Humans of South - Humans of Kurdistan

"When the Kurdish authority ceased in Kirkuk, I didn’t stay there anymore. I have been living in Erbil for a few years, I liked Erbil even as a child. Erbil is honestly the city of inclusivity, I am very happy here. They have never regarded me as a non-Hawleri since I have been here. I stay at a hotel for free and there is a restaurant whose owner hasn’t made me pay since I have been here.I was a political prisoner and my body still has signs of torture. I do not have a single Dinar for a salary. I hope one day I can be heeded to so that I don’t look for others to support me and I can stand on my own feet." ...

Aug 26 2020

August 26, 2020

"When birds grow, you can train them to stay around you and not fly far off. But I start training them before they can fly. That is for them to realize that I give them freedom and show them the places. At the same time, I train them to stay with me and not fly away. I teach the birds to live outside the cages.My love for animals started at an early age. They have always given me a special feeling. Back when we lived in Baghdad, we had a big garden. Whatever animals I saw there, I would take care of, be it turtles, hedgehogs, dogs or cats. After we moved to Sulaimani, I didn’t have space to take care of animals, which was very difficult for me, it made me really upset." "Another terrible situation is when people ward off animals because of the Coronavirus. Someone told me of a family who had thrown out two birds and that their mother had died. This is terrible because these animals cannot give you the virus.Although I used to rescue cats and dogs more often, this year I am mostly rescuing birds. Once when it was windy, I had not closed my window well, it opened and one of my birds flew out, even though he didn’t mean to fly off because he still couldn’t fly well, but he had gone to a neighbor’s house. I found him in 24 hours through social media and animals’ organizations. I once took Ascander with me to a trip in nature. I saw that even though he was scared, he was still very happy to fly in nature. I got in contact with a few places after that so that they could publish Ascander’s story and show people that birds’ home is not a cage and you can train them to be free and stay with you as well." ...

Aug 25 2020

August 25, 2020

"We lived in Baghdad in the 1960s, we consistently visited Sulaimani until 1980. I was born in Penjwen, but I spent my childhood and teenage years in Baghdad in the Qanbar Ali neighborhood. That city is still one of the cities that lighten my heart.I would try to run away from school, so I only studied up until fifth grade. I went into the shoe making factories from an early age. I enjoyed the experience so much that I did not eat on the first day. I had cut my hand, but I continued working with the blood on my hand. On my first day at work, they decided to give me a weekly payment and in a short period of time, I was able to become a master workman in the factories". "I had an extraordinary competence in shoe-making. Just by watching the master workmen, I would be able to do exactly what they did.I fell in love with my job, I would devotedly make shoes. At the same time, I was able to obtain a good deal of money and help my family as well, because my father was poor.Even after I became a Peshmerga in Baghdad, I did not give up my work. I would often go to the factory in my military uniform and would change there and start working. In 2007, we came back to Penjwen and to stay in the job, I opened this shoe repair shop." ...

Aug 23 2020

August 23, 2020

"No one knows where their interests lie, so people always have to trust that the best thing is what God has in plan for them.I went to everyone I could for a wasta (nepotism) just to be accepted at the college of sports’ education, but I never was, not even now. So I had no choice but to start free work and decided to work for myself. Fortunately I now own my own house and car, and have a family and 2 children. When I look around and see what has happened to those who got employed because of the salary cuts and I see that fortunately I lack nothing, I always say I am very thankful." ...

