When people talk about the Kurdish issue in Turkey, the conversation usually focuses on politics, security, or conflict. What often gets overlooked is something much simpler: why do so many Kurds feel forgotten?
Again and again Kurds feel betrayed or neglected. For just one classic example let´s go back a couple of years to the Earthquake that hit the Kurdish communities on the faultline between Syria and Turkey where many Kurds have their home. It hit rebel controlled areas of Syria. And thay at least got some help. It hit government controlled areas of Syria where (uniquely see below) the Next Century Foundation was the only donor. It hit ethnicly Turkish areas of Turkey and some modest aid was provided. But this earthquake in February 2023 also hit Kurdish areas of Syria and Turkey and, by and large, nothing was done to help them.
The earthquake itself did not discriminate. Buildings collapsed regardless of ethnicity. But the aftermath raised difficult questions about inequality, development, and whose lives seem to matter most when disaster strikes.
The Earthquake That Exposed Old Wounds
Many of the areas worst affected by the earthquake had large Kurdish populations. In the days that followed, social media was filled with videos of people desperately calling for help. Families stood in freezing temperatures waiting for rescue teams that never seemed to arrive. Survivors described digging through rubble with their bare hands because there was no heavy machinery available.
For many people in these communities, the frustration was not simply about a delayed emergency response. It was about a feeling they had experienced long before the earthquake. A feeling of being left behind.
A History That Never Really Went Away
This is where the conversation becomes uncomfortable.
Turkey has made enormous economic progress over the past few decades. Cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir have seen significant investment, development, and infrastructure growth. Yet many predominantly Kurdish regions in the southeast continue to lag on a range of economic and social indicators.
These disparities are not accidental. They point to decades of lower investment, weaker infrastructure, and fewer economic opportunities in Kurdish-majority provinces. The message this sends is powerful.
If a community already feels neglected, every crisis reinforces that belief.
The Kurdish experience in Turkey cannot be separated from history. For much of the twentieth century Kurdish identity faced significant restrictions. Speaking Kurdish, expressing Kurdish culture, and advocating for Kurdish political rights often brought consequences. While a some of the most severe restrictions have been lifted, tensions remain.
Who Gets Heard?
Today, Kurdish politicians, journalists, and activists frequently find themselves at the centre of political controversies, investigations, and arrests. Elected mayors in Kurdish-majority areas have repeatedly been replaced by government-appointed trustees. These actions may have legal justification in the eyes of the state, but they also deepen feelings of political exclusion among many Kurdish citizens.
The result is a growing gap in trust.
Trust is difficult to build and incredibly easy to lose.
Who Gets Invested In?
This is why the earthquake response resonated so deeply. It was not simply about rescue teams or emergency aid. It became a symbol of a broader question: would these communities receive the same attention and support as others?
For many Kurds, the answer felt painfully familiar.
The tragedy also highlighted a wider issue that extends beyond Turkey. Around the world, minority communities are often concentrated in areas that receive less investment, weaker public services, and fewer economic opportunities. When disasters strike, these inequalities become impossible to hide.
Natural disasters do not create inequality. They reveal it.
What Comes After Reconstruction?
Three years later, the physical rebuilding continues in some parts of the earthquake zone. Some roads have been repaired. Some new housing projects are underway. Life, as it always does, moves forward.
But rebuilding buildings is easier than rebuilding trust.
For many of the Kurds who live in Turkey, the deeper question remains unanswered. It is not simply whether their homes will be rebuilt. It is whether they will ever feel like equal partners in the future of the country they call home.
Until that question is addressed, the sense of being forgotten is unlikely to disappear.
Image above by Maximilian from Pixabay
The NCF was active during this particular earthquake on the Syrian side. For NCF involvement, click here
