Humans of West - Humans of Kurdistan

“I have been working as a taxi driver for about 23 years. Even though my car is pretty old, but it's very valuable to me and I wash it every day. I make a living for my family, I have four kids, and my mother lives with us, she has had a brain stroke. I will do whatever mom needs, because of all the trouble she has gone through while I was a little kid. My job is not easy, I work day and night, and it is a humanitarian work. One day, I saw an accident on the street, I took the injured to the hospital, and if I hadn't he might have died. I used to take people to Aleppo and Raqqa, but it's very dangerous now so I don't go there anymore, especially after the Turkish army took over most of the way to Aleppo and Raqqa. I hope peace and safety will be brought back to the region so everyone lives safely”. ...

Jan 19 2021

January 19, 2021

“I tried to do my best in school ever since I was a kid, my dream was to become a doctor. It's always said that while growing up, dreams become smaller, but I never believed that. What made me more motivated was after the explosion of Newroz of 2015 happened, my father was there and he was one of the injured. We took him to the hospital, I saw many casualties there, and I also saw all the shortcomings, that motivated me to become a doctor even more. My father was injured in his leg and arm, and because his surgery was so late, he became paralyzed. He could not work again so I decided to leave to Southern Kurdistan to get a suitable job. We stayed there for a while, but we couldn't handle it and we came back to Syria. I was then a 12th grade student, and had to try my best to get good grades to be accepted in Medical college”. “Many things happened in the same year, ISIS came to our region and were close to our house, and so we had to leave to Qamishli. Despite the bad situation, I didn't give up on my dreams, and studied and was accepted in Medical college in Damascus. I was extremely happy, and my family were proud of me because I never gave up. I went to Damascus, but a lot of trouble came my way. I was a lonely 18 years old girl, away from my family during the war and instability. As a girl, life was very difficult. I went through a lot, but never stopped chasing my dreams. I am now a senior in college and am going to be doctor to help people so that I wouldn't let what happened to my father happen to anyone else. I have learned a lesson that your situation is only affected by your will and your determination. We have to make positive changes, whether it's for ourselves or others”. ...

Jan 18 2021

January 18, 2021

“I am 65 years old, and I live alone with my sister in Qamishli, I have never gotten married. My father and uncle have fled from the Ottomans a hundred years ago, and have come to Qamishli. During the Arminian genocide, my grandfather had been killed by the Ottomans and my father had been only 6 months old. My grandmother had stayed 7 days among dead bodies to pretend to be dead when soldiers roamed around, she had been afraid to move and get caught, but she had later been able to escape, helped by the mayor of their village. My mother's family have all died. Last year, the same tragedy was repeated in Karabagh region, so we decided to not celebrate new year, showing condolences to all the martyred in the war against Azerbaijan and Turkey armies. The Armenians have faced lots of killings on the hands of the Turks and the Ottomans, same as the Kurds. I hope that peace and safety are back to the world in this new year”. ...

Jan 15 2021

January 15, 2021

“When I was 12 years old, my family forced me to quit school due to struggling financially, and due to the traditions in the family. I was cut off from education and that had a lot of negative effects on me, I wasn't the same as the other girls anymore, but I was still reading novels and stories because I really liked them. I registered at a Kurdish language learning course after the Rojava revolution, I finished three levels of the course and decided to become a teacher, but one of the staffs told me I cannot because of my age. It was pretty upsetting, I felt like all of my dreams and wishes were crushed and I couldn't do anything in life. After a long while, my daughter was applying for college, I went with her to complete the paperwork, and I told my story to the person in charge there. He asked me to apply as well, I was extremely happy, and felt like I had hope again. My family and husband supported me when they knew I can finally reach my goals. I now go to the same university my daughter goes”. ...

Jan 13 2021

January 13, 2021

“I was six years old, my father sent me to a private school for a better education. Most of the kids we Christian, Arabs, and children of rich people. However, since we were Kurds, the school didn't treat us like the others, they were racists and were ignoring us. I stayed there until the sixth grade. I didn't continue there, I went to a public school and made friends, I was much happier comparing to my elementary years. I wanted to get good grades to get into pharmacy, but back then pharmacy college was in Damascus and there was war there. I didn't want to go there, so I chose one of the universities in Hasakah, and I was accepted in economics because I believed that it'd have a good future. When I started in University, it was not what I was expecting. The teachers were corrupt and didn't treat students properly. After two years I quit college”. “Then Rojava University was announced in Rmilan, which is the first Kurdish university in Syria. I decided to study petroleum engineering there, it was a bit difficult because the university was in its early years, and many people said that it won't have a good future and their degree is not recognized locally and internationally. However, we kept going and didn't stop. I saw big differences between the public universities and Rojava University, the students loved each other and were helping each other, and the teachers were like our friends, they taught us very well. This helped us reach our goals. I graduated and had many job opportunities. I'm very happy that I can work in gas and oil fields because there used to be only male employees here. This is truly positive for equality between men and women”. ...

