Children ran away and died of hunger or exposure rather than endure such psychological and at times physical torture. This was cultural genocide, from which the American people have finally begun to move away. Our Congress has sought to redeem this policy of shame by enacting legislation to encourage the use of indigenous languages and their transmission from generation to generation. Similarly, generations of children in the boarding schools of Turkish Kurdistan, and in other schools where speaking their mother tongue is not only prohibited but punished by beatings or other abuse, have suffered from a policy to be condemned for its futility as well as cruelty. Happily, both the Kurdish people and the Kurdish language have survived, and their recognition can liberate Kurd and Turk alike.
Education can replace mutual fear with mutual curiosity.
Whatever shape the political forms may take, Kurds and Turks will remain neighbors and partners in trade and development. Educational policies respecting the right of Kurdish communities to education in Kurdish, while encouraging children throughout Turkey to master both languages, will promote cultural understanding and economic opportunity for all. By restoring the normal politics of peace, the Turkish Government can win the applause of the world. Economic development and Kurdish self-determination must go hand in hand, along with full recognition of the rights of labor. The rebuilding of the 3400 Kurdish villages destroyed in the war, and the repatriation of the 3 million or more refugees, is an imperative of justice and social peace for which the United States is ready to supply massive assistance.