CPTNet
14 September 2006

IRAQ REFLECTION: What's in a name?

by Jan Benvie

I think words are important. Maybe it's because of my background as a
teacher. Or maybe it's because for the past year and a half I have been
working with children who experience communication difficulties, children
who can't find the words to express themselves.

The words and names we use for people and objects often have deeper
meanings. This use of language is something I have become more aware of over
the past few weeks. Coming to a foreign land can involve more than learning
a new language; sometimes it also involves changing some of your existing
language.

For example, where am I living at present? Am I in Iraqi Kurdistan, the
Kurdish area of Iraq, or Southern Kurdistan? (Northern, western and eastern
Kurdistan being the Kurdish areas of Turkey, Syria and Iran respectively)
Should one call the people Kurds, Kurdish Iraqis or Iraqi Kurds? People can
be offended if you use the "wrong" term, even though there does not appear
to be a "right" term. The answer lies in your perception of the situation
here in Iraq--or should that be Kurdistan?

I have also been thinking about the names that the media use to describe
individuals and groups. The terminology used often expresses an opinion.

The Middle East has been a top news story over the past two months. Israeli
soldiers have been "kidnapped or seized" by Hezbollah and Hamas, who are
terrorist organizations. The Israeli Defence Force "arrests and holds"
prisoners. Thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese are in Israeli jails
without who have not been charged with any crime and not offered due process
under the law.

I wonder how many people have noticed that countries have defense forces,
never offense forces! Those denied statehood--like the Kurds, Palestinians,
or the black South Africans-- are terrorists. Of course, names such as
"terrorist" can be temporary. I wonder if Nelson Mandela, during his long
years of imprisonment for terrorism, dreamed he would one day be feted by
world leaders?

Governments, eager to shape public opinion, (generally) have chosen their
words carefully. No more so than when naming military operations. The
invasion of Panama in 1989 was called "Just Cause"; Afghanistan was
"Enduring Freedom" and Iraq "Iraqi Freedom." The recent Israeli invasion of
Lebanon was called "Operation Just Reward." The Israeli military called its
military action in Gaza "Operation Summer Rain."

This question of names is not limited to the political arena. A few weeks
ago we met an Iraqi Christian leader who told us that we were not "loyal
Christians" because we told him we did not agree with his anti-Muslim
statements (said in front of our Muslim translator.) People in Iraq have
sometimes suggested that we change our name, omitting the word "Christian"
because it would "put people off."

What, indeed, is in a name?