Humans of West - Humans of Kurdistan

“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

“When we used to get the flu or cold, my mother used mix some herbs and boil them in water. This made me wonder how it could be possible that some wild herbs could heal illness. From there on, I started herb treatment business and that has been my work for 20 years now.My first patient had an excruciating pain in the stomach, and I was able to treat his pain, and he came back and brought me a gift. He brought me three books, and told me to choose whichever I want. One of the books were by Abdulrahman Al-Siuti, and it dated 150 years back where he wrote about all the herbs and flowers that could be used to treat illness and their benefits.” “I spent most of my days reading that book, and I was learning about all the types of the herbs. Then, I used to visit the herb shops and to buy the herbs I needed and was making experiments with them.Thankfully, now I can diagnose diseases and find the right treatments for them. So far I have treated many different diseases and have gotten a great return. I was once at a friend's house by accident, someone who was there had kidney stones and their doctor had told them that they have to do an operation, and they weren't financially capable to do it either. I diagnosed him, then gave him a treatment. After a while, when they had went back to the doctor for a check up, the doctor had been amazed and asked where the stones had left.” ...

Sep 30 2020

September 30, 2020

“My grandfather was the first person to work as an Al-Sous (someone who sells juice on the move) eighty-five years ago in the streets of Qamishli. He had been doing this job for thirty years, then my father started doing it for forty years; many people recognized him as Abu Abdo Al-Sawas. Then, my father was getting older and I started doing the same job in 2010. My father taught me everything I know about the job, and what separates me from the other sellers is that I dress cultural clothes every day. We have been settled in Qamishli for about eighty-five years now, but I always say I'm from Aleppo because if you forget where you have come from, then you don't have an origin at all.” “Drinking Sous (juice) has many health benefits, and one of the most important benefits is that it speeds up digestion. Sous is a type of herb that is harvested on the shores of Euphrates. The Sous that come from Euphrates is very famous, and is usually sold in Summer. In Qamishli we start selling Sous once temperature rises, but in Damascus and Aleppo it is sold all round year. This is why I have to have another job during winter. Sous, or Binebelek (in Kurdish) and Liquorice (in English) is a cultural drink specific to Syria and the Kurdish regions of Eastern Kurdistan, and the person who sells it is called Al-Sawas..” ...

Sep 28 2020

September 28, 2020

“My whole family lives in Adana, North of Kurdistan, but I came to West of Kurdistan as a kid and settled in here in this neighborhood. I got married and had kids, but 15 years ago my husband passed away, and I had to be responsible for everything. Once my kids grew up, they left to outside of the country and only five of them have stayed here with me. I have visited them several times in Germany and Cyprus, and thankfully they live very well. My oldest daughter lives in Germany, she always pushes me to go and live with her, but I can never live away from my home for four months. I sit down in front of my house everyday and whoever passes says hi. In the evenings, the women from my neighborhood gather around and we talk. Many people call me chief of the neighborhood because I know most of the people who pass through here.” ...

Sep 25 2020

September 25, 2020

“When I was an elementary student, I started painting. I always used to explore new painting books to imitate the paintings. Ever since, I work on sketching and I only use graphite pens. I was always one of those students who used to participate in the exhibitions around Hasakah. I participated in a few contests and was the first of my school several times, and a couple of times first of Hasakah. In 2014, I opened a teaching center for painting and so far, I have trained 300 students, and some of them are now great painters. In 2016, a huge explosion happened in 2016, I made a painting that was 8 meters long and hung it over the fallen over building. I dedicated that painting to all the victims and families of the victims of that explosion.” ...

Sep 23 2020

September 23, 2020

“When my father bought a TV for us, we were extremely happy about it. However, after using it for some time, it broke down, and we didn't have the money to fix it or to buy a new one. I was just a child then, I decided to fix it myself. After a while of attempting, I failed because I had no experience, but I was ultimately able to fix it, and I was so happy about it. Ever since, I have had the desire to fix things, and reusing old devices for other purposes. I haven't studied in that field, but because of the fact that I have worked so many years fixing things, I can now fix anything.In 2002, I opened up an electrical repair shop. One of the reasons I opened this shop was to help the less fortunate people fix their devices while they can't buy new ones. There are times that people bring me devices so old that fixing them is almost impossible, but I still try my best to fix them. I usually collect things that most people think are useless, but there is always something else that I can use them for.” ...

Sep 21 2020

September 21, 2020

“I sell dairy products and honey and serve those to my customers as breakfast. 27 years ago, I opened this shop, regardless of my age (Forty Years) I still look young, and that credit goes to honey and the Qaimagh I eat. I have a customer that is a hundred years older; he has been visiting my shop continuously for 27 years eating breakfast here and he is still in great shape. I have a good experience in recognizing good and bad quality honey at first site, it is not that hard you know. As of Qaimagh, there is an Arab tribe called (Al Sharabin), they make Qaimagh using cow's milk, it is very tasty. Qamishlo is one of those cities that are well known for their breakfast and that is why I want my kids to do the same thing as I do.” ...

Sep 18 2020

September 18, 2020