Kurds in the Netherlands

{{Infobox Ethnic group

| group = Kurds in the Netherlands
{{lang|nl|Koerden in Nederland}}
{{lang|ku|Kurdên Holendayê}}

| image =

| popplace = from 40,000 up to almost 100,000{{cite web|url=http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/254-turkish-and-kurdish-identity-and-nationalism-in-the-netherlands |title=Turkish and Kurdish Identity and Nationalism in the Netherlands by Tenzin Wangmo |publisher=Humanity in Action |date=2016-12-15 |access-date=2017-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019044416/http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/254-turkish-and-kurdish-identity-and-nationalism-in-the-netherlands |archive-date=2014-10-19 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.parool.nl/gs-b86a2228|title=Inval veroorzaakt onrust tussen Koerden en Turken in Nederland|first=Cyril Rosman & Carla van der|last=Wal|date=October 11, 2019|website=Het Parool}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.kis.nl/groeperingen-de-turks-nederlandse-gemeenschap|title=Groeperingen in de Turks-Nederlandse gemeenschap|date=January 24, 2017|website=Kennisplatform Integratie & Samenleving}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/kurdish-rebel-leader-hoped-to-take-refuge-in-the-netherlands-after-long-association-1.154170?mode=amp|title=Kurdish rebel leader hoped to take refuge in the Netherlands after long association|website=www.irishtimes.com}}

| langs = Kurdish and Dutch

| rels = Sunni Islam, Alevi

| related = Iranian peoples, Kurdish diaspora

}}

Kurds in the Netherlands ({{langx|nl|Koerden in Nederland}}; {{langx|ku|Kurdên Holendayê}}) may refer to people born in or residing in the Netherlands of Kurdish origin.

There are different accounts for the actual Kurdish population within the Netherlands. "The number of Kurds in the Netherlands is not clear, as the Kurds hold different nationalities (Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi and Syrian) and are categorized on the basis of their nationalities in governmental statistics; the figures run from 15,000 up to almost 100,000." Other sources claim that the number of ethnic Kurds in the Netherlands is around 70,000 people.{{cite web|title=Kurds in Netherlands|url=http://www.wereldjournalisten.nl/factsheet/2007/05/23/factsheet_koerden_in_nederland/|website=WereldJournalisten.nl|access-date=9 June 2014|date=23 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813214340/http://www.wereldjournalisten.nl/factsheet/2007/05/23/factsheet_koerden_in_nederland/|archive-date=13 August 2014|url-status=dead}}

The Kurdish community in the Netherlands among which the Turkish Kurds and Iraqi Kurds make up the largest group of Kurds in the Netherlands, exceeding the numbers of Iranian Kurds and Syrian Kurds.

Immigration history

In the Netherlands, Kurdish immigrant workers from Turkey first arrived in the second half of the 1960s.{{cite web|url=http://www.institutkurde.org/en/kurdorama/ |title=The Kurdish Diaspora |publisher=Kurdish Institute of Paris |language=en |access-date=2017-03-03}} Thousands of Kurdish refugees and political refugees fled from Turkey during the 1970s and onward, from Iraq and Iran during the 1980s and 1990s, and from Syria especially during the Syrian Civil War.

Political activism

On 6 October 2014, the Kurds in the Netherlands "stormed the national parliament building in The Hague on Monday night in a protest against ISIS" offensive on the Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab, known in Kurdish as Kobani.{{cite web|author=Reuters Editorial |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-netherlands-idUKKCN0HV22720141006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112195832/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-netherlands-idUKKCN0HV22720141006 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 12, 2018 |title=Kurds in Netherlands storm parliament in protest against Islamic State |publisher=Reuters |date=2014-10-06 |access-date=2017-03-03}}

On 13 May 2015, "Dutch police raided a secret meeting of members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the Netherlands".{{cite web|title=Dutch police raid Kurdish PKK meeting, hold 55 for questioning|url=http://ekurd.net/dutch-police-raid-kurdish-pkk-meeting-hold-55-for-questioning-2015-05-13|website=Ekurd.net|access-date=3 March 2017|date=13 May 2015}} The office of Dutch prosecutors explained "that the Kurdish PKK recruits young Kurds in the Netherlands for its armed struggle against the Turkish army".

On 8 June 2015, the Kurds in the Netherlands celebrated the success of "the left-wing pro-Kurdish party, which won 13 percent of the votes in the Turkish parliamentary elections, leading to much joy and celebrations among Kurds.".{{cite web |url=http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/06/08/kurdish-in-netherlands-celebrate-turkey-election-results/ |title=Kurdish in Netherlands celebrate Turkey election results | NL Times |publisher=Nltimes.nl |date=2015-06-08 |access-date=2017-03-03 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Kurdish minority within the state of Turkey "who want more autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan, but Turkey refuses to give it". In October 2019, thousands of Dutch Kurds staged a protest in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague over Turkey's military operation in northeastern Syria.{{cite web |title=Koerdisch protest in Den Haag: 'We voelen ons gebruikt, bedrogen'|url=https://www.rtl.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/4882531/koerdisch-koerden-protest-den-haag-turkije|publisher=RTL Nieuws|language=nl |date=12 October 2019|access-date=12 October 2019}}{{cite web |title=Koerden demonstreren in Amsterdam|url=https://www.blikopnieuws.nl/nieuws/277081/koerden-demonstreren-in-amsterdam.html|publisher=Blik op nieuws|language=nl |date=19 October 2019|access-date=19 October 2019}}{{cite web |title=Demonstratie Koerden in Rotterdam rustig verlopen|url=https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1946442010/demonstratie-koerden-in-rotterdam-rustig-verlopen|publisher=De Telegraaf|language=nl |date=2 November 2019|access-date=2 November 2019}}

==See also==

References

Category:Ethnic groups in the Netherlands

Category:Middle Eastern diaspora in the Netherlands

Category:Muslim communities in Europe

Netherlands