Jan 07 2021

January 7, 2021

“I have loved music and singing ever since I was a kid, and my dream was to become a musician when I grow up. My sister supported me and pushed me because she was a violin player, and my family didn't mind. I had a good voice so I started singing, I sang a lot and my father supported me, and decided to help me develop my talent. People suggested that I learn how to play Saz, and I started learning while I was 13 years old, I also tried to do well at school. I kept playing and my skills were getting better and better. I am now preparing for the 12th grade final exams, which determines my future. I have to try hard and study well, so I'm currently focusing on education and a bit distant from music. However, I will never quit music, or school. I want to get high marks so I make my family proud, I also want to become a musician so I can make myself proud”. ...

Jan 05 2021

January 5, 2021

“I joined the army force that protects Rojava while I was still studying in institution, I then insisted to go to Afrin, back then Afrin was surrounded by the Turkish army forces and was about to be invaded. I was very happy to go there because I really like the people there. It was a bit difficult from the beginning because we have different dialects, but once I learned their dialect it became much easier. In the beginnings of 2018 Turkey started a military operation on Afrin, we faced their airstrikes with our basic weapons for 58 days. Many of my friends were killed right beside me, and many civilians as well due to Turkey's random airstrikes. I was injured and I went back home, and I restarted my education because I had stopped when I went to fight in the war. I am now a student in Rojava university in Qamishli, and after graduation I would like to become an elementary school teacher because I want to teach children”. ...

Jan 03 2021

January 3, 2021

“When I was in elementary school, I really liked arts class. It was precious class for me, and my teacher was always encouraging me to draw. I kept drawing until 2015, and then discovered a new way of drawing through watching TV, and that was 3D drawing. I started watching teaching videos of 3D drawing because I wanted to learn something that was rare in our area. I was the first person to draw 3D paintings in our area, and that made me to try even more. I wasn't successful in the beginning, but I kept trying. I participated in a gallery, but my drawings were not good enough to attract people's attention because my paintings have to be on a table, not on a wall, and if they are hanged on a wall, they'll lose their specialty. I was really upset about it, but my family helped me to get through it, and to succeed. I now study to be an architect in Qortoba university, and knowing how to draw 3D paintings have helped me a lot because architecture and 3D painting are related”. ...

Jan 01 2021

January 1, 2021

“When I was a kid, we had no school in our village. Once I was 16 I went to (Hujra) Islamic teaching to study the holy Quran, and I learned how to read and write, but I couldn't do well because I was slightly older. One day, there was a storm in our village (Haram Shekho), the storm had driven all the rocks and debris into the valley. I took out the rocks out of the valley and started building a house. After several years I got married and had a couple of kids, and when my children grew up we went to live in the city so my kids go to school and not end up like I did. I was traveling by a bike while I was building the house, it has been 60 years since then and I'm now 84. I still ride my bike and it's very important to me. I have good health, and I go to see my friends every day at the park and spend time with them”. ...

Dec 30 2020

December 30, 2020

“Everyone has their own desires and passions, my passion is carpeting and creating decors with wood. I started making Violins, Oud, and Saz as well as cars and other toys on small scales from wood 22 years ago, using simple tools. I used to buy broomsticks, carve them and make shapes with them and then work out the details. I was making 13 Ouds with each broomstick, sometimes I was even making a human figure that could move. After a while I joined the army, and after two years of service I came back to my shop and continued working to further develop my skills and make a living for myself. I learned a lot and gained a lot of experience, but due to our bad financial situation I had to move to Lebanon and work there. I stayed in Lebanon for seven years and then moved to Turkey for work. However, I couldn't succeed there so I moved to Iraq to work as a carpenter for a year, I then soon decided to go back home”. “I bought several tools and started my work, but couldn't continue due to the war and had to sell my tools to cover daily expenses. I now work for a friend of mine, he gave me a job as a payback for a favor because I taught him this job. I once visited a village and saw a tractor, I decided to make a wood model of it, it was difficult at first, but when I finished it I loved how it looked. Another time my kid asked me to make him a toy. I spent an entire day making it, and the finished product was amazing. When my son saw it, he decided that he won't play with it, he will put it somewhere safe until he's grown and he'll showcase it in his house when he's a grown up”. ...

Dec 29 2020

December 29, 2020