Abstract
Background and Objectives: The 1983 Barzani Genocide’s legacies—unresolved disappearances, intergenerational trauma, and ongoing forensic/memorial work—frame rising youth roles as memory brokers and civic problem‑solvers. This study examines how Barzani youth ascribe meaning to inherited violence and enact transformation in everyday community repair (volunteering, survivor accompaniment, cultural revival, local advocacy, digital memory stewardship) across the Barzan valley, Erbil, and Duhok, and how gendered, rural–urban, and classed positions shape participation and institutional linkages.
Methods: Hermeneutic phenomenology (Van Manen, 1990) guided a qualitative design. Purposive sampling recruited 12 Kurdish youths (38–46 years; survivors or first‑generation descendants). Semi‑structured interviews (60–90 minutes) were conducted July–September 2024 in private, participant‑chosen settings; audio‑recorded, transcribed, and translated. Analysis followed Van Manen’s six activities with holistic, selective, and detailed readings. Trustworthiness was ensured via prolonged engagement, member checking, and peer debriefing. Ethics approval was granted by Hawler Medical University; pseudonyms preserved confidentiality.
Results: Four themes emerged: (1) Memory, Identity, and Emotional Inheritance—post‑memory, Barzani‑specific identity, and a dialectic of trauma and resilience; (2) Education as Empowerment and Resistance—access/representation and Kurdish‑medium learning as political-cultural resistance; (3) Youth Leadership and Societal Transformation—civic engagement, service‑oriented problem‑solving, and gender‑balanced leadership; (4) Barriers, Aspirations, and Future Visions—corruption, unemployment, and party patronage alongside pragmatic hope, civic‑tech micro‑innovations, and nation‑building visions.
Conclusion: Barzani youth convert inherited grief into ethical orientation and practical civic action—remembering as refusal of erasure, education as resistance, and inclusive leadership—while navigating constrained political opportunities. Policy and programming should resource survivor‑centered, youth‑led initiatives; culturally sustaining Kurdish‑medium curricula; gender‑equitable leadership pipelines; and accountable municipal channels, while mitigating politicization and volunteer fatigue. Findings inform transitional justice, forensic identification and memorialization, and inclusive development in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Keywords: Barzani Genocide; Kurdistan Region of Iraq; hermeneutic phenomenology; intergenerational memory; education as resistance; youth leadership; civic engagement; transitional justice. Full Text Research
