Kurdistan at the World Cup!
Saman Ako and Shalo Salar, both from the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil, went to the see the games in Brazil together with a large banner that spells out “Kurdistan” next to a picture of the Kurdish flag.
At one of the first games in the city of Sao Paolo they met up with Halwest Agha, a Kurd from Norway, who noticed the pair walking around in Kurdish clothes. There, the duo became a trio, and traveled to the city of Salvador to watch the next game.
At the stadium in Salvador, where Holland played Costa Rica, two Kurds from Australia noticed that they were not the only ones at the World Cup with a Kurdish flag. They spotted the trio and their flag from across the stadium, and joined them.
“Then, a Kurd from Israel saw us,” explained Ako. “His grandfather was a Kurd who migrated to Israel decades ago. He felt strongly about Kurdistan and decided to join us with his flag.”
Since Ako and Salar arrived in Brazil, thousands have had their picture taken at each match under the “Kurdistan” banner.
“Over 1,000 people have taken pictures with the Kurdistani flag since we got here,” Ako said.
This is not the first time that Ako has promoted Kurdistan at a soccer game.
In 2012, Ako and some friends went to Barcelona to watch FBC (Football Club Barcelona) play Real Madrid. They carried a banner showing both the Kurdish and Catalan flags, with the words: “Kurdistan is not Iraq, Catalonia is not Spain.” That photo went viral on the Internet.
Rudaw
