One man, two cultures: last year, after 24 years in exile, I returned to Iraqi Kurdistan to visit my family for Newroz, the Kurdish New Year celebrations. I wanted to go there to reflect on the experiences of my life, which have led me from Iran, to Iraq, and finally to Switzerland. I would like to share with you a brief summary of my path out of my homeland.

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POLITICS FEATURE

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One man, two cultures: last year, after 24 years in exile, I returned to Iraqi Kurdistan to visit my family for Newroz, the Kurdish New Year celebrations. I wanted to go there to reflect on the experiences of my life, which have led me from Iran, to Iraq, and finally to Switzerland. I would like to share with you a brief summary of my path out of my homeland.

The 19th-century Kurdish poet Nali describes exile as 'a dark place', 'prison', 'tragedy' and 'treason'. On the other hand, Nali portrays Kurdistan as 'a light-filled and sacred place', 'the motherland' and 'a place of loyalty'.

Another Kurdish writer, Ali Bakhtiar, wrote in 2005 that "the sentiment that results from the trag...

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