Humans of West - Humans of Kurdistan

“When I was a student in 1955, my father and grandfather were working as carpenters. They used to craft tools using wood. My grandfather passed away and my father joined the army and I was still a student. After a while, my father returned but he was injured. He had lost his left leg in the war, and couldn't work anymore. I decided to continue the work of my father and grandfather, and I liked the work more than I liked going to school. I wanted to finish early every day so I can go to work. I did like studying as well but I couldn't focus well.” ...

Oct 21 2020

October 21, 2020

“Because we were poor, I had to work in a restaurant close to our house after school. When my dad left to Damascus to work, he took me with him. I started working in a hotel for three years. I learned a lot from the chefs there even though they never wanted anyone to learn from them, but I used to watch them from the windows and wrote what I noticed.I went to North of Kurdistan due to the war and worked there as a chef. The owner was very satisfied with my work because I knew very well to cook Eastern food, so he took me to Denmark with him for work. I worked there for nine months, then finally decided to go back to Rojava and live with my family. I opened an oriental food restaurant in Hasaka. I love my job and always try to grow more.” ...

Oct 20 2020

October 20, 2020

“My sister and I have been playing football for four years. We used to play on the streets, and one day Captain Rasho who is now my coach came to me and asked me to play in a stadium. I stepped into a new chapter in my life when Captain Rasho decided to include us in his team. At first, I found it very hard because I had never played in a stadium before.Last year, I was playing for Amuda women's team, even though I was a new player the coach called me up because of my height. I became the first player to play in women's Syrian league at the age of fourteen. We won our last game in Damascus, and became the champions.We also became the champions of women's Syrian league for under 18 several days ago. My sister was the captain and she lifted the trophy. I was voted as the best player of the tournament and had scored the most goals.” ...

Oct 19 2020

October 19, 2020

“My two brothers were in a dance group as kids, but they joined YPG when they grew up. I learned dancing from them, and for about three years I was in a children's dance group. Once I grew up, I joined an older dance group and then became the trainer of the group. Despite my young age, I taught dancing to a lot of students.In addition to dancing, I taught myself to play Oboe because not many people are familiar with it here, but it is widely used in Afrin, they consider it as a part of the Kurdish tradition. I was sixteen years old when I bought my first oboe, and little by little I learned how to play. I have only taken two classes, and the rest I learned on my own. Everyone I knew wanted to learn how to play a violin or a guitar, but I preferred playing the oboe. While serving in the army, I was getting some attention because I knew how to play the oboe and dance, and so Farhad Mardi the artist offered me to join their group, and I happily accepted.” ...

Oct 18 2020

October 18, 2020

“I was working in a beauty salon with a very close friend of mine, she was like a sister to me, and we never left each other. Two and a half years ago, they were attacked by a group in their own house. Their father was the target because he was a politician, but since he wasn't there at the time, his daughters became the victims.The very day after, I received news that she was dead, I couldn't believe it. I quickly went to their house to be sure of the news, and I was shocked when I saw a tent and two pictures of her and her sister right in front of their house. I asked to see her before she was buried, and when I saw her she was pale as a bright light. I was heartbroken, I cried a lot, and my life changed forever. I was depressed after what happened, I never got out of my room, stayed in the dark and didn't speak to anyone. I stayed that way for two and a half years until one day I met some new friends; they helped me a lot to overcome the shock and convinced me that I had to keep going in my life." ...

Oct 16 2020

October 16, 2020

“I have been selling Tasbih ever sense I was a child. I used to go to the bazaar and sell cigarettes from street to street and I used to see many children selling Tasbih so I wanted to do the same. I used to listen to what they were saying and started learning how to make Tasbih. At the beginning, I was making them from olive and date seeds and selling them as my crafts, it was only a hobby for me. However, little by little I started experimenting while making them, until I became so familiar with it that I opened my own shop. My hobby turned into a way of making a living and I will leave that legacy to my kids.” ...

