Humans of West - Humans of Kurdistan

“In 2012 I graduated from college of Media, and decided to work in that field. One of the strangest things that has happened to me was in 2018 when I went to Manbaj for a news coverage and film army forces on the border, I was guiding four of my friends. We went to the frontlines which was between the free army and QSD. We went to a village which was under the control of the free army, there was a checkpoint before the village, we stopped and asked about the road. I was really scared because one of my friends was wearing QSD military clothes, and if they had found out we were going to get caught. I told them that we were civilians and have lost our way, they wanted to check our car, and they saw my friend they pointed their guns on him and captured him.” “I was sure that there was no way we can get out without informing our families. I ran away into the woods while they were busy capturing my friends, they tried to shoot me, but missed, and I didn't stop. I got to a river and crossed it, I got to an area that was controlled by QSD and I was finally safe. I felt guilty for what happened because I held myself accountable for them. A lot of bad scenarios were in my head, and I was never going to forgive myself if something had happened. After 8 months and a half, both of the armed forces agreed to swap hostages, I was extremely happy because my friends were in that swap deal, and they went home safe.” ...

Dec 08 2020

December 8, 2020

“We had a simple life, but the crisis had affected the city badly. Every day, the situation was getting worse. I grew up in Jandaris area in Afrin, on a farm land, we had land and olive trees there. Same as everyone else, I left everything I had and went to Kobani, afraid from Turkish army's attacks. We used to live a simple life, but everything has become difficult now. Even though we are safe now, but we can't go back to how we used to live. The best time in life is before marriage because you are free. After marriage responsibilities increase. I left my children and now I live alone. Everyone is living their own lives.” ...

Dec 07 2020

December 7, 2020

I learned how to treat burns. The first time I time I had to treat someone was my nephew, one day he came and my mother wasn't home. I had to step up and treat him even though the wounds were pretty bad. I have tried to teach my surroundings what I know, but it takes a lot of courage and not everyone can do it. A lot of the times I take off the burned skin, which hurts the person a lot so it's not very easy. My husband can do it as well, but he can't take much it's difficult for him. I don't charge for any of the work I do, I sometimes even give my patients medicine for free. The best feeling is when a former patient is fully recovered and comes back to visit you ...

Dec 03 2020

December 3, 2020

“I quit school when I was just a kid to follow my desire in raising birds, when I used to go to school, I used to visit shops that sell birds. 24 years ago, I left the city and went to the village and dedicated my life to keep birds because I couldn't do it in the city. I was criticized by my family a lot for what I was doing, but it didn't stop me. Now, my little girls help me keep the birds. My birds are from South of Kurdistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Europe, and when they have grown enough, I sell them in Rojava. I have about 50 different types of birds such as pigeons, peacocks, ostriches, chickens and more. I was once going to Qamishli and it was snowing, the roads between the village and the city was closed down due to the heavy snow, and because of that 60 of my birds died due to the cold. I was really upset, some of them were 10 years old.” ...

Nov 30 2020

November 30, 2020

“I have worked in different fields, making aluminum doors, being a black smith, and now selling ceramic. My job is risky while going from Jzire region to Furat region afraid of Turkish airstrikes. The worst of my days are when I go home from work and I see either my father or mother sick. During the war I have lost a friend and one of my cousins as well. However, the worst one was losing the girl that I loved unilaterally for five years, they informed me that she had gotten married. I was left alone and I'm still depressed about those days, but despite all that I continue living my life hoping that brighter days are coming.” ...

Nov 29 2020

November 29, 2020

“After I left school in 9th grade, I started to become a barber, but because I wasn't taking money from my friends and less fortunate people, my father asked me to leave the job because I was mostly working for free. I started fixing sewing machines after a while. I taught myself, and it took me a short amount of time because I already knew how to sew and I used to fix my machine by myself. I became better and better day by day. Nowadays no one really does this job in Qamishli, because the machines aren't used anymore, there are now advanced machines used in factories. These machines are more used in a household because of their lack of speed, and a lot of times people bring them for fixing, but I don't charge them because they don't have the money. My children don't know how to fix machines, they like education, they like science.” ...

Nov 25 2020

November 25, 2020

“I have had drawing talent since I was a kid, I used to draw on school desks and my books at home. I really loved Art class, I used to show off my talent and the teacher appreciated it. They even asked me to prepare some paintings for our gallery in the school, and being different from the other kids made me try to develop myself more. In the beginning, I was drawing just for fun and had no plans in becoming a skilled painter and make paintings a part of my life. However, when I was fourteen, I came across a video showing how art is used in video games and how the characters are created and details are added, and I was really intrigued. From this point on, my life changed. I decided to create video game characters with great details. I have even thought about creating a short animation movie.” ...

Nov 18 2020

November 18, 2020

“I have nine kids, 3 boys and 6 girls. My love story with my husband goes back to before our marriage. We loved each other dearly when we were young, he didn't disappoint me and we got married. We still love each other, he has never made me upset, and I haven't made him upset either, I miss him whenever he's away. We go through difficult times together. Nothing can stop a heart to get to what it loves, but Syria's war has wiped happiness from everybody's heart, you don't see a single person smiling.” ...

Nov 17 2020

November 17, 2020

“My family and I traveled to the capital Damascus, I was studying English literature there. We weren't doing very well financially, I was working and it was very tiresome. Even though my family did not agree to the fact that I was working, but I had to stop studying a couple of times to gather some money to spend on myself and my education. I was going to work after school, and a lot of times I was being harassed and catcalled, which even made me leave my job a couple of times. Furthermore, going to college was becoming dangerous because there was an ongoing war between the Syrian army and the Islamic radicals. I was thinking of going to the university and live there because my family were always worried about me.” ...

Nov 17 2020

November 17, 2020

“I remember when I was twenty-one, people used to be good to each other, whenever there was a convoy following someone deceased, people used to follow it and help the family. I was very affected by that and I used to follow them as well, I even helped digging the graves, I was known as the Gravedigger. Whenever there was a deceased person, they had me in mind for the grave digging because I was doing it as a volunteer so they used to ask me to help out. I know exactly how it feels to lose someone, so I usually tell them to leave the digging to me. I admit that it's a very hard work, and when I turned fifty, I needed a surgery in my hand because it was badly damaged due to the digging. However, this didn't stop me, so I hired a couple of people, and after 8 years I was able to collect money to buy a machine to dig the graves. Best thing in my life is that I go to bed every night with a clear conscience. I am sure people are praying for me because of the work I do.” ...

Nov 15 2020

November 15, 2020