Redwan Adalat - Humans of Kurdistan

“I'm seventy years old and I have nine kids. Ever since I left Ababaile, I haven't experienced happiness. Living in the city is difficult, and it's very expensive, and it's only my wife and I together and I can't do much work. Even now, if someone buy's me a cow, I'll go back to the wilderness, you can at least survive eating natural food. The wilderness is blessed, it's not the same as here! In the cities, God has become angry from everyone due to all the crimes and sins going on. Villagers don't even know how to sin. We used to collect loads of spear thistles (Kingr), but you can't even see it in farmlands now. I remember when we used to farm, we neither saw reduction in water resources, nor diseases hitting the soil. Unfortunately, everything's changed now.” ...

Nov 17 2020

November 17, 2020

“My family and I traveled to the capital Damascus, I was studying English literature there. We weren't doing very well financially, I was working and it was very tiresome. Even though my family did not agree to the fact that I was working, but I had to stop studying a couple of times to gather some money to spend on myself and my education. I was going to work after school, and a lot of times I was being harassed and catcalled, which even made me leave my job a couple of times. Furthermore, going to college was becoming dangerous because there was an ongoing war between the Syrian army and the Islamic radicals. I was thinking of going to the university and live there because my family were always worried about me.” ...

Nov 17 2020

November 17, 2020

“I remember when I was twenty-one, people used to be good to each other, whenever there was a convoy following someone deceased, people used to follow it and help the family. I was very affected by that and I used to follow them as well, I even helped digging the graves, I was known as the Gravedigger. Whenever there was a deceased person, they had me in mind for the grave digging because I was doing it as a volunteer so they used to ask me to help out. I know exactly how it feels to lose someone, so I usually tell them to leave the digging to me. I admit that it's a very hard work, and when I turned fifty, I needed a surgery in my hand because it was badly damaged due to the digging. However, this didn't stop me, so I hired a couple of people, and after 8 years I was able to collect money to buy a machine to dig the graves. Best thing in my life is that I go to bed every night with a clear conscience. I am sure people are praying for me because of the work I do.” ...

Nov 16 2020

November 16, 2020

in Humans of East

“My husband and I weren't in a relationship before getting married, but I spent the hardest days of my life when he passed away. Just before he died, he held my hand tight, and I always think about what he had wanted to say. He kissed me for the last time, and I can still remember his cold lips. Because of being a woman, I have had many limitations and haven't been able to do everything I want even if I could do them better than men. It's not just about being able physically, a lot of the times women are much more capable than men. I am afraid one day death comes and I wouldn't be able to do everything I want.” ...

Nov 16 2020

November 16, 2020

“I have wanted to buy a car for myself ever since I was a kid, but I haven't been able to do it yet. I have worked in many places and have collected money for it, but other important things have come up and they have stopped me from buying a car. When I see my friends driving a good car, a lot of the time I get sad because I don't have one. I currently work at a place where it's next to a car showroom, and every day when I pass by, I want to buy one more and more. Many people might day that it's a simple dream to have a car, but at the same time it could be difficult. However, I will continue working for it until I get it.” ...

Nov 15 2020

November 15, 2020

in Humans of East

“I remember when my mom first suspected that she has cancer, a word that can shock any home. My mother, and two of my brothers and I were very nervous, but my dad was saying that we cannot be this nervous we first need to find a solution. In a cold winter night, with teary eyes, my mother and a couple of her friends set out to Tehran. The doctor had said that my mother had to undergo surgery immediately, but the doctor was going to Europe and was taking a month there. My mother had two surgeries, she had a really difficult time. My parents went to Tehran again, my uncle came to take care of us. Our friends knew that our parents were away, but didn't why they were. One night, we were waiting for a call from my father, and my uncle was smoking nonstop. Suddenly, the phone rang, it was my father telling us that my mother had defeated the disease, and I couldn't believe it until I talked to my mom. Seven years later, she was diagnosed with cancer again, and she beat the disease once again.” ...

Nov 15 2020

November 15, 2020

“In 2019, Turkish forces started to come into our cities and started bombarding the city through their air force and army. We had to leave the city to save ourselves. We were about 5 kilometers away from the city, we stayed at a different place each night, we used to walk while crying without knowing where we were going. After several days we went to Hasakah to stay at a school for a while. Something that I'll never forget is when there was an airstrike on us by Turkish forces and everything in front of me became suddenly dark. I was seeing bodies on the street. I will never lose hope, and we will one day go back to our city and liberate it from Turkish forces.” ...

Nov 14 2020

November 14, 2020

“I'm thirteen years old. I play with my neighbor’s kids, and we're having a great time. I quitted school due to my family's financial situation, they couldn’t send me to school. Currently, my father is living elsewhere, making a living for us and himself. After he left and I quit school, I have started working and taking care of the house because I'm the oldest child. I work as a welder, it's very difficult, but I have to do it to take care of my sisters until my father comes back. When I see my friends going to school while I go to work, I feel a pain in my heart, it's because I like going to school.” ...

Nov 14 2020

November 14, 2020

“I had just graduated college studying nursery, I started working at a COVID19 testing center. I got a phone call while I was busy conducting a test for a woman, I never answer phone calls while on the job, but I had a bad feeling that day, as if I was waiting for someone to deliver bad news. I answered the phone and someone told me to get to the hospital immediately, my father had gotten worse. My father had been in a hospital for 8 months, we were waiting for him to get better. When I got the news, the phone fell from my hands, I wished the lady a good health and went out. I went to the hospital quickly, and went in through the emergency door where my father was, I saw my mother with her white hair screaming and hitting her chest, I understood that my father had passed away, and I was late. I want to continue working, and continually watch the patients who have had a stroke. I am sad to see all these years come and go without my father.” ...

Nov 13 2020

November 13, 2020

“I have been working as an environment keeper for several years, I started doing this work due to the increase in environment pollution. I first started alone, cleaning our village and the surrounding areas. Then, we started working as a group, at the same time, to build an environment keeping culture, so I started an environment challenge where people started challenging each other to clean their spaces. Thankfully, many people from Balakayaty and Erbil, and other areas participated. I also started organizing seminars about the environment voluntarily. I have organized many seminars for all classes around Kurdistan, as well as seminars for 500 students. I have also participated in several conferences, and have received many certifications from environmental programs.” ...

Nov 13 2020

November 13, 2020