Often enough have we blamed colonisation and Western influences for the devastation and suffering seen in the Middle East. And rightly so. But we should similarly not shy away from criticising those in the Middle East when their democratic integrity is compromised.

One example is tomorrow’s referendum on Kurdish independence, and the fact that many countries in the Middle East seem united in not granting the Kurds their independence, presumably out of fear that the Iraqi Kurdish referendum would boost pro-independence movements in neighbouring Turkey and Iran.

When Scotland planned to hold a vote on its independence, the UK Government’s chief priority wasn’t avoiding independence movements in Wales and Northern Ireland at all costs. Instead, the Scots’ right to a vote on their own independence was accepted. This is a core tenet of democracy: the right of people to decide their own destinies.

Tomorrow Iraqi Kurds will vote on this exact question. The referendum, initially set in 2014 following disputes over the sharing of oil proceeds between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Government, is set to go ahead despite opposition from its neighbours and a lukewarm reception by Western governments.

Turkey and Iran have condemned the vote and Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has called it a “challenge to the constitution”. Turkey has even kicked off military drills on the much disputed Turkey-Iraq border to flex its muscle ahead of the referendum.

Kurds capture Isis fighter

The US and the UK have also been rattled by the referendum – in an effort to appease allies in the region, defence secretary Michael Fallon has even visited Iraq to try and dissuade the Kurds from holding the vote.

Neither the US nor the UK have hesitated to ally themselves with the Kurds in the fight against Isis. This comes as no surprise to the Kurds, a people used to betrayal, especially from the US. In 1991, George W Bush told the people of Iraq to rise up against Saddam. When the Kurds rebelled against the Iraqi dictator, the US abandoned them, leading to a humanitarian crisis and thousands of deaths.

The Kurds, with an estimated population of 35 million, are one of the largest minority groups without a state. They were intentionally scattered across four nations by Britain and France following the First World War. The Iraqi Kurds and the Arabs are distinct ethnic groups, but are counted as one under the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The renowned Arab traveller Ibn Battutah even noted the differences as he travelled through Kurdish lands and saw Kurdish villages on his journey to Persia in the year 1327.

The Kurds have long fought for their freedom, and have faced unimaginable oppression as a people. I am a Kurd, so you could argue that my views are biased. Nevertheless, my family and I have witnessed the struggles of the Kurds.

We fled Saddam’s oppressive regime, which wished to ethnically cleanse the Kurds as part of his Arabisation programme. Every Kurd I know dreams of a peaceful life, and each of us would choose safety and stability over having our own independent state. However, we have realised that the only way to free ourselves from oppression is independence. Too many times have the Kurds worried about their future due to the actions of those around them.

Of course, the Kurds aren’t perfect. Questions have been asked of the leadership and their treatment of captured Isis fighters. It would be naïve to think that the Kurds, destroyed and ravished by war for decades, would have the same juristic and political standards as the West. But Kurdish leaders have condemned terrorism and have built universities, airports and infrastructure worthy of any sovereign state.

The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Show all 8 1 /8 The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Basheer Basheer, a 3-year-old Syrian boy, lying on his father leg, lives with his family in a rent-free house as part of NRC's shelter programme in the village of Bair-Ras, in Irbid governorate, northern Jordan. Photo 11 October 2015 NRC/Hussein Amri The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Hisham Mustafa has fled from Aleppo, and is currently at Idomeni in Greece. Here he is playing with his nephew Hisham, 3 NRC/Tiril Skarstein The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Ahmaydi Bouchra Little Ahmaydi, 3, and her family of eight fled from fighting in Mali to the Goudebo camp in Burkina Faso in 2013. Neither of her two older sisters went to school in Mali. The whole family lives in a tent that is approx. 7m x 6m. The family bed is stored outside to make space inside the shelter during day time. In the evenings, they carry the bed back in. NRC/Ingrid Prestetun The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Farah Farah, 4, lives with her family in Irbid in a rent-free apartment. She stays home with her mother as her four sisters and three brothers leave for the day to their various schools. Photo 11t October 2015 NRC/Hussein Amri The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Batane Yacouba Batane Yacouba, 4, lives with his two older sisters and his mother in the Goudebo camp in Burkina Faso. A Tuareg family, they were forced to flee Mali fearing for their lives. Their father is dead NRC/Ingrid Prestetun The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Hassan Syrian boy Redor, 12, plays with Hassan, 3, after arriving at the port in Chios, Greece NRC/Tiril Skarstein The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Fatin Fatin, 4, and her family fled Syria to Irbid, northern Jordan. Her father has issued a birth certificate for her, in order for her to have access to health centres. NRC/Hussein Amri The other Alan Kurdis: Refugee children who survived the journey Born a refugee Alice Digama (24) sits on the tent floor with her two-week-old baby. Her son is one of many children born a refugee. Alice was heavily pregnant when she escaped South Sudan and crossed the border into Uganda, after her husband left her for another wife NRC/Sofi Lundin

In order to achieve a successful and self-sustaining Middle East, we need to support those willing to make a difference. While Kurdistan’s neighbours are busy building weapons, the Kurds are taking in refugees. Kurdistan has taken in an estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees and 250,000 Syrian refugees.

Iraqi Kurdistan has taken in the largest number of displaced people outside of Syria, representing 25 per cent of the Kurdish population. Imagine the outcry from almost any other country if it took in nearly two million refugees. Imagine the chaos as people complain about the refugees’ effects on their economy, healthcare system and housing market. Instead, the Kurds have embraced the refugees and integrated them, remembering their struggles as they help those most in need.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Assyrians, Yezidis and many other ethnic and religious minorities live together in harmony. British MP Robert Halfon said that he sees Kurdistan as one of the most progressive Muslim regions in Middle East. “Tell me which other country in the Middle East has a Jewish quarter and they are preserving it,” said Halfon as he visited Sulaimaniyah, a city in Kurdistan.

Furthermore, Kurdish women play a significant role in society. They have important roles politically and militarily, unlike the Kurds’ neighbours. Hero Talabani, a female politician, leads one of the largest political parties in Kurdistan. Militarily, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq are estimated to be 160,000 strong, with roughly 30 per cent being women.