Oct 15 2020

October 15, 2020

“I was born in one of the villages near Amuda city called Ali Goran village. The name has come from an incident in the old days. When I was young, one day I was sitting down with my grandfather and a group of elderly of the village when I was thirteen years old. Someone in the group had asked about the name of the village and that's how I knew what the story was.They say that a woman had been in labor and about to give birth to a child, but before the child had been born the mother had died. So they'd buried both of them in one of the cemeteries in the village. That same night the people of the village noticed something coming out of that exact grave. They'd no idea what it had been, a ghost? a human being? They became very scared and had left it like that until the next morning.” “The very next day they had found out that the child was born in the grave, and moved and had come out of the grave. Back then, they didn't have the awareness or knowledge to see whether the child was alive in the mother's womb or not, so they had buried them both together. The child had lived and was named Ali, and Goran comes from the Kurdish word for grave (Gor), I still remember this story word for word, but have no idea whether it's factual or fiction. Nevertheless, this is how it has been told for many years.” ...

Oct 14 2020

October 14, 2020

“We used to live in Damascus, the capital of Syria. When the revolution began, we returned to our city, Derk. A month after my return, I was inspired by what the women in YPJ were doing, they were just starting. I decided to contact a cousin of mine who was a part of YPG so that I can defend our territories against the Jabhat al-Nusra militia. In the last months of 2013, during a bloody fight against Nusra militia I was badly wounded, and lost one of my legs as a result.” “I had to use an artificial leg afterwards, and after some time of using it, I decided to start this job. Through the Kurdish red cross's center for artificial limbs, I have been able to do this job for four and a half years. Now I have become a trainer, too. It is a really good feeling when I make an artificial limb for someone and teach them how to use it. I see hope and delight in each and everyone's eyes at that moment.I was getting a lot of abuse while using my artificial leg, but I didn't care and wanted to prove myself so I can become a model to bring back hope to all women and the female fighters.” ...

Oct 10 2020

October 10, 2020

“I cannot begin to describe how cold it used to get there. It was an area populated by Christians near Sham (Damascus). I was only fourteen years old and was living away from friends and family. The walk between my home and the place I was learning at was pretty long, but I never cared about the distance, nor the weather because I wanted to be a carpenter so bad. There were times that snow would rise up to my knee. Building tools and creating shapes on wood only motivated me more to keep going.After 18 years being away, I finally went back to my country. As good as living in a developed country gets, it's never the same as home. Even though I was running my own business there, I felt like I needed to come back because Rojava needed me.I started collecting antiques and old items for a while to build a museum, but since I had no one and my house very small, I couldn't keep everything with me. As a result, I closed down the museum I went back to my old work that I had worked really hard for.” ...

Oct 09 2020

October 9, 2020

“My grandmother was ninety years old, and despite her age, she was very healthy until one day she slipped and fell while washing up for the prayer. Both her knees were injured and she had to stay in bed. My mother's health was declining and I was the only child in the house, so I decided to take care of her. I was making her food, and bring her the medicine she needed in a timely manner. I was very attached to her, in a way that I loved her more than myself. However, it was starting to affect my education and my social life, to a point where I wasn't going out with my friends anymore in case my grandmother needed something. She stayed on that bed for 11 months.” “I decided to visit one of my sisters in Qamishli to relieve all the stress I had. I told my grandmother that I would only take a couple of days and will be back soon. She held my hands tight and asked me not to leave because she was afraid that she will never see me again, I gave her a fake smile and told her to not worry, nothing bad will happen. I will never forget that moment.They called me the same night saying my grandmother was in a really bad shape and she had asked for me. I regretted my decision to leave so I cried a lot that night.My brother and I decided to pay a driver to get us back to Hasaka immediately. When I opened the door I saw all of my relatives surrounding her, and she was still in her bed. I heard her calling my name, saying that she wants to see me before she passes. I got close and we held hands tightly, I told her that I was there for her and I would never leave her again all while we were both crying. She passed away right in front of me, and that left a big gap in my heart forever.” ...

Oct 04 2020

October 4, 2020