The Fallen Leaves Are Dancing

I was born a Kurdish girl in Iran, a country that systematically suppresses the Kurdish language and cultural identity. My father was a member of a banned Kurdish political party and was forced into exile. Our home was confiscated, and my mother raised us while living under constant threat from the Iranian regime. When I was nine, we fled and were granted political asylum in Sweden. Even before we were displaced, I was searching for a sense of belonging. I grew up with absence and fear embedded in daily life and with the knowledge that my identity was not allowed a voice. Fleeing did not initiate this struggle; it intensified it. Through my work, I explore what was taken away: silenced family histories and an imagined homeland embodied and carried through light and fleeting moments. This project offers a personal perspective on the Kurdish experience, bringing narratives from a forgotten region into the public eye, and enabling displaced voices, inherited trauma, and quiet forms of resistance to be seen and remembered.