Humans of Kurdistan
The "Humans Of Kurdistan" project aims to present the cultural diversity of the country. A look at the faces but also the stories that lie behind each of them.
Humans of Kurdistan - West 10

August 24, 2020

"My name is Nergiz, I spent my childhood with a sympathetic family, in a clay house, at a slum Kurdish neighborhood called Al-Hilalyia. Due to the Baath regime’s policies, we were ridden of all our basic rights, including being a citizen. When it was time for me to go to school, Arabic was the official teaching language. Because I was from a Kurdish family, I didn’t understand anything. That is why my first Arabic sentence was: I hate life.I expressed the challenges I faced in my life through writing, to express myself and my difficult life.At some point, when I attended Kurdish lessons that were taught secretly, I wrote my first sentence in the first class, saying: I love life." "In the beginning of high school, after I secretly learned the Kurdish language, I started teaching children that divine language. My happiness couldn’t be explained.In the beginning of 1997, I joined the Kurdistan Freedom Movement to become a guerrilla and protect the mountains of Kurdistan.Then in 2000, I published my first poetry book called “Xelata xewna me”, and my second book in 2002 in Qandil, called “Hesret” and in 2015, two prose books called “Mesin” and “Stêrvana” at Qamislo. Today, after all I went through, I am participating in the Shahid Harkul exhibition for my three books, “Rûpelên Jîyanê” “Gulîyên Esqê” and my novel “Çirik”.Some of the stories from “Gulîyên Esqê” include some women’s prose, who gave their lives for Kurdistan’s freedom. I have gone to their place of martyrdom and written there." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 09

August 19, 2020

“I worked in the Syrian city of Homs as a fashion designer, but after the war broke out in Syria, we returned to Qamislo, my husband’s birthplace because the Kurdish regions were safer and more secure at the time compared to the Syrian regions.In 2013, we started our own business, which was a factory for Kurdish folklore clothing. We participated in a Kurdish clothing exhibition which was a huge success that made us want to try harder and go further in our work. I later taught my husband sewing as well, and now we work together.It was my childhood dream to become a fashion designer and now I have been able to achieve that dream”. ...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 08

August 16, 2020

“I came to Qamislo after I finished 9th grade. I worked with a barber here in 1994, his name was Ramazan. I learned the job in four months and stayed with him for a year and a half. I opened my own barbershop in 1996 and still do the same job. My job is now part of my life and I have been doing it for almost 26 years. It used to be more difficult because we used scissors. But today all the barbers use trimmers. This job has a certain originality. Although many new styles and models have come around, I have still preserved the traditional styles especially the ones specific to our culture.During the spread of the Coronavirus, we didn’t work for almost two months. Due to the curfews, our work stopped. So, we had no choice but to work from home according to the safety guidelines and usage of all cleaning supplies”. ...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 07

August 10, 2020

“I started dancing halparke since I was 6. As a child, I used to help my father who was a member of a halparke group. We started out as a group of 5 people at the Afrin community center. We would participate in all events and national celebrations. I was very happy when we would participate in Newroz celebrations, I felt like we are the protectors of our culture against the Syrian Baath party.I really enjoyed folklore halparke and had learned the dances of all the Kurdish regions. I became a halparke dance instructor at 14. One of my best memories is from when I was 12, there was a halparke group that did not accept members under 18, but I participated with them and came in the first place”. ...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 05

August 4, 2020

“66 years ago, my family bought me a trumpet. They paid 250 Syrian liras for it back then. Today that amount is enough for a whole family’s cost for two months. So, I started playing since I was 10 and studied music with Hasan Turk. I was very impressed with the Qamislo Syrian brass instrument group and was interested in playing because of them.I have participated in several international festivals in Damascus, and have been awarded many appreciation and gifts during the military shows by the Syrian defense minister in my years of military service.I still continue what I have done and I am busy forming a military bass instrument group for the soldiers of the (Self-defense) forces in Rojava. We have participated in celebrations for success over the ISIS terrorist group in the region”. ...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 04

August 1, 2020

“I started doing street photography when I was 15. It has been almost 50 years since I started taking photos of the people of Qamislo. I do this because I enjoy it and also as my source of income. I have taken photos of all the people in this city, including Jews, Armenians, Syrians, and Kurds...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 03

July 24, 2020

“60 years ago, I was distributing Khabat newspapers that was published by the Kurdistan Democratic Party at the time. I would walk a distance of 132 kilometres among the cities and towns of Western Kurdistan.I have met many Kurdish cultural figures, among them Osman Sabri, Jgar Khwen, and many others who were my contemporaries. Due to political organizational work, I was captured by the Syrian forces at the time and lost my hearing under extreme torture, but that did not stop me from political work in any way.Although I am more than 90 years old now, I still remember most of Jgar Khwen and Osman Sabri’s poems.People need to be passionate about the things they do in life, and I am proud of my nationalistic pathway in life”. ...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 02

July 16, 2020

"Parkour is not very popular in Rojava, that is why I am constantly faced with questions and surprise when I carry it out in public places.I became familiar with this sport through the French movie (District 13) when I was 8. My love for the protagonist and that sport stayed in me, but I couldn’t do those moves. When I turned 16, I wanted to reach my goal and started watching Youtube videos, repeating all the movies immediately. I uploaded the first video on my Youtube channel in 2015. My family and friends really liked it, to the point where my friends were pressuring me to teach them, but due to the risk involved with the moves, they didn’t continue.I have been injured many times when I play, that is why my family decided to prohibit me from playing. So for a while, I practiced secretly. I had plans to open a club specifically for that sport, but war prevented that." ...

Humans of Kurdistan - West 01

July 9, 2020

"It has been almost five years since I have been living here with my five children. My husband was a drug addict, he would beat me when he was out of drugs. One of my sons lost a finger while working in a public restaurant in Qamishlo.To support myself and my family, I am currently a supervisor at the Kurdish Red Crescent Society and sometimes I clean houses as well for a small amount of money. When the war in Syria started, my husband left me and the children. So I faced my family and decided to protect my children and continue in any way possible." ...