Kurds from all over London and beyond gathered in Finsbury Park to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish new year.
There were around fifteen stalls selling handmade jewellery, floral scarfs, dresses and traditional food such as sarma, kisir, borek, kurabiye and cacik. Dressing colourfully and dancing is an important part of Newroz, and the day saw people of all ages joining hands and moving in circles while joyful kids in bright dresses danced between the excited crowd.
On the community website the event was described as a chance for Kurds to show “solidarity” and on Sunday the crowd appeared to include socialists, feminists, and anti-fascists.
The website also points out that this year’s celebrations came at a time of troubling news such as “the murders in January of three leading Kurdish women activists in the centre of Paris which still remain unexplained”, and what the site describes as “a crackdown on Kurdish political organisations” in Turkey. A representative from the pro-minority Turkish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) therefore attended the celebrations to address the crowds.
The dancers performing Kurdish folk dances were Chopi; Seyda Perincek; Grup Seyran; Koma Serxwebûn; Pinar Yildiz; Group KurdNewa; and Koma Serxwebûn.