened to children and published works for them. Nowadays, at least, children learn and speak their mother tongue freely in schools, homes, and streets. (Kurdshop: The author refers to the schools in the Western part of Kurdistan. Obviously, there is Kurdish education in the southern part of Kurdistan, but there is still no Kurdish schooling in North and East parts of Kurdistan).
Despite all the obstacles of Kurdish life, writers tried to show their imagination to children with colors and pictures full of colorful animals and nature. Although there are few types of children's stories in Kurdish children's literature, writers have tried to teach children social principles, hygiene, experience, and life in a good future.
