(NPT Press Release)
New original documentary explores Nashville’s Kurdish Population
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — May 19, 2008 — For the past thirty years, Kurdish immigrants in Nashville have started the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States and opened businesses, restaurants, markets and bakeries, building what is now the largest Kurdish population in North America. On Wednesday, May 28 at 8:00 p.m., Nashville Public Television (NPT) introduces the city to this thriving community with the premiere of NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA, the first in a new series of documentary programs under the NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS banner.
“As refugees, Kurds have overcome significant barriers to survive and flourish in Nashville,” says Will Pedigo, the program’s writer, producer and director. “They arrive as outsiders; estranged from their homeland and strangers in their new home. With this documentary, and the future installments in the Next Door Neighbors series, we hope to encourage Nashville to make strides towards a greater awareness of its diversity and provide an avenue for interaction among all our neighbors.”
The first significant wave of Kurds arrived in Nashville in 1976. They have since established a vibrant community recognized by Kurds nationally for its strong cultural and traditional heritage. The half-hour NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA examines how these Kurds have adapted to life in Nashville and provides insight into the struggles refugees face as they build new lives in a new home. The documentary explores what it means to be Kurdish, and reflects on the journey Kurds make as they become Kurdish-Americans trying to assimilate into American culture and still hold on to their traditions. In addition to meeting a variety of Kurdish immigrants and Kurdish-Americans, viewers will also visit Azadi International Foods for fresh-baked Kurdish bread, go inside the Salahadeen Center, the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States, and hear about life in Nashville from younger generations of Kurds.
The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series looks at Nashville’s status as a new destination city for refugees and immigrants, and explores the rich diversity of people now calling Nashville home. Across the United States, mid-sized cities like Nashville are experiencing unprecedented growth in their international populations. Together these communities are redefining the traditional international city on a smaller local scale.
“As our new neighbors rebuild their lives in Nashville,” says Pedigo, “their experiences, contributions and conflicts impact the city. They are also challenged by isolation and barriers unknown to many Nashvillians. How Nashville addresses its changing demographic will be important for the future of similar communities across the country.”
The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series will include in-depth web content at wnpt.net, public forums and feature a panel discussion after each of the four programs.
NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA is made possible through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s My Source initiative and is supported by The HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA and the TriStar Family of Hospitals. A partnership with the Vanderbilt University Center for Nashville Studies provided valuable research and community outreach.
8 Comments
[…] to the largest Kurdish population in North America? I’m looking forward to seeing the new Nashville Public Television documentary series set to debut tonight (8 p.m., Comcast channel 8), and I think program writer, director and producer […]
I was watching that enjoyable documentary (NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA), it was great. Hope we Kurdish people could demonstrate more of our performances to America. “We are one great nation with delighted hearts”
The documentary was excellent. very educational and informative of what exists in our community. It is amazing how much the Kurdish people have been contributing to the Nashville community, all the business etc.
Kurds are a great asset to our nation, hardworking, law abiding individuals with great character.
GREAT JOB NPT and all those that help in the making of this wonderful piece. I hope to see more documentaries about other immigrant or refugee groups. All the different groups of people are treasures for our nations.
Thank you for this post, it was very interesting!!
I enjoyed the documentary very much and have served many in the Kurdish population in the Nashville area. The one thing that the documentary lacked was showing just how grateful the Kurdish people are for the friendly Americans that give them a chance and trust them and their admiration for ancestors that sacrificed for this wonderful country. I talked to many Kurds that were so grateful for the ousting of Saddam Hussein and the American presence in Iraq. I have heard nothing but positive from them and I think sometimes the producers of documentaries like this want to find fault with Americans and make us look narrowminded, when in fact, we are the most accepting people in the world.
I must say this was one of the most beautiful things that anyone can give to the Kurdish community. I thank the producers and anyone else who was involved in this video and those made it possible. It was truly a beautiful thing to watch. Thank you so much!
Dr. Aaron Milstone examines Mohammed Aziz, who endured a mustard gas attack in 1988 in Iraq. He he has been treated at VUMC since 2001. Photo by Dana Johnson
Mohammed Aziz still suffers the effects of a mustard gas attack he endured 15 years ago in his native Iraq. Aziz — who has been treated at Vanderbilt since 2001 — is the first proven case of brochiolitis obliterans seen in the United States after exposure to mustard gas, according to a report in the Aug. 6 Journal of the American Medical Association.
Vanderbilt pulmonary physicians are familiar with bronchiolitis obliterans. Considered relatively rare, the disorder causes scarring and inflammation to the lungs. It is most commonly seen in post lung and bone marrow transplant patients, patients with connective tissue disorders, and can arise after complications from certain forms of viral and bacterial infections.
Aziz, 39, is being treated by Vanderbilt pulmonologists Dr. Aaron Milstone, assistant professor of Medicine, Jason Thomason and Todd Rice, both senior fellows in Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
Aziz was referred to Vanderbilt for a possible lung transplant from an area hospital. He presented with severe shortness of breath, a constant cough and very low oxygen levels. Upon questioning, doctors learned Aziz’s history — he lived in the Kurdish town of Halabja, which was the target of an Iraqi chemical weapons attack that included mustard gas and nerve agents during the Iran-Iraq War.
“This is the first and probably the only time in our clinical practices to see something like this,” Milstone said. “We were mesmerized by his story.
“When I met him two years ago, I thought he had less than a year to live. I am very impressed with how well he has done. His prognosis is difficult. We are hopeful that with supportive care and antibiotics we will be able to keep him stable so that he can maintain a good quality of life and not require transplant for another two to five years.”
Aziz is presently taking high-dose steroids and antibiotics to suppress the inflammation. He agrees that since beginning treatment under Drs. Milstone, Thomason and Rice that his health has greatly improved.
“It’s interesting, when I first came to Nashville, no one would take my illness seriously,” Aziz said through an interpreter, Aram Khoshnaw. “I didn’t get the service I needed until I was really, really sick. It took about six months. Now, I can walk, there is less coughing, my quality of life has improved considerably.”
Aziz, who has no history of smoking or lung problems, describes the day of the attack – which is also documented in the JAMA report.
A student at Baghdad University, he was home visiting his parents. He recalls rushing to the basement of their home for safety.
“We gathered ourselves and tried to escape,” he said. “The children and elders were nauseated, vomiting and blind. But after two hours I had the same side effects. I lost my [eyesight] for almost a month. Led by friends about six kilometers (4 miles), I escaped. It was horrible going through the Iran border hearing death, people falling, people dying along the way.”
Within hours of the attack, 15 family members were dead. A reported 5,000 people died the day of the attack and up to 12,000 died in the days following.
Aziz was taken to New York for treatment through the Red Crescent Service of Iran, where he later returned to live in a refugee camp. In 1991 he returned home to Halabja to help rebuild the town.