Kurdistan has never been...but probably will be soon. The Kurds are the largest nation in the world without a nation-state. Split between Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, the Kurdish people have been gassed, imprisoned, tortured and generally crapped on for a very long time. But their time is about to come.
In 1965 Rhodesia declared independence from the British. The circumstances of their independence would turn out to be highly controversial. The 223,000 white Rhodesians, wary of the chaos that had accompanied majority rule in other former colonies all around them, kept power for themselves. Of course, this left the almost 3 million black Rhodesians without any political power. A long guerrilla war eventually led to an political settlement giving blacks the right to vote. Thus ended Rhodesia...and Zimbabwe was born. It has been led by the disgusting Robert Mugabe ever since. And now, it is an enormous pit of despair. The white farmers have been systematically dispossessed of their land, murdered, or forced out. The land has been given to blacks loyal to Mugabe, most of whom having no farming experience. Thus, it has gone from the breadbasket of Africa to millions of its citizens facing starvation.
For a unique look at the Rhodesian/Zimbabwean experience I recommend several books: Journalist Peter Godwin's Zimbabwe/Rhodesia books, Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa and When A Crocodile Eats the Sun; and Alexandra Fuller's Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight and Scribbling the Cat.
Poor Czechoslovakia...even the coolest president in the world, Vaclav Havel, couldn't keep it together. "Chikety-Czech! Slovakia was just slowing us down!" At least, that's what my t-shirt says. The Czechs had always been a little richer and a little less religious...and they always had Prague. But mostly the split was about national identity going back a very long ways. Despite sharing a language they went their separate ways in 1993.
A: "One ticket to Zaire, please."
B: "Sorry, sir, Zaire no longer exists."
A: "Well, is Kinshasa still the capital?"
B: "Not of Zaire."
A: "Wait a sec, I forgot that it's now called The Congo! Ok, one ticket to The Congo please."
B: "Republic or Democratic Republic?"
A: "I don't know what kind of government they have!"
B: "Sir, there are two different Congos."
A: "Which one was Zaire?"
B: "The one that Kinshasa is in...it's called the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
A: "Oh. What's difference?"
B: "The Republic was a colony of France and its capital is Brazzaville. The Democratic Republic was called the Belgian Congo, and at one time was a wholly owned subsidiary of King Leopold II. It's where the Rumble in the Jungle took place."
A: "Never mind, just sell me a ticket to Rhodesia.
B: [sigh]
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