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.
Humans of Kurdistan - South 77

June 22, 2020

"My mother is equivalent to the entire world for me; she has cancer. Her recovery is worth everything to me. I do not care about anything else in the world. I have failed in many things, but they don’t mean anything to me. The day my mother almost died, they told me in the hospital that your mother is not doing well, they have discharged us. I went to the hospital, but they wouldn’t let me in. No matter how much I tried with the guard, it was useless. It got to the point that I had to climb over the wall, but a guard saw me and tried to stop me, I pulled him on the ground and continued running into the hospital hallway...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 76

June 20, 2020

"I have long had a passion for archaeology and recorded history. It happened that in 2004, after Iraq was freed and I was employed at the Archaeology Directorate, I was doing financially well and so I started to publish the Shmshara Magazine - Shmshara is an archaeologically important hill close to Ranya and the name of the magazine is based on that - that initially consisted of 3 pages until it gradually grew to more than 50 pages and articles, most of which I wrote myself.Another one of my passions is collecting historical texts and my hope is to someday open a museum that displays the historical texts that I have, which round up to about 500 texts, and many other texts. I have historical texts that go back to 350 years ago!" "Other than Shmshara, I also own two book productions called 'Shin u Shingeri' [Mourning and Lamentation] and 'The three Wings of the Haqqa Movement'. Mourning and lamentation is a Kurdish cultural tradition mentioned by many poets. It is a way of expressing grief by different tribes for their dead ones, which differed across tribes. What I have done is that I have collected this area’s different ways of lamentation in a book.Haqqa was a social class movement that started under Sheikh Abdul-Karim of Shaddala at the end of the 30s of the last century in Shaddala village of the Surdash region of Dukan. This movement has originated from the Naqishbandi Order that has spurned praying and fasting. So they were criticized a lot for being Sufis and not praying. But they did not pray under Chapter 99 of the Quran: 'And worship your Lord until the certainty comes to you'. After the passing of their Sheikh, the movement was divided into 3 wings, which I have covered in my book. In one of them, tea, cigarettes, and child-bearing were forbidden. Today there is one women left in that wing, they call her 'Tata Halawa'." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - East 12

June 19, 2020

"I believe I have the talent to become a good player. I am now training at a football training center. I was supposed to have a practical test at the famous 'Kia' Academy under Mahdi Mahdawi Kia, former player of the Iran team and the German Hamburg team to see if I am at a good enough level to continue my training with that academy. This was a great opportunity for me but the Coronavirus ruined it for me and it has been delayed to an unknown time. I used to be a Barcelona fan, but I love Bayern Munich now, but I am really amazed by Tony Cruise's games in Real Madrid. He is a very good player and plays in the field position that I like." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - East 11

June 18, 2020

"I have longed dream of having one of my photos on the cover of a famous magazine or newspaper and therefore being a source of pride for my family. My name is Nasrin Mashhuri, I was born into a middle-class family. My father was a suits tailor and my mother was a housewife. My father always tried to educate his children, he was especially proud of his daughters for being educated and would encourage us to have an active role in society like our brothers. Although I was a good student, in 1979 due to the Iranian revolution and the situation then, all universities closed for 4 years and so I couldn't attend. I decided not to give up and let go of my dreams. Today, I have published 4 novels and several children's books in both Kurdish and Persian. I have many other unpublished books, one of which is Saqiz: 50 Years of Childhood, it is ready to be published along with some archived photos." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 75

June 17, 2020

"I have a son who teaches children skateboarding in Hawari Shar Park and uses a motorbike for transportation. On days when it is too hot, I have bought him two cool-boxes to sell water and juice. I felt like he really enjoyed his job, and that made me really happy. One day when he was coming back from work, he called me and said, 'Dad, I am almost home.' There was no word from him after 30 minutes, so I called him and his phone was closed! I knew something was wrong. One of his friends called me and said your son has been hit by a car and is in the hospital. I immediately went there, I saw my son was unconscious and was in a full body cast. I am not going to say how painful that scene was, because it is difficult for everyone to feel that. These days, all I think about is seeing my son on his feet again, just like he used to be." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 74

