A New Book, titled "Reya Taza" by the Author, Researcher and Journalist, Rohat Alakom, Was Published

21 June 11:05

Language and Literature

"New Way" (Reya Taza) is considered to be the first journal in the Kurdish language in the history of Kurdish journalism. It was published in the Latin alphabet. It is the first time that a Kurdish journal is being published professionally continuously for half a century by a State. This journal has been published in more than five thousand copies.

This work like the other works of Alakom is a research project.

Alakom talks about his work as follows:

"New Way" (Reya Taza) is considered to be the first journal in the Kurdish language in the history of Kurdish journalism. It was published in the Latin alphabet. It is the first time that a Kurdish journal is being published professionally continuously for half a century by a State. This journal has been published in more than five thousand copies. This newspaper (1930) and Rawan radio program (1955) became two towers of Kurdish intellectualism and hope for every Kurd to be proud of their identity. Kurdish culture, as a culture that is threatened in many ways, has found little opportunity for protection in this journal. This newspaper which began to be published on March 25, 1930, in Armenia's Capital city, is considered to be the oldest Kurdish publication. The 90-year history of Regay Taza has come across various circumstances and time periods. It has been published in various forms of alphabetical writings such as Latin, Cyrillic, and Latin again. It has undergone many changes including the content, writers, and form. Although it is not the same as before, however, it was published in 2020 and became very popular. Rohat Alakom publishes the whole archive of Reya Taza in his book. First, he begins by talking about the history of this journal, then he describes the content and also the reason why this journal was closed down after a century. At the end of the book, the author has included many topics being published in the journal.

Who is Rohat Alakom?

He was born in 1966 in Qarasi Qaqzman in Qabakom. He completed his primary and high school education in Qaqzman. He received his university education from 1974 to 1978 in Ankara University. He went abroad after his education. He has always been cautious about the richness of multicultural life.

Since 1983, he has been living in Sweden. He has published several books about culture and history in Kurdish, Turkish, and Swedish. His books have been translated into many other languages, too.