Kurds in Georgia celebrate arrival of New Year on December 28, 2022. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A large number of Georgian Kurds, many of whom were Yazidis, gathered together in the capital city of Tbilisi on Wednesday to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
During the Kurdish community gathering, Kurdish music was played with some of the attendants wearing colourful Kurdish clothing.
They found such gatherings important for boosting social relations between Kurds of the former Soviet country.
Bella Sturki is a presenter at the Kurdish Radio of Tbilisi.
“I wish all Kurds across the four parts of Kurdistan [Kurds living in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran], diaspora Kurds including those living in Sweden, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia a happy new year,” she told Rudaw’s Kamiz Shadadi.
Inga Anqosi, a Kurdish civil activist in Georgia, wished happy New Year to all Kurds “I hope the new year will bring peace and prosperity.”
During the party, Kurdish painters and artists displayed their artworks depicting Kurdish culture and dance.
Thousands of Kurds, mainly of the Yezidi faith, arrived in Georgia from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the Kurdistan Region, and most now live in Tbilisi.
The majority live in unfavourable economic conditions, with many Kurdish women working in the markets or as street vendors.
It is believed that the first group of Yazidi Kurds arrived in Georgia in the mid-18th and early 19th centuries, fleeing religious persecution under the Ottoman Empire.
A 1926 census shows a total of 2,502 Muslims and Yazidi Kurds. However, their unofficial number now exceeds 10,000, comprising one percent of Georgia’s five million population.
Suliko Simhayev is a Kurdish national in Georgia.
“I would like to wish my nation a happy new year and the entire nations of the world, too. We pray for peace in the world,” he said.
“We had a difficult year as the Kurdish nation. I believe we will see peace and development in the new year. I wish for the unity of the Kurdish nation during the new year. Again happy new year to all,” said Andro Cildergusi, a Kurdish artist in Georgia.
During the Kurdish community gathering, Kurdish music was played with some of the attendants wearing colourful Kurdish clothing.
They found such gatherings important for boosting social relations between Kurds of the former Soviet country.
Bella Sturki is a presenter at the Kurdish Radio of Tbilisi.
“I wish all Kurds across the four parts of Kurdistan [Kurds living in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran], diaspora Kurds including those living in Sweden, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia a happy new year,” she told Rudaw’s Kamiz Shadadi.
Inga Anqosi, a Kurdish civil activist in Georgia, wished happy New Year to all Kurds “I hope the new year will bring peace and prosperity.”
During the party, Kurdish painters and artists displayed their artworks depicting Kurdish culture and dance.
Thousands of Kurds, mainly of the Yezidi faith, arrived in Georgia from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the Kurdistan Region, and most now live in Tbilisi.
The majority live in unfavourable economic conditions, with many Kurdish women working in the markets or as street vendors.
It is believed that the first group of Yazidi Kurds arrived in Georgia in the mid-18th and early 19th centuries, fleeing religious persecution under the Ottoman Empire.
A 1926 census shows a total of 2,502 Muslims and Yazidi Kurds. However, their unofficial number now exceeds 10,000, comprising one percent of Georgia’s five million population.
Suliko Simhayev is a Kurdish national in Georgia.
“I would like to wish my nation a happy new year and the entire nations of the world, too. We pray for peace in the world,” he said.
“We had a difficult year as the Kurdish nation. I believe we will see peace and development in the new year. I wish for the unity of the Kurdish nation during the new year. Again happy new year to all,” said Andro Cildergusi, a Kurdish artist in Georgia.
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