Helperkê: A Dance without a break

Wartime dances are meant to parade that Kurds are not scared of the enemy and are united to protect their homeland. Unlike most war dances (e.g., The Haka - New Zealand's Native), the Kurdish version is not rigorous or highly emotional; it's breezy and approaches war like any significant event during one's life. This could be rooted in the long list of conflicts involving the Kurdistan region. As an ethnic minority of nearly 30 million people divided across the Middle East, the Kurds have "No Friends But The Mountains." 

One of the most recent significant wars involving this region is their fight with ISIS. It started with defending their townships in Syria from 2014-2015 (city of Kobane) and later with the conflicts in Iraq during 2017-2019. During the war in Kobane, we saw many videos of the bravery of defenders, and their Helperkê before combats. They would continue dancing while they could hear gunshots fired a few miles away, yet after they had lost friends on the same day. This left me with one thought and only one, we have faith that they would never stop dancing, even after they pass on ...