Helly Luv: the Kurdish star fighting war with song
Helly Luv sings for peace in the Kurdish conflict against Islamic State, but her music videos are rife with weapons and images of war – so how does she reconcile the two?
Kurdish singer Helen Abdulla – better known as Helly Luv – has suffered death threats from Islamic groups in Iraqi Kurdistan for her provocative, revolution-tinged music videos.
In an apparent contradiction, her calls for peace are mixed with images of weapons and war, – her first video Risk It All showed her throwing a petrol bomb and dancing with peshmerga soldiers waving AK-47 rifles.
But she was unfazed after the death threats flowed in February 2014 – largely through social media – and said she would carry on filming her videos in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The 26-year-old is a strong supporter of Kurdish independence, but has been based in the US since she turned 18, and is keen to promote her career globally.
She told Channel 4 News how she witnessed both men and women leave their homes to fight against Islamic State, “without any kind of military training or any kind of plan”.
“It’s not just the story of Kurdistan, it’s the story of the whole world… it’s not just Kurdistan’s enemy.”
But what about the messages of peace backed up with images of war?
“I need to show the truth of what is going on here,” she told Jon Snow, I don’t want to sugar-coat it – I have to show what happened here and what is still happening here.”