Aug 22 2020

August 22, 2020

"I have returned from a death I could never forget. When they sent us off from Iraq’s military force to Kuwait, we were at Amarah and set off on a caravan to Kuwait. The road was exactly like a death road. They took us to a desert, it was terrible. We had very little ammunition and there was a lack of water. We had to go a long way for one water tank. I stayed there for 9 months, they had halted leaves, no one was allowed to go back. They suddenly came to us one night and told me and two other soldiers that we could take a leave and go home. The other two soldiers were Arabs, they left their place soon and I was left alone. I didn’t know any roads, and no one cares about the way you go back, you had to go by yourself." "I started walking through the desert that night. I couldn’t see anything, it was just a dry desert. I felt like it was the end of my life. I didn’t know which direction to take, until I reached a road that I realized goes straight into Kuwait. I walked a while and heard some people, nothing could be seen. But it was such a calm and serene night that you could hear every move. When I reached them, I saw a car with some people in it. At first, I was very scared, but then I saw one of them was dressed in Kurdish clothes, it made me very happy. I talked with him and found out that he is here to look for his son, but he came to the wrong place. I was able to go to another area and take a car from there and go back home because of them." ...

Aug 20 2020

August 20, 2020

"The most valuable time of my life is spent with these beautiful children when I am teaching them about God’s book. I am at these students’ service on my rooftop every day. I have become not just a teacher, but also a big sister for them. I listen to them talk about things that no one listens to them about. Due to my busy schedule with housework and my studies, I can only provide one hour for them. I wish I had more time to do more good for the afterlife. This quarantine was a good opportunity for them, some of them have memorized a good amount of Surahs." “Dealing with small children requires a lot of effort and a kind heart. But I forget all my exhaustion when I see good results from my students. Besides that, what distresses me is that I am not capable of gifting the smart and successful students a worthy gift. Unfortunately we see many futile programs and projects sponsored by many companies and supported by many factions, but for something like this that has ultimate benefits, they not only oppose you, but also comment and judge you a lot.” ...

Aug 19 2020

August 19, 2020

“Drifting is a driving technique filled with passion and love for cars and adrenaline. First of all, my drifting skills is not something I learned from studying and training. To be honest, it is a talent. At the same time, it is a show to enjoy and I enjoy it myself. I see it as art, it is like dancing for me. People judge you based on how well you dance and how well you organize your skills in drifting and display them. What makes it unique is that I can change it however I want and use the moves in their right places. I test the car and prepare it for the race or show. Either way, what I do is a type of driving on closed roads and specific places that are safe.” ...

Aug 18 2020

August 18, 2020

“My hobby was iron since I was a child, I wanted to work with iron. If I sleep on screws and nuts, it is as if I am resting on a kashan carpet. That is why I opened this store and I am always among iron. Another one of my interests is weapons. I want to have all kinds of weapons not for use, but just for aesthetics. I also enjoy taking photos. I had a camera when I was a child and I would take pictures around the city in the 1990s just for fun, I have still kept all the photos. My interests are far from each other, but I have worked to make them come true. I liked bicycles as a kid, but my father didn’t buy me one. That is why the first thing I did when I got married was getting a bike”. “Because I have had many interests as a child and as an adult and most of them have come true, only a few haven’t, it is important for me to be able to make any good dreams my children have come true.I have 13 daughters! Last year, the Penjwen Institute opened and they had dorm issues. I said I was willing to give a floor in my house to the institute, as long as the government was aware. A floor in my house became a dorm and 11 girls lived there. It got to the point that I couldn’t separate them from my own daughters, so I always say: I have 13 daughters”. ...

Aug 16 2020

August 16, 2020

“The children of the rich and chiefs are thankful for their ancestors for leaving them properties and money, but I am thankful for my grandfather for passing on this job to my father, who taught me as well. It is true that our job is difficult but we are very content because we make our living with our own efforts.I left school very early, I thought that repairing water pumps was much more resourceful than waiting to get employed. I wouldn’t learn anything in school so I studied up till 5th grade, I learned nothing at all. But fortunately I know my job very well and I see myself providing a living for a whole family by myself”. ...

Aug 15 2020

August 15, 2020

“When I graduated university, I really didn’t like teaching, but it happened that I became a teacher. I remember I was very reluctant on the first day, I was afraid, afraid of not being able to direct my students in a good way, or that I wouldn’t be good in that job. With time, my students’ love made me love my job and pay attention to it. I later overcame that reluctancy and fear. I haven’t seen my students in a while, I miss them”. ...

Aug 14 2020

August 14, 2020