Humans of South – Page 3 – Humans of Kurdistan

“My dream is to become a volleyball player. Since this sport doesn’t receive enough recognition in Kurdistan, becoming a volleyball player is rather difficult. Players must work tirelessly to prove themselves and be accepted in a club. These things are challenging but not impossible. I have trust in myself, and my family supports me. I only work to make this dream come true. I practice daily after school; we don’t have a proper sports field, so instead, we do our exercises on the dirt field. The ones with experience around me have told me that players should start from an early age. So, I’m at the perfect age to make a great beginning. I feel happy that my height and weight are suitable for playing volleyball; currently, I only have time for school and practice. Gladly, I don’t even have friends! My best friend is my ball”. ...

Aug 11 2022

July 20, 2022

“I have always been grateful to have my mother in my life. Now that I am a mother myself, I understand motherhood is a great responsibility. It is such a strange state; it evolves you from a simple and ordinary person to an emotional and empathetic one. It makes your consciousness to be awake at all times. It teaches you calmness and strengthens your self-confidence. Even though it holds many complications and new experiences, it is still significantly enjoyable with all its worries and pains. When a child is born, it is not simply a new soul coming into the world but also the most beautiful memory between you and your husband. A child is the legacy of love and affection between husband and wife. Thus, the joy of being a mother is endless”. ...

August 1, 2022

“If a human is born in a hedge even, they’ll still be attached to it. I was born in this house, this might not mean much for people, but for me, every corner of this house holds hundreds of memories. I spent my childhood and teenage years in that room. Since the building was old, it was crumbling and deteriorating. And because we were renting the house, we could not renovate the place; eventually, we left on the landlord’s demand. I have rented another house near this one; it is enough for me to see it every day and not lose sight of it. It is not easy to live your whole life in a house and see them demolishing it in front of your eyes. Every afternoon, I gaze at the front gate and remember my mother waiting for my father, and from the end corner of the alley, my father would appear holding bags in both hands”. ...

Aug 11 2022

August 10, 2022

“The streets are my dwelling place all day long. My living depends on people buying these shoes from me. This musician here makes me jovial as much as people buying shoes from me! This friend has made everyone hooked on music. It is at a point that if we don’t hear music for a day, we would feel that something is missing. Sometimes, he gets annoyed because he plays day long, and people are still not ready to help him with some change. I try not to let him lose heart, and I’m ready to help him by any means. Sometimes, I have told buyers that I’d discount some for them in return to give some money to the brother for his music.” ...

Aug 03 2022

August 3, 2022

“I was ten years old in the 80s when I used to come here to fish with my father and brothers. Since I was raised near Dukan Lake, our life depended on fishing, so I also became a fisherman. We are a family of seven, and we rely on fishing. Fishing needs a lot of knowledge and experience; the fisher must be patient and quick to react. Sometimes, it comes down to luck; there were days I didn’t catch any, and some other days I caught up to 50 kilos of fish. I remember fish weighing 150 kilos being caught in this lake, and I have personally caught fish by hook, that weighed more than 30 kilos in this lake. Unfortunately, the fish population has lessened in Dukan now because of cruel methods of fishing that some people use, such as blast fishing and electric shock”. ...

Mar 16 2022

March 16, 2022

“The Kurds did not say in vain that “a stone is steady in its place”. I was born in this village, but I moved to several other villages, districts, and cities because of studying, herding, and working as a Peshmerga. Eventually, I decided to live for the rest of my life in that place where I have hundreds of beautiful memories. Life for old men like us is just the passing of the days. The problem of having a long life is witnessing the deaths of loved ones. Mass prayers and attending funerals are our daily routine. Unfortunately, gone are the days when we gathered, made jokes and played at night. Sadly, many old people have said goodbye. There is no such gathering anymore because of mobile phones and the internet. The weakness and coldness of the social state does not only exist in the cities, but in the villages as well. I am dissatisfied with most of the characteristics of today’s youth. But I never complain about them, because I have no doubt that whatever you tell them, they still think they are more reasonable than us. To be honest, I was the same when I was young! I constantly complained about old people for how narrow-minded they were”. ...

Mar 06 2022

March 6, 2022

“We were a group of young people who dreamed of having a cinema hall in Chamchamal. But in the absence of that, we played movies for free in cafeterias and teahouses under the slogan "Culturalization of Cinema". We were always getting disappointed that the number of viewers was low. But then we realized that introducing "cinema" to the city's community was a difficult task! It's too big. We even described it as a long-running revolution. We got to the conclusion that carrying that responsibility requires a lot of effort! So if we want to make such an effort again, we need to better educate ourselves so that we can deliver our message in a different way and do a little service to our city. I believe that only art can create a conscious society. So we the young people, if not today, maybe tomorrow or in a few more years, can make much better and more serious efforts”. ...

Feb 23 2022

February 23, 2022

“Man means taking a stand, that sentence has become a rule in my life. I came to that conclusion when I needed help and stance from the people around me, unfortunately, there was no one to help. I was privileged. It was God’s predetermined plan that my whole life was turned upside down. I had a house, big and small vehicles. I lost them all. I sold everything I had just to not be ashamed in front of God and people. I wanted to live as proud as I used to be, and that is what I did, thanks to God. The hardships of life could not stop me. At that age I decided to start again from scratch. Now I have set up a small teahouse, it is much better than begging people. I did not allow myself to be ashamed in front of people, how will I allow myself to become ashamed in front of my own family!? I have hopes that my life will be back to normal. And I will not forget those people who I had lent ten thousand dollars to but did not help me back with a word or a dinar”. ...

Feb 16 2022

February 16, 2022

“There is no such thing as impossible when you have a will. I took many different ways to lose weight, but they didn't work out, so I eventually reached the right decision and started exercising. I run nine kilometers per day for an hour and do some exercises for some parts of my body. I was able to lose sixteen kilograms in a few months. Losing weight was not the only advantage of my exercising but now I have a healthy and fit body as well, plus I no longer worry about how much I eat. I start exercising after the morning call to prayer so that I sleep early at night and have a better sleep. Fixing my sleep schedule was one of the biggest benefits of that process. Every human being sooner or later comes to the conclusion that a happy life means having good health. So I hope all of you try to live a healthy life”. ...

Feb 09 2022

February 9, 2022

“I’m three years old! That may sound strange but that is the truth because in the last three years I finally realized what life is like and I enjoyed things like everyone else. For many years I lacked the courage to go to a place as I desired and do some shopping, even to go to public places like other people! because of embarrassment and fear of society. Some loyal friends encouraged me to be strong and bold. After that I decided to overcome all the antiquated mindsets of ignorant people and comments from the surroundings. Eventually I came to the right conclusion and broke down that misconception. It is still not late for a 22-year-old girl like me to try to achieve my dreams. I want to tell everyone: I’m another person now, I used to ease my anxiety and stress with my Saz but now I play it for everyone fearlessly”. ...

Jan 30 2022

January 30, 2022