Kurdish Identity and Existence Through Data
By Payraw Anwar
Iraq plans to conduct a census this month after a long period. The process’s slogan and narrative is designed as “Census for Development.” Today’s world is a world of numbers and pure data. Data is knowledge and power! However, in Iraq, power production is not in the hands of the state! This might be the main threat behind every current event in Iraq. After the Second Gulf War, many issues in Iraq have changed due to wars and conflicts – social structure, economic infrastructure, family institution, relationships, inter-group relations, and even geography and climate change. But the major problem facing the census is Iraq’s societal diversity; it encompasses multiple nationalities, religions, and sects! This diversity, rather than being an opportunity for census in Iraq, has always been a ready, standing, and effective threat, especially for Kurds.
Although the survey won’t ask questions about <nationality, religion, and sect>, during data collection, no single component acts as the sole data collector or becomes the main actor in the field. However, practically, there’s still no assurance that identities, real conditions, and events will be accurately translated into data language and used to reshape politics, governance, and decision-making! This is particularly true in the disputed territories where demographics have been manipulated through various political and technical means across different phases, from Sinjar to Khanaqin.
Visible indicators show that a governorate like Kirkuk is experiencing intense population manipulation. Imported Arabs, especially in the south and center of the governorate, are increasing and continuously presenting themselves as owners of the geography with large family sizes. While assurances have been given that this census won’t replace the census mentioned in Article 140 of Iraq’s permanent constitution, the deep question is why the Iraqi government can conduct a “Census for Development” but cannot implement the first phase of Article 140, which was due for implementation in 2008! From here, the census act becomes a major threat to identity security for Kurds as a key actor in the political process and governance in federal Iraq.
What transforms threats into opportunities, survival, and balance for Kurds is returning to the 1957 census records to understand the national status of disputed territories, which is still considered the purest and clearest census. For example: those currently in disputed territories who were imported shouldn’t be registered as original residents if their names weren’t in the 1957 records. Just as Arabs in the Kurdistan Region and Erbil shouldn’t be recorded as original residents, they should be counted in their own governorates.
While this census appears to be for development on the surface, at its core it’s about redistributing power, position, decisions, and values, especially in a federal and multi-national state where dealings are based on identity and your place in the system and decision-making is determined accordingly. Census in a post-war country like Iraq brings new conflicts instead of building peace, especially for Kurds and Kurdish geography. As Foucault said, “Power produces knowledge” – this time, Iraqi authority is attempting supremacy, power, and hegemony through data!