June 16, 2020

"I learned can manufacturing from my father when I was very young. Along with that, I was very passionate about arts. I would participate in the school arts activities, I had a passion for painting and creative arts, but I could not continue because of work and providing money. When I wanted to attend the School of Fine Arts, my family did not allow it. They would say, 'You have to finish school and get in a good field.' I have done a lot of theater and was one of those who did great acting with my friends. We had also formed a theater club, but all we got was the claps and thanks, which doesn't lead you anywhere. For certain theater works, we paid for the supplies ourselves. I have stopped working in theater and have a job of my own now: I own a cafeteria through which I can get an income and lead life with. This doesn't mean the arts have died in me, but I don't think I will go back on the stage." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 73

June 15, 2020

"I was talking with a girl, she said she wanted to meet. So I agreed. She told me to go to the Wuluba Hospital. The next day, I told a friend to come with me to the hospital but I didn't tell him the reason, I just wanted someone there with me. When I arrived, she said, "Where are you, what are you wearing?" I said I am wearing a suit- a suit does not even fit my body type. I went inside and it was all shouting, go, don't stop here, or come it's your turn...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 72

June 14, 2020

"It’s been 17 years since I started sewing. I first learned from my cousin. I would sew clothes for people close to me. I would work on a maxi dress and would sew the arms onto the neck rather than on the shoulders. I kept going, until I got here.An elderly lady once brought me a jacket to fix, the shoulders had hung down. I took off the arms and fixed it. I suddenly got a pain and stopped working on it. When I went back to it, I couldn’t find the arms...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 71

June 13, 2020

"I had a taxi from 1988 until 1989, but the Exodus happened and I sold my taxi. When we returned to the city, I couldn’t buy the taxi again. I opened this shop in 1996, we would buy second hand clothing and home items and would re-sell them. We soon started to buy fabrics and would also make clothing pieces out of them and sell them. I have been working in this market since that year. When I come to work every day, I only have one thing in mind, which is providing my house rent before the end of the month, that is because I am a tenant.. and there is no work now either." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - East 10

June 10, 2020

"I got married when I was 15. I was the only child and they wanted me to settle down soon. I was very happy to get married. My wife’s family were neighbors with my grandfather and they thought she was a good girl for me. I am now 28 years old and I have 4 daughters. My eldest is in 7th grade. My youngest is two years old. I see them as 4 angels. To be honest I don’t remember much about the time I got married but we sometimes look at the videos from the wedding and laugh a lot. It is a nice memory for us.I am a manufacturer, I work with lighter cars. When I am no longer in the mood to work, I leave the work to my apprentices and seek this small garden. I don’t think about what to plant in it, it is more important to me that it gives me peace." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 70

June 9, 2020

"Before the KRG decided to sell oil, I used to sell cigarettes in the bazars and had invested a lot of money in my work. But as soon as the news of selling oil got around, the market broke down drastically and I had a huge loss, estimating about 13000 Dinars at the time. It was a great amount for the time. I did not have any money left. So I stopped doing that because of the lack of money and started fixing samovar and heaters. I have still not been able to account for my loss, but I never let myself feel down because of it. That is just how life is...

Humans of Kurdistan - South 69

June 8, 2020

"I have graduated from the electrical field of Baghdad's Technical Institute. I was supposed to be employed in Erbil, but I transferred to Sulaimani where I worked for two years. One day I went to the Great Mosque of Sulaimani after work, it was the Iran- Iraq war then. They were gathering a civil force, I didn't know. They caught me and asked 'What do you do?' I told them I am an employee and showed them my ID. They told me ' Get in!' They had a two-door bus. I got in from the front door and got out from the back door and ran away without turning back. I was too scared to even go home for two days, I didn't know what to do. I bought a taxi and started working until 1990, after that I came here and started something else, repairing electric devices. I liked this job because I had studied electricity, and it has now been almost 21 years that I have been doing this job." ...