S Y R I A
There are 1.1 million Kurds in Syria. Aside from the more general suppression of human rights within that country, the government closely monitors the Kurdish community. At times, Kurdish cultural celebrations such as the New Year, are forbidden.
Syrian Kurds have been ruled under emergency law for
the last 30 years, along with the rest of the Syrian population. Apart from
the general denial of human rights, many Kurds are refused citizenship and
civil protest is not tolerated, with local human rights groups forbidden to
address internal violations.
A B O U T S Y R I A
The Syrian Arab Republic is bordered by Turkey, Iraq, Jordan,
Israel, Lebanon, and the Mediterranean Sea.
P E O P L E
Arabic is the mother tongue of 85-90% of the population.
Kurds are the largest linguistic minority (11%). There are also small communities
of Armenians, Circassians, Turks, and Aramaic-speakers.
F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N
LINK: Library of Congress Federal Reserve Division: SYRIA
