Humans of South - Humans of Kurdistan

“People call me Rashoi Saz. For me, life means music. This Saz is the closest person to my heart. Every day, I make people happy by playing my saz in the bazaar, and I’m sure they all love me for it. They always want to pay for my meals, and they have never charged me in teashops. When I come or leave the bazaar, people honk and stop their cars for me on the street. I am self-taught in music. Otherwise, I don’t even know how to write my own name. Muhammed Arif’s voice brought me into the world of music. So, I don’t spend a night without listening to him. When I want to learn a new melody, I repetitively listen to it and then try to imitate it. It was tough for me during the quarantine because I had no life without the bazaar. To put it better, my life depends on the money people give me either for playing music for them or just because of how much they love me”. ...

Aug 13 2022

May 18, 2022

“Coexistence in Halabja has a long history. The beauty of this city comes from the reality that nothing comes between their love and devotion for each other. I am a Kakaiy girl; this hasn’t stopped me from having Muslim friends. When I see a person speaking Kurdish, I don’t care much about other things. What truly makes me happy is that my friends also have the same understanding of peaceful-coexistence. We both respect each others' culture and holiness. I have been a teacher for some years now, and there is mutual respect between me, my colleagues, and my students. Moreover, I have been working as a photographer in this city for many years now. I think I have attended events and birthdays of Muslims more than of the Kakaiys! I even participate in most of their religious rituals and take their photos. They also come with me to Hawar village, where our shrine is, and it is the true residing place of the Kakaiys”. ...

Aug 11 2022

June 5, 2022

“Learning a new language has its challenges but also has twice the delights. I learned two new languages through Facebook. My English and Ukrainian friends were shocked at how I learned their languages solely through texting at such old age. I have improved my Ukrainian to a point where I can video call my friends and not just text them. They are so interested in our way of life and culture; they always ask me to show the people and the surrounding in the Bazaar of Khanaqin, even if it is for a few minutes. Now, they have become friends with the other shopkeepers around me. The neighboring shopkeepers make conversations with them occasionally, and I translate for them. I would love to have them visit Khanaqin and see the place for themselves. Unfortunately, they are worried about the security of Iraq. God willing, I plan to personally visit them, strengthen our friendship in person, and improve my language even more”. ...

Aug 11 2022

July 3, 2022

“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

by Redwan Adalat

“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

by Redwan Adalat