ERBIL, Kurdistan Region, Iraq — The 17th Erbil International Book Fair opened here April 9 with thousands participating, a registration of the gains of the oppressed Kurdish people in their centurylong struggle for national rights and a homeland. To highlight growing international recognition of the Kurdish language and book publishing here, of both Kurdish and translated literature, the slogan of this year’s fair is “The World Speaks Kurdish.”
The Kurdish struggle has made advances amid world capitalism’s accelerating disorder and sharpening conflicts in this region. These include the blood-drenched 1991 and 2003 U.S.-led imperialist invasions of Iraq; the rise of Islamic State with its reign of terror; the spread of militias advancing the expansionist moves of the regime in Tehran; as well as the decadelong civil war in Syria and overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad dictatorship there late last year.
Participants at the book fair are looking for titles on Kurdish and world history; on science, technology, art and architecture; classics of world literature; language-learning resources; and children’s books. Reports in the press here note the special interest in books in English.
Pathfinder books are on prominent display here, with a stand set up by the publisher’s London distributors for the fifth time since 2017. Pathfinder is organizing a meeting here to publicly launch the new edition of Cosmetics, Fashion, and the Exploitation of Women by Mary-Alice Waters, Joseph Hansen, and Evelyn Reed. The book presentation is being held jointly with the Idea Foundation of Sulaymaniyah, which published a Kurdish translation of the book this year. By midway through the fair the English edition has sold 38 copies. Other top sellers include Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? Class, Privilege, and Learning Under Capitalism by Jack Barnes (65 copies); Labor, Nature, and the Evolution of Humanity by Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, George Novack and Waters (43); and Washington’s Assault on Iraq: Opening Guns of World War III (22).
“Our language was suppressed for decades, now we can use it freely. We really value it,” Mohammed Haji told the Militant when he visited the Pathfinder stand.
“I like Che Guevara, he represents the best of humanity,” Haji said. “But I can’t see the transformation to socialism he talked about happening here. We have only just started overcoming backwardness and developing our economy.”
Another person at the stand told Haji about the 1983-87 revolution in Burkina Faso and how Thomas Sankara led millions of working people there to mobilize to tackle the backwardness of the country, to begin acting as makers of history. After hearing about that, Haji bought We Are Heirs of the World’s Revolutions, a selection of Sankara’s speeches, as well as Are They Rich Because They’re Smart?
In addition to the many book stands here, there are panel discussions on a wide range of topics, including poetry recitals and musical performances. One is by Mirzo Band, a group of Yazidi musicians. The Yazidi people had been targeted for genocide by Islamic State, which also targeted Christians and other minorities during its rule over parts of northern Iraq and Syria a decade ago. Events here reflect the determination of these minorities not just to survive but to flourish.