Mahmut Baksi
Mahmut Baksi Kurdish: Mehmûd Baksî (* 1944 in Kozluk in the Batman province ; † December 19, 2000 in Stockholm ) was a Kurdish-Swedish journalist and writer.
Mahmud Baksi grew up in Kurdistan and lived in Istanbul after completing his military service . Originally a trained teacher, he worked as a journalist. In 1968 he published books about the life of the Kurds in Turkey. The books were banned and the author was imprisoned. Germany was his first exile for Baksi, to which he could illegally escape in 1970. In 1971 the Turkish military junta demanded the author's extradition. It was only in Sweden that Baksi found a relatively secure asylum for the rest of his life, where he could work and publish for newspapers, radio and television.
The living situation of the Kurds and the political situation in the Middle East were just as central to his works as the social, economic and cultural conditions of migrants on the run and in exile. Mahmut Baksi's books for young people and children, as well as his lyrics for the Kurdish singer Şivan Perwer, became well known . His books have been published in Swedish, Danish, German, English, Kurdish, Norwegian and Turkish, some of them written by himself in these languages (Turkish, Kurdish, Swedish), some in translations.
The novel “Dono” was published in Germany in the 1990s, reflecting Baksi's memories of the resistance in the “unjust state”. With his partner Elin Clason he wrote the novel "In the night over the mountains" (Hêlîn), which received awards as a book for young people in Austria and Switzerland.
After his death in exile in Stockholm, Baksi was buried next to his parents in Diyarbakir on January 4, 2001, as requested. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 mourners attended the ceremony, and other newcomers were prevented from entering the city at the gates of the city. Numerous mourners were temporarily detained by the Turkish police.
Works
In German translation
- Mahmut Baksi, Elin Clason: In the night over the mountains. dtv. Translated by Christine Hollinger. ISBN 3-423-78159-9
- Mahmut Baksi: I was a child in Kurdistan. Carlsen Verlag 1996
- Mahmut Baksi: Dono . Novel - Edition arArat. Translation from Kurdish by Barbara Sträuli. Unrast publishing house. ISBN 3-89771-851-0
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baksi, Mahmut |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baksî, Mahmûd (Kurdish) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Kurdish-Swedish journalist and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kozluk , Kurdistan / Turkey |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 19, 2000 |
| Place of death | Stockholm |