Humans of South - Humans of Kurdistan

“When winter starts to come, women from the village have to account for next seasons food despite all the tiredness. One of the authentic Kurdish food is Trkhena, that is served in cold harsh days of the winter. It is also served to special guests that come to our house. Our kids don't really like it, but it's very tasty to us. A lot of the times our guests give us a phone call before they come, and they say that they'll come under the condition of serving them Trkhena. Many women in the village make it for sale, you can buy a portion for IQD 1,000.” ...

Nov 27 2020

November 27, 2020

“As an only girl in Sarkapkan town, I decided to go to Sports institute, this was unacceptable for a lot of people because the people from my town are closed minded and they were telling me that sports are not for girls. However, with the support of my family I started playing in 2006. After graduating from institution I decided to go further until I was noticed by several clubs, and I've played for several of them in Iraq and Kurdistan. I was also a part of the Iraqi's under 23 team to participate in Asia's tournament in Vietnam, but I couldn't go due to some personal reasons. There has been a lot of ups and downs in my career, but the worst thing that's happened was the death of my coach. It shook me inside out because all of my experience and achievements were due to my coach, he always supported me.” ...

Nov 23 2020

November 23, 2020

“I see cooking as art, and it gives me a great joy, it's not just a day job for me. I can say that I've been fairly successful in it, I've been invited to a lot of important events to cook. When I first started cooking, I was a student so I had to study as well. It was a bit difficult because I didn't want to do it just for the money, but I had to learn as well because it became like an education to me. I remember one day I was practicing on Pizza dough and I was throwing it in the air, and a girl came up to me and complimented me for what I did. It was the first time anyone had said something nice about my cooking so I completely forgot about the dough and it fell right on my face. I was so embarrassed that I sat down and didn't look up again.” ...

Nov 18 2020

November 18, 2020

“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 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 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 11 2020

November 11, 2020

“My life is all about sports. I first started at high school, playing football and running, and I was very good at it. Then, I stared playing for Soran's youth center, and that was a good start for my football career. I played for the young teams of Soran and Halo, and also participated in tournaments for Choman and Halo as a runner and got good results. I didn't stop there, I played in Italy and Greece with good results. I had more potential than just playing one or two sports, so I was able to get a teaching certificate for Chess and football, and badminton as well. I also have an international certificate in hiking. My biggest dream is to participate in international tournaments and show Kurdistan's flag to the world.” ...

Nov 09 2020

November 9, 2020

“I have tried many jobs and am still trying. I laugh a lot and get angry very few, life is really difficult here, I have gone through a lot. There might have been times when I could just leave, but why leave? I believe that wherever you live, you'll still have problems in life. The best kind of living is to laugh a lot, if you don't laugh enough and don't try to go through your pain, being sad will not solve your problems. I think a lot before sleeping at night, sometimes my thoughts make me smile, sometimes they make me cry. Less fortunate people know that life is not infinite, so I will laugh as much as I can.” ...

Nov 06 2020

November 6, 2020

“After the 1991 run away and the civil war, Kurds in general were living in bad conditions, especially the young people, where all of their dreams were crashed. At that time, I wrote some texts for (Rashwan Shekhani) the artist. His songs were like weed back then, it calmed people down. I am a descendant of (Shekh Jami), it was unprecedented for me to write a text for something like "there was no message, or a news from you, why did you do that?", I remember when I first played the songs to my father and told him the texts were mine, he slapped me and told me that I should be ashamed because I am a descendant of the Shekh. Art was so great to me that my even my father humiliating me couldn't stop me from getting deeper into art. A long time has passed now, but I'm still proud of those songs I wrote as a Shekh.” ...

Nov 05 2020

November 5, 2020