Humans of Kurdistan
The "Humans Of Kurdistan" project aims to present the cultural diversity of the country. A look at the faces but also the stories that lie behind each of them.

December 19, 2020

“They used to call me the Fig Selling girl, I understand why they were calling me that, but now many tourists call me the Mona Lisa of Kurdistan, and I don't know what it means. Nevertheless, I know most people like me and take photos with me because they think my eyes are beautiful. I'm always happy when they take snap shots with me, and being popular has also benefited my business. For a nine years old girl like me, a job like this is suitable because I work on the main street of Ble w Barzan, which is a few meters away from my house.” ...

December 18, 2020

“We are from Mardin. We came to Qamishli to work ten years ago because Syria was economically stable, and transportation between Turkey and Syria was easy. Unfortunately, once we came here the war started. We really miss our place, but because of instability and closure of the border we cannot go back to Mardin to see our families again. We are two sisters and three brothers. I really liked school, but because we had to work, my brother and I had to leave school in 7th grade. Our parents were old and couldn't work. I have tried many different jobs and haven't been successful at any of them, until my brother and I bought a small trolley and started selling cocktails, thankfully we are doing well. We never had a childhood like other children. If we don't work, we will not be able to take care of our family, then we'll have to ask for aid from other people.” ...

December 18, 2020

“I have lost many family members. My parents and relatives, each in a different way and due to war. In the past few years, many of these houses were renovated, and we did it to, except for this side because I many memories here and I don't want to ruin it. It has many photos of my family, and the photos belong to a time where we were happy. My kids also come to this side and they get a happy feeling when they do. We stay together and take photos. This side represents my past, it is a side that can show all of my family at once to whomever visits it.” ...

December 17, 2020

“I was living in a difficult situation for a period of time, and I couldn't help it no matter how much I tried. Nevertheless, if you have good friends who help you in difficulties, you will get pass that period easily. Thankfully, I had those types of friends and they helped me, I'm thankful for them. My mother was also the most important person in my life, who also acted as a father to me. I hope I can someday pay her back for her sacrifices she made for me. I know own my business and live happily, I also try to help the young and upcoming people who come to me for work.” ...

December 17, 2020

“I am one hundred years old. I have gotten married when I was eighteen, I have several kids, and each of them have built their lives. Twenty-three years ago, I lost my sight, and after a year my husband passed away. However, I see life through my heart, and feel its beauty. My heart has suffered a lot because I have lost a number of my sons to the war in Syria. One of my sons was martyred, and we named his son after him, but he was martyred, too. After losing them, I don't see much joy in life, and I have lost my sense of hearing and seeing. I am living in sorrow to the day I leave forever.” ...

December 16, 2020

“I was eleven years old when I first started reading something I wasn't studying at school, and that was a book about the Egyptian Sinoha. My father used to always say that those books are not suitable for my age, but I kept reading them. I was proud that I had more knowledge than my friends. Questions started forming in my head, but I couldn't answer any of them, so I asked my father.-Dad, what is and who is God?-Son, God is our creator and he is what enlightens us.-Where have we come from?-According to God's speech, we come from humanity's parents, Adam and Hawa.-Where do we go when we die?-No one knows.That was all the answers my father could provide, and tens of questions were left unanswered. One day, my uncle come to our house, I remember that I was just a teenager, I asked him some questions. He said that they were philosophical questions, to get the answers you will have to know more about yourself, and that's to read more.” “I thought that if I went to college and read more, I would become a knowledgeable teacher and get all the answers I want. Now, after half of my age already gone, and gaining a master's degree and reading many philosophical, economical, managerial, religious, historical, and research books, as well as writing many speeches and working on literature, I still believe that I'm just a clueless student. The only conclusion I have gotten to in terms of Anthology is that maybe some things are a fact about the world, but the one thing that I truly believe is death.” ...

