Redwan Adalat - Humans of Kurdistan

“I have never been hopeless, and I've never been worried about money and wealth. As long as I have good health and live well with my family, I'm happy. I do everything at its time, so I don't regret the things I haven't done. I don't take what people say to the heart, I'm simple, and humble. I believe everyone has a certain fear, and for me, death is scary. After I turned 21, I felt like I needed to turn a new chapter in my life and act more like a lady. My first marriage was arranged, but my second one was through a relationship, and we're very happy together. I think this is how life should be, it'd be a shame if you don't dedicate your life for loving someone. It's very important to leave a life that has no love in it. I have two sons, and we would like a daughter next because we believe that it'd bring light to the house. I am proud to be a mother, and a wife. I don't believe in differences between men and women, so I never wished to be a male”. ...

Jan 29 2021

January 29, 2021

“The scariest thing for me is losing a family member, and that's why I couldn't go away after finishing college; I came back to our village. The best time of my life is when I know I can be beneficial for the world. I have dedicated most of my time to serve the people of my village as I'm now responsible for them. I haven't dedicated any time for myself and that bothers me. It bothers me if I can't reach my goals. Nothing has hurt me as much as time has in my life. Since I have become responsible for this village, I have been trying to think of the people as much as possible, especially the youth. The best thing we have achieved in the village was building a football stadium in the best spot. Most of the young people and kids of the village go there and spend their time there”. ...

Jan 27 2021

January 27, 2021

“Of course, we all experience good and bad times in our lives. I, as anyone else have experienced both good times and bad times, and the worst time of my life was when I lost my son, he was martyred. To see your child, go to see them for the last time, it's extremely difficult. For us mothers, this type of death is much worse than being beside your child and being able to hug them. My advice for people is to be good with each other, and don't cheat each other. My biggest goal is to have a good life, away from sorrow and sadness. I don't regret anything I have done in my life. Many people have treated me badly, but I have always forgiven them. I never keep anything in my heart, and I have gotten married after a relationship. We are still very happy together, and I'm very happy to be with him”. ...

Jan 27 2021

January 27, 2021

in Humans of South

“I have been doing sewing as a job since I was 13. I first started in 1974, due to being displaced by the Iraqi government, we had to leave our village (Xelaki), which was the place of our ancestors. We went to Erbil and I started working for my older brother, and started getting some experience. After we ran away from the government in 1991, we came back to our village and kept doing what I was good at. I have taught many people, from my own kids to many strangers, all of which have become fairly experienced now. My father always used to tell me if I teach people to work and they make a living off of it, God will always bless my home, so I always have to be ready to share my knowledge. I have met many different people during half of century of this work, I have interacted with many people. The fact that I am so calm now is due to all that experience I have had”. ...

Jan 26 2021

January 26, 2021

in Humans of West

“I live in an old house on the shore of Chagh Chagh in Qamishli, I have been making pottery for about 70 years. My family have been doing the same work for 450 years. My ancestors had done this in their time, and there isn’t anyone who does this anymore. We can't just use any type of mud we want, there is a certain type that needs to be used to make pottery. In 1996, when Syria and Egypt united, we had a dry season for three years, and I used to go to Basra town on the shore of Euphrates to exchange pottery for wheat. I have met Hafez Assad (the former Syrian president), and due to my knowledge in analyzing the types of mud, he pardoned me from joining the military. The Syrian government sent me to 12 countries to research about mud and its different types. I have also taught my kids, and they are very knowledgeable now, my only wish is that this work continues”. ...

Jan 25 2021

January 25, 2021

“I lost my father when I was 7 years old, and my mother took care of my 3 sister and I. My mother has suffered a lot, and I could see that, and that's why I decided to start working and I was even working during off days, and give the money to my mother. I got a diploma and then was hired by someone, he also told me that they were working in smithing, and offered me to work with them. I accepted, and after a while I knew that they weren't very informed in that field, so I offered to become a partner with them. After a while, I felt like I needed to work alone and have my own business”. “Since I had been working in construction previously, there were many people who trusted my work in Mahabad, I had worked for many of the high buildings. However, I had to work under the supervision of engineers, so I had to satisfy them with my work. Since they were my supervisor, I had to do everything they said even when they were wrong. I used to tell them that they are doing the work wrong, but they used to reply that they were the engineer and they knew better. When I was 42, after 25 years of working I started to go to college and become a civil engineer. After all those years of work, and studying I thankfully have reached everything I had hoped for. I cannot thank God enough because God has always helped me achieve more”. ...

Jan 24 2021

January 24, 2021

in Humans of West

“I used to work at my father's coffee shop as a kid, after his death, I inherited the shop, and I became the owner of the oldest coffee shop in Qamishli. My father had made his coffee shop a place for people to come to solutions when they had conflicts. We were also the first to bring black and white TV to the shop. My father has built the place in 1925 when the French were here. Back then, military men went to the place often. Jalal Talabani has also visited here, as well as Saddam Hussein, and that had created a lot of buzz in the city. The place has stayed the same until now, and most people who come here are senior people, they come here to rest and feel nostalgic. I'm very happy that I have been working here ever since I was a child. I have inherited it from my father, and I will leave it to my kids”. ...

Jan 24 2021

January 24, 2021

in Humans of North

“I have been fishing in the Tigris since I was a kid, I have spent my childhood on this river. A lot has changed now, we used to sell fish on the river, there was a lot of it, we used to sell about 150 kilos of all kinds, but it's not the same anymore. The Tigris is now polluted, there is a dam built here to water the farmlands, but they do it without proper knowledge and it pollutes the water. Tigris used to be very clean, but now the variety has lessened. Nowadays, I catch about 10 kilos or less, because of the dam, the water has many fluctuations and the fish leave the river and go somewhere else. We want the Tigris to be a natural river without any human interference”. ...

Jan 23 2021

January 23, 2021

in Humans of South

“I am 67 years old, I'm originally from Rojava from Kobane, but I've been living in Erbil for eight years. I love flower, especially how colorful they are, and mostly red and white. Every morning I get out of my house and take a walk on Erbil's streets, and sometimes I go to the bazaar. I take some time to sit, smell my flowers, and watch people go by and hear how they talk, I want to guess where they come from by the way they talk. Whenever I know someone is from Rojava, I go and ask them from where from Rojava they come from. When I hear Kobane, I sometimes start to cry a little, and sometimes I feel like I have holy water in front of me and I'm finally breaking my thirst for my country”. ...

Jan 23 2021

January 23, 2021

“Several years ago, I started working for a restaurant for the first time. Before then, I had never cooked, but that helped me get started and cook several dishes at the same time. I became very able, and started taking over many tasks in the restaurant. That helped me realize how capable I am, and even my friends and the owner of the restaurant were proud of me. I was managing thing very well because I was there all week. At the weekends, I used to go to the wilderness for a body and mind detoxication. Girls can stand on their feet, they just have to believe in themselves. I believe in gender equality, our differences are only physical”. ...

Jan 22 2021

January 22, 2021