In gratitude for US strikes, Syrian Kurds name baby ‘Obama’

Sultan Muslim, a Syrian Kurd, was in no doubt when it came to naming her seventh child after he was born safely in Turkey. Her family spent a harrowing month fleeing their home in Kobane, the flashpoint Syrian border town under heavy attack by Islamic State (IS) militants. The heavily pregnant mother, her husband and six other children made it across the frontier just in time for the newborn’s arrival. She named her son ‘Obama’.

I gave my son this name from my heart. I will never change this name. He dispatched planes, aid for us. Because of his help maybe we will get rid of this cruelty and get back to our homes.

Sultan Muslim, 35-year-old mother of Obama

The family is housed at the “Rojova Cadir Kenti” refugee camp, whose name is a mix of Turkish for “tent city” and the name of the northern part of Syria. There, joy abounds over the air strikes by a coalition of Western and Arab allies that have killed more than 500 Islamist fighters during a month-long campaign in Syria. Though not the world’s first baby named after US President Barack Obama, the choice reflects the relief of many locals who thought help would never come.

Like the Americans, the whole world should help the Kurds in Kobane. We have no true friends other than the Americans.

Selami Altay, a Turkish Kurd

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