December 15, 2020

“I started from the streets, and ended up at a big club like Halabja club. I see my dad as much as a leading factor as I am in my success story, but his effect was behind the scenes. He isn't just a father to me, he was like a castle to me. In a city like Halabja, playing in sports outfits for a girl like me in front of thousands of people is not easy unless you have support. Furthermore, many people who considered themselves educated were criticizing me because I wasn't covering up my body and sports wasn't for me. Nevertheless, with God's support as well as my family being behind me, I was able to overcome all of the obstacles and reach the goals I had since I was a kid. Now I play for the biggest club in Kurdistan, which is Hawler club.” ...

December 15, 2020

“I have been living in Jwanro city in Kirmashan province for 34 years. I fear a lot from loneliness and death, it even upsets me to think about it. What happened to me a while back took all the good and bad in my life with it. During the expansion of radical Islamism near our area in the previous couple of years, on a cold winter night, several masked men came to my shop, they had knives, they wrecked my shop and even injured myself. This had been the worst thing that has ever happened to me. What hurts people in this world is people who believe that they are the only ones who know all the answers, and can't accept any other thoughts. I still think about that night, and there is no worse memory in my mind because it was unfair, and I can never forget it. Several years have passed now, but it still affects my life, my life has never been the same since. After that night, I realized that as hard as you make it for yourself, life gets harder, and as easy as you make it for yourself, it will get easier.” ...

December 14, 2020

“I once went to my grandfather's house in our village and saw him sitting with someone, his name was Cengo, I sat down with them and they were speaking a language I didn't understand. I asked my grandfather what the language was, he said it was the sparrow language (an ancient language). I asked him to teach me, and I visited him every day until I started learning little by little. We had a number of sheep that I was shepherding, and I was seeing Cengo every day and spoke to him in that language. My grandfather went to live with my uncle, and Cengo left for the city, there was no one to talk to in the sparrow language. I then started looking for a job, while doing so I met someone who wanted help with farming.” “We were working all day without returning home, although he was 45 years older than me, but we were much alike in terms of thinking. He used to read Kurdish books, and explain to me what they were. I found out that he could speak the sparrow language as well, I asked him where he learned it from, he told me that his grandfather had taught him years ago.We moved to the city, and I didn't know anyone there. People couldn't accept the way we were thinking, so when we use to sit down with someone who was criticizing what we were saying, we used to speak sparrow language so that they don't understand. He passed away two years ago, I was very sad by it, and I'm sure I won't find a friend like him again. There is no body that I can talk to in that language anymore, but I will teach my family once I get married.” ...

December 13, 2020

I was born from a financially poor family, we are four brothers and two sisters. I have lost a brother and a sister. I have quit school and started working since I was a kid, I was a waiter at a cafe. Back then, gas wasn't used as much, they were only using wood and coal for heating. After a while of working, I opened my own cafe in Mahabad's bazaar, and bought the shop next door and rented it to a shop selling coal. Nowadays, people don't use coal as much, unless they are having a barbecue or smoking Shisha. I am getting old and my son runs the cafe now, and I work here setting up coal for the cafe ...

December 13, 2020

“We were displaced and we came to Sulaimani, all of our belongings are gone. I started working here and thankfully we were able to restart our lives here. We couldn't have a good youth life, but we are doing well now. life is good, but our country is going through a rough time. For a while, I was working at an arts company specialized in sound and cartoon dubbing, I was a sound director. I slowly started learning other work, especially lighting, but I still liked working in sound more because it is my field of work. I have also learned about cameras and its types. A lot of changes have been made now, but for me it was a great field of work and I really liked it.” ...

December 12, 2020

“I had just arrived home, started eating lunch and I heard an explosion. I had a friend called Amr, we would spend most of our times together, I never expected to lose him in that explosion. When I heard the noise, I quickly ran outside to see what has happened. There was a fire around, and the buildings were damaged. I moved a lot of bodies, but couldn't recognize any of them due to severe burnings. I recognized my friend Amr at the hospital, he was in a bad shape and was constantly screaming. They transferred him to Erbil hospitals for treatment, but he couldn't handle all the burns on his body. When they told me that he had passed away, my life changed forever, he used to tell me to pray, but I was always neglecting that. When he passed, I started praying to keep my promise to him. I opened a Shisha shop and wanted to call it Judi, but I changed my mind and named it Amr, so that his name will always stay with me.” ...