The Power of Culture

"Last year I was celebrating my birthday in a club and agents came storming in, claiming that the ban on smoking was being violated." The singer is not militant, but does make clear choices. When the Turkish government launched a Kurdish broadcasting channel on TRT6 in 2009, Rojin was given a talk show. "I was happy with the initiative, but they made it virtually impossible for me to work. They suspected that there was some secret message behind every sentence I uttered, which meant I was continually at loggerheads with the authorities. Ultimately I was censured and I gave up the show. I was regarded as a criminal and I don’t want to be treated that way."

Rojin has not had it easy as an actress, either. "I worked at a theatre company that was subsidised by the state. At a certain moment I was fired because I had also worked on Kurdish films." Since the release of her CD by Sony, the singer has had many hits, including some Kurdish songs. "I am not a purist; I sing Turkish songs, as well. Nor do I have a particular language preference. After all, you don’t ask children whom they love more - their father or their mother, do you?" Rojin frequently writes her songs herself, but she has also translated songs by the Canadian singer Loreena McKennit. Rojin's music generally has a folk-like character, but Deq Dövme, her most recent CD, also includes rock guitars.