Kurds fear 'everything will change' if Syria, Turkey reconcile

Syrian and Turkish flags flutter at the Turkish-Syrian border, as seen from the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, Syria September 9, 2022. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

QAMISHLI, Syria (Reuters) - A decade into their experiment in self-rule, Syria's Kurds fear an apparent rapprochement between Damascus and their foe the Turkish government could cost them their hard-won way of life.

Before Syria's conflict broke out, the country's roughly two million Kurds were not permitted to learn the Kurdish language in school or celebrate their cultural occasions.