à Âivan Perwer (born ðsmail Aygün on 23 December 1955) is a Kurdish poet, writer, music teacher, and singer. Perwer fled Turkey in 1976 due to bans and restrictions imposed on Kurdish music. He lived in continuous exile for 37 years, returning to Diyarbakñr on 16 November 2013 upon an invitation by the prime minister of Turkey at the time, Recep Tayyip ErdoÃÂan.
Perwer also holds several honorary doctorates in music.
à Âivan (meaning shepherd in Kurdish) Perwer was officially born on 23 December 1955 as ðsmail Aygün in Viranà Âehir, à Âanlñurfa.
Perwer was exposed to Kurdish music at a very young age, which lead him to pursuing his musical career and Kurdish writing that is highly valued in Kurdish music today.
For 25 years, Perwer's songs were banned in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey because they are sung in Kurdish and often cite the oppression against the Kurdish people in the Middle East, most notably Turkey. Cassettes of his music were passed along from hand to hand, despite the risk of imprisonment or death. Ã Âivan became famous during the period of Kurdish protests against Iraqi rule at Ankara University in 1972. His homemade recordings were smuggled over the border, while thousands of people came to see him perform live. Fearing for his life and the welfare of his family and after calls from Turkish authorities demanding his arrest, he fled Turkey and settled in Germany in 1976. There, Perwer recorded his first official album of traditional Kurdish songs.
In 1991, Perwer performed at the "" Live aid concert, alongside Chris de Burgh, Madonna, Rod Stewart, as well as other international artists. The proceeds from the concert went to the aid of à Âivan Perwer for refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan fleeing the Gulf War and was considered one of the most important humanitarian efforts for the region. In 1999, he followed Abdullah ÃÂcalanâÂÂs invitation to spend time with him and Mahmoud Baksi in Rome. Perwer's music had a strong influence on the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party, which ÃÂcalan led), since his songs were often about the karker (meaning worker in Kurdish). In 2004, à Âivan took an initiative for the improvement of culture in society by establishing the Sivan Perwer International Cultural Foundation in Frankfurt, Germany. On Tuesday, March 21, 2006, à Âivan Perwer was featured on PRI's The World in their Global Hits segment.
In 2013, he visited Turkey for the first time after he left for Germany in 1976. He arrived upon the invitation by Masoud Barzani, who met with Recep Tayyip ErdoÃÂan. There, he and Ibrahim Tatlises sung at a mass wedding in Diyarbakir of 300 couples led by the two politicians. His return was met with mixed feelings by the Kurds. Some were excited to hear him, others wished he would not have come back to show his support for ErdoÃÂan right before the local elections, but rather to contribute to the ongoing Kurdish-Turkish peace process.
Thus far, à Âivan Perwer has produced over thirty albums, music videos and documentaries. He has written several books and several other publications as well. à Âivan has a career expanding over forty years and has received many honorary doctorates and International World music prizes. He has composed music and sung many songs using the poetry of the late Kurdish poet, Cigerxwîn. Cigerxwîn was well known for his poetry about the Kurdish struggle and also about Kurdish culture and history. At one time, Cigerxwîn referred to à Âivan as "the Voice of his poetry". Kurdish songs (or dengbêj) are considered by some to be one of the key elements in preserving Kurdish culture and history. à Âivan Perwer was very close to Hessin Abdulrahman Swari, who is one of the main reasons for Perwer's fame. Swari was considered by Kurds a man of great integrity and held close ties between Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan.