I sent a friend I made in Kurdistan, a link to my last two rather sad blog posts.
"Don't worry about us so much" he responded, "We're no cowards, every Kurdish male knows he might have to die for his country".
I certainly don't think the Kurds are cowards. Years of resistance has made them pretty damm tough actually. I have no doubt that a good number of them would willingly look death in the eye.
Courage has other faces too though. I see it in the eyes of the widows and mothers waiting in line for the government pension--barely enough to get by. You see it in those who had loved ones in the 9/11 attacks, families of U.S. soliders killed, or Iraqis living in Baghdad. They have to have courage to endure, to move on and -- the hardest of all -- to forgive.
When some Turks I was talking to a couple nights ago heard I went into Northern Iraq alone they said I must be very brave. No. I don't think so. Running around Kurdistan with a camera, drinking tea and snapping pictures of friendly people isn't really very brave. Moving on when you've lost everything most dear to you is.
---------------------------------- Jennifer Chase Photography washington DC photographer www.jenniferchasephoto.com