Humans of East - 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 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 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 21 2021

January 21, 2021

“It’s been seven months since my father passed away, and I grew up with my mother and my father's first wife, she has been so good to me, and I still lover her like a mother. She always wants me to visit her because she doesn't have any kids of her own. Whenever she visits me, I hide her clothes in some place and I hang on to her so she doesn't leave. Day by day, she gets older and less able, and that makes me really sad. I am still very young, but I will be always be by her side to keep her company, and do whatever she wants me to do”. ...

Jan 18 2021

January 18, 2021

“Since I have a passion for cultural heritage, I was appointed as the administration assistant for the cultural heritage center for protecting historical sights and cultural inheritance. I have visited many locations and have documented them as photos and film, and that was the reason I started making sculptures for historical sights, as well as other numerous sculptures. People here are unaware of their history, they don't know how many well-known people we have had and what kind of a history we have. By doing this job, I can open a door for people see those sculptures and to familiarize themselves with the history. For me personally, I take a lot of joy that my work is seen by people and when people see my work in the future they'll think of me”. ...

Jan 17 2021

January 17, 2021

“I have many relatives who have been martyred. I have been living alone for many years, my daughters have gotten married, I only have one son and he's married a Persian lady. A couple of years ago, I became familiar with medicinal herbs, he/she told me to collect some for them, and I started searching everywhere and collected many kinds of it. All of my life became about collecting herbs, and many people are amazed by how much I have collected. Nevertheless, I go to a different place each day, and bring whatever I can get my hands on. I only have place for myself to sit down in my house. I can sell any of these for 15 to 20 Iranian tomans. I don't need anyone and I actually help my children, too”. ...

Jan 14 2021

January 14, 2021

“My father had this shop, when people's teapots, portable fireplaces were broken, he would fix them. This is after people started using gas for fire because they used to use logs and coal before. I was always going to the shop with my father, after a while I started to do this job full-time and I'm still doing it. My job is very risky because I have to work with smoke or use chemicals or acid, so I have to be very careful. People have moved on to newer devices such as teapots that work with gas or electric teapots, and that's affected my job negatively, but I'm still thankful to God. I appreciate the fact that I can make a living for my family and myself”. ...

Jan 12 2021

January 12, 2021

“In 1358 of Solar Hijri year, I got my diploma with good grades. I had planned to go to college and study agricultural engineering, but due to several issues I had I couldn't go to college. Back then, my father used to sell groceries, and I started working with him. After several years, my father was very ill and couldn't continue working, so I took over. I figured after a while that the business wasn't making enough money, and so I opened a small factory, I bought milk and yogurt from villages and turn them to cheese, dogh, and oil and then sell them in this shop. Even though I didn't really like the job from the beginning, but when God provides you'll have to accept it. God gave me the responsibility to carry my parents through their last years and take care of them. So far, I have worked well and God has always been on my side”. ...

Jan 10 2021

January 10, 2021