Changing people’s lives 3,037 miles away

GUEST BLOGGER

 Ruwayda Mustafa & Sazan M. Mandalawi

Dear Reader,

You might be surprised that this post is not by Sazan Mandalawi. Those who regularly follow this blog are all aware that guest bloggers often make an appearance on this blog.

Today Sazan and myself went out in Euston, listened to Jazz music and enjoyed delicious Italian coffee (Not quite as good as Ahmadi chai, which Sazan relishes, but it was close enough).

I’ve known Sazan for a while. I knew her before she found out I, Ruwayda, on the other side of earth, approximately 3,037 miles away (according to Google Map) from Hewler follow her blog. 

I didn’t start out as a Kurdish blogger. I read Sazan’s blog, and it was intriguing to see someone blog from Kurdistan about Kurdish things - not political but simply cultural. It made me happy and excited that someone would take interest in my culture, and that other Kurdish people similar to me exist!

You see, we don’t have many Kurdish bloggers who consistently blog on Kurdish related things. In the past three years we have seen a great number of new bloggers, marking their spot online and on social networking sites. It thrills me to see new Kurdish bloggers. We are a growing active online community.

Who imagined this 10 years ago, I didn’t (perhaps I couldn’t because I was 12 years old and Twitter didn’t exist). 

Blogging about Kurdish culture and society changes the lives of many people and those who blog often don’t know the impact of what they write. As a blogger you have an independent voice, a secure platform, and (to some extent) anonymity to write freely. 

Here’s a little gem for those who haven’t seen it. Sazan started blogging on 8 September 2008. She started her first blogpost with lyrics to Delta Goodrem’s song ‘Born to try’. 

Be a Kurdish Blogger, change the world!

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Sazan: Thank you Ruwayda. One of the success of this blog is that I have been able to get in touch with so many young people with much motivation, energy and inspiration! I still remember our initial email exchanges they started with 'salam' and ended with 'regards' now they start with 'kcheeee' and end with 'btkozhm' .....