BAYANSAMIABDULRAHMAN-
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative
PHOTOBYTONYPOWELL
D
o you feel limited in any way because you are the KRG representative
rather than a fully credentialed ambassador to the U.S.? It is to the
U.S.’s benefit as well as ours that the Kurdistan Regional Government has a
representative and a mission in Washington, D.C. This makes our job easier.
There are occasions when the situation is unhelpful, for exa mple, when my
government is excluded from anti-ISIL coalition meetings even though Kurdish
forces are the tip of the spear against the terrorists and we are sheltering 1.8
million refugees and displaced people.
What are your most important diplomatic goals at this time? Our immediate
goals are to continue to strengthen the partnership with the United States in the
fields of security and humanitarian assistance. Kurdistan has seen a 30 percent
increase in its population due to the arrival of refugees and displaced people
and both the displaced and host communities need help.
Why does Kurdistan wish to achieve independence? Every nation wants to be a
master of its own destiny and the people of Kurdistan are no different. We wish to
navigate our own course rather than have our fate tied to the whims of dictators,
like Saddam, or Iraqi rulers that control all powers in the center. Kurdistan has
proven itself as a stabilizing force in a sea of Middle East turbulence.
Describe your career prior to taking up your current post. I worked as a
journalist for about 17 years before joining the KRG as its representative to the
UK. After 10 years in London, I was posted to Washington at the beginning of
this year..
How has your own family’s experience influenced your mission? My father
was in the Kurdish leadership and he and my mother devoted their lives to
the Kurdish cause. They made many sacrifices. My father and elder brother
were killed in a terrorist attack. Their lives and not their deaths, the words and
deeds of my parents and brother, are what provide me with inspiration and the
determination to persevere, no matter what the obstacle.
@KRG_USA
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