When 21-year-old Caleb McLamb – known online as ‘Sura’ – speaks fluent Kurdish with a Southern accent, his videos often leave viewers smiling. McLamb lived in the Kurdistan Region with his family for seven years, from the age of ten to 17. After returning to the United States, he began promoting Kurdistan on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, speaking Kurdish and creating both political and comedic videos celebrating Kurdish culture.

From the United States to Kurdistan

“I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, into a deeply Southern family with no international connections or experiences,” McLamb told Kurdistan Chronicle. “My family has lived in that same town for four or five generations. In fact, my grandmother was born in the very house where she still lives today. My dad grew up there as well, and my parents first met in 7th grade at age 14. We were a simple Southern family who had never moved outside the state of North Carolina.

“My family moved to Sulaymaniyah and lived there for seven years. So, I came to Kurdistan in 5th grade when I was ten and left in 2021, when I was 17 and going into my senior year of high school.”

McLamb’s parents worked in Kurdistan as English teachers at a nongovernmental organization called the Life Center. “They taught English to Kurdish adults who hadn’t had a chance to learn it in school or maybe wanted to take their English to the next level. My dad also taught at my school, the Junior Private School in Sarchinar, for a couple of years,” McLamb added.

“We left Kurdistan in 2021. My family wanted me to finish high school in the U.S. school system to be better prepared for college in the United States.”

‘Sura’ 

McLamb became known as ‘Sura’ (meaning ‘Red One’ in Kurdish), a common nickname used for white foreigners with light skin. “They commented on it until I finally switched and accepted it as my official nickname,” he said. “My first video was about them calling me sura, and of course, all the comments started calling me that even more, so it stuck.”

McLamb posted his first Kurdish video in June 2021, just two months after leaving the Kurdistan Region.

“It was a very quick turnaround because I had just downloaded Instagram for the first time that March to stay in touch with my Kurdish friends. I was very excited about having this new social media platform and had always wanted to make content and be famous but had never had any success with my past attempts.”

As one of the few Americans speaking Kurdish and making Kurdish content online, he soon gained a huge social media following.

“I was staying at my grandparents’ house that summer and randomly had an idea for a funny video. I got my cousin to hold my phone and filmed a 15-second comedy skit in Kurdish. The next day, I woke up to half a million views. So, I made another video, then another, then another! Now it’s my main passion and I have amassed over 250 million views and almost 1 million followers across all platforms.”

Furthermore, he discovered that he can not only make Kurds smile with comedy, but also raise awareness and fight for Kurdish rights on a global stage. “It’s not only a fun hobby, but a tool that I can use to bring Kurdish culture to the world and bring a smile to as many Kurds as I can.”

At first, McLamb made videos just for fun. But after they went viral, he continued creating content out of love for the Kurdish people and their culture. He also began focusing on Kurdish activism, particularly after the 2022 protests in Iran and the death of a young Iranian-Kurdish woman, Jina (Mahsa) Amini.

“I felt a new responsibility, as I came to understand that I could use my platform for more than just goofy comedy. From that point on, I did everything in my power to raise awareness for Kurds and share some of the stories that many people had never heard, including Halabja, the Anfal Campaign, Jina, and countless others,” he said.

Returning to Kurdistan

Offline, McLamb works at the fast-food restaurant Chick-fil-A to pay for university. The influencer has also begun doing advertisements and earning money from his social media presence. “Unfortunately, since my account is registered as a ‘foreign account,’ it cannot be monetized on TikTok and Instagram; I still have to work about 35 to 40 hours every week at Chick-fil-A to be able to pay my bills and go to school.” 

McLamb dreams of turning his social media hobby into a full-time career – either as a TV host or by launching his own production company in Kurdistan – after earning his degree in digital media and cinema in South Carolina. 

“I have started moving toward this dream by turning my Sura videos into a career, by recording a season of a show I created called The Sura Show, which will air every Friday at 7 pm on my YouTube channel. “I have already finished recording the first season of 30 episodes that will come out weekly starting October 24. I’m very excited about it – we traveled across the United States to film in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and other places. The show is entirely in Kurdish with English subtitles, which fits perfectly with my goal of sharing Kurdish culture with the world.

“I hope to return to Kurdistan every summer during my studies, and then hopefully, after university I will move there permanently,” he concluded.