In 1988, hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled northern Iraq as Saddam Hussein’s armies hunted them down. Many ended up in Nashville, making this southern city home to the largest Kurdish community in America.Their stories are epic. Stories of bloody genocide, freedom fighters, faraway mountains and the American Dream. But the story of the Kurdish people, no matter where they are, is a story about a country that only exists in the hearts of its people. Across centuries, across continents, across generations — this is a story about a people’s fight to exist.

For over three decades Kurdish refugees have found a safe place to land in America. The latest wave of Kurds is arriving from Turkey – fleeing political repression and nationalist hate groups.  But today, they’re coming to a very different America. It’s an America in turmoil. A place where immigrants are increasingly seen as enemies within, to be rooted out and sent back to where they came from.

For over three decades Kurdish refugees have found a safe place to land in America. The latest wave of Kurds is arriving from Turkey – fleeing political repression and nationalist hate groups. 
But today, they’re coming to a very different America. It’s an America in turmoil. A place where immigrants are increasingly seen as enemies within, to be rooted out and sent back to where they came from.

The Kurdish American Dream

When a wave of Kurdish refugees came to Nashville, they quickly got to work. They opened businesses and raised their kids. As those kids grew up, they had to figure out how to navigate the world of a first-generation Kurdish-American teenager. And in that world, something new was forming -- something that threatened to tarnish the sterling reputation their parents worked hard to build.

When a wave of Kurdish refugees came to Nashville, they quickly got to work. They opened businesses and raised their kids. As those kids grew up, they had to figure out how to navigate the world of a first-generation Kurdish-American teenager. And in that world, something new was forming -- something that threatened to tarnish the sterling reputation their parents worked hard to build.

Safety Zone

WPLN reporter Rose Gilbert takes a journey through the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan and into generations of one Kurdish family. Revealing all this family  lost to war and displacement. But also, what they are determined to reclaim and rebuild.

WPLN reporter Rose Gilbert takes a journey through the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan and into generations of one Kurdish family. Revealing all this family  lost to war and displacement. But also, what they are determined to reclaim and rebuild.

The Ones Who Face Death

We dive headlong into one family’s migration odyssey from Iraqi Kurdistan to Nashville. To really understand what this family — and so many others — were fleeing from, we need to go back to one terrible, pivotal day in 1988. And to do that, we need to go to Kurdistan.

We dive headlong into one family’s migration odyssey from Iraqi Kurdistan to Nashville. To really understand what this family — and so many others — were fleeing from, we need to go back to one terrible, pivotal day in 1988. And to do that, we need to go to Kurdistan.

The Enemy Within

The story of how Nashville became home to the largest Kurdish diaspora in America is an epic one. A tale of bloody genocide, of freedom fighters, of stunning perseverance. But the story of the Kurdish people, no matter where they are, is a story about a country that only exists in the hearts of its people. And the lengths they’ll go to make it real.

The story of how Nashville became home to the largest Kurdish diaspora in America is an epic one. A tale of bloody genocide, of freedom fighters, of stunning perseverance. 
But the story of the Kurdish people, no matter where they are, is a story about a country that only exists in the hearts of its people. And the lengths they’ll go to make it real.