Humans of West - Humans of Kurdistan

“I was twelve when I started Taekwondo being inspired by my cousins that used to wear their white clothes and belts and go to trainings. In the beginning, a lot of people were against my decision, they were saying that this sport was only for boys, and girls should stick to their education. However, all of my family supported me especially my uncle, on the condition that it wouldn't affect my education. I registered in one of the Taekwondo schools, I was taller than all the girls there, I was also strong and they used to call me the iron man. I started to learn the basics and continued until I reached an advanced level. I won a lot of trophies on international levels, but due to lockdowns this year I kept training at home. Having won all of those trophies is a great achievement for me and I'm sure that it'll encourage the girls in my city to play sports. I am now a law student and at the same time I am a coach and an international referee.” ...

Nov 06 2020

November 6, 2020

“While applying for my high school diploma, I got really high grades. I was third in Sarekane area and sixth in Hasakah. After finishing high school, I stopped my education for one year because of the war in 2012. All of my school records and files were burned so I recovered them in Damascus and restarted my education in Latakia, I was working in a pharmacy while studying, it was a great experience for me. I graduated in 2016 and opened my own pharmacy. I was very afraid at first because the patients' lives were in my hands, but I started growing confidence day by day. In 2019, Turkey started an attack on our city, and all we could do was to leave the city and treat the wounded. Then I started living in Qamishli and five months ago I reopened another pharmacy.” ...

Nov 04 2020

November 4, 2020

“I couldn't finish my education due to our financial situation, we were living in a mud house, but because the place is so small, I am now living with the Muezzin of a mosque. I have worked in physical therapy, media, even theater and cinema, in 1997 I participated in "The Golden Fish" play. However, due to my heavy weight, I haven't been able to work for about 10 years, some people even make jokes about it and that really affects me mentally. I can speak 4 languages, I have learned to speak English and Arabic from school, my native language is Kurdish, and I have learned Turkish from watching TV. Despite my expertise, I couldn't get any jobs, and mostly my applications have been rejected because of my heavy weight, it really upsets me. I hope I can find a job one day so I can buy the daily things I need” ...

Nov 04 2020

November 4, 2020

“I have been playing football since I was seven, a lot of the times along with my friend Jan we play in a muddy field. During the trainings, we are playing on the opposite sides, but we are in one team during official games. We fight a lot, but we also love each other very much. I have left school so I have a lot of time for playing, and we are currently busy forming a team for Qamishli tournament. I am a Barcelona fan, but my parents are Real Madrid fans and they bought me Real Madrid kits, I hate the team but I have to wear their kit. Whenever those teams play we fight since we are not the fans of the same teams, an whenever Barcelona lose I go and hide for a couple of days because they make fun of me.” ...

Nov 02 2020

November 2, 2020

“I build houses with mud, I learned this craft as a kid from my father, it's fun work. People used to help each other in fixing their houses for winter, there are still people who help other, but not like before. It used to be a different atmosphere, the elderlies were having a conversation, the young were fixing the houses while the women were cooking. These mud houses only exist in Jazira area, it doesn't exist in other places in Rojava anymore. The reason they still exist here is because they are warm in winters and cold in the summer. The houses are made of a special kind of mud, which is black in color, you can't just use any mud. I personally prefer mud houses.” ...

Nov 01 2020

November 1, 2020

“Because there was a valley in the middle of our village, I couldn't go to school because rain would flood it in winters. I was the only child so my parents were afraid to send me to school thinking something might happen to me. I was twelve years old when my father decided to buy me some sheep to look after. When I turned twenty, I joined the army, and when the 1973 war happened, I was a soldier. We were about 100 meters away from Israeli soil, and we went into the country at dawn, before the morning prayer we ate since we were fasting, and suddenly a lot of firing were coming our way, but we survived. After a while, we were out of water and food and were ordered to get on our cars and go to another location. At that time we were bombarded and only 20 of us survived. After all that, I went back to being a shepherd of a few sheep so I keep moving and have a good health.” ...

Oct 31 2020

October 31, 2020

“After I finished the fifth grade in school, I went to Damascus after a while to start working. We started painting buildings with my brother. I was in Damascus for twenty-seven years, and when the Rojava war started along with the uprising, I decided to go back to Qamishli to smell freedom after the city's liberation from the Syrian regime, and I knew that my kids and I had to serve Rojava. My son joined the Kurdish forces that were protecting the area, and after a while I got the news that he was martyred, I was very depressed and I was also proud. I am now seventy-two years old, I was still looking young, but after my son was martyred, I started looking old. This is the price we have to pay for freedom and for speaking our mother tongue. A while ago I opened a shop to sell used goods to make a living for our daily lives.” ...

Oct 29 2020

October 29, 2020

“I was always dreaming of being accepted in college. I was very happy when I went to school the first day, I studied really hard. I went to high school and was determined to get good grades. Some time before my final exams I got into a car accident on my way to school, I was injured and taken to the hospital. I was not able to participate in the final exams. I stayed in the hospital for a while until I was better, but my mental health was still bad, and one year of education was wasted. I was very sad seeing all of my friends being accepted in college, not being able to join them. However, I didn't stop there and decided to get back to school the next year. Despite the war, and COVID19 that halted everything around the world, I had a strong will, I participated in the final exams and finally achieved my lifelong dream. I now study Economics.” ...

Oct 28 2020

October 28, 2020

“I have been living in Qamishli for five years, I am a Business and Economics student here. I am also a photographer in a center that produces documentary photos and videos. Four years ago, I started photography and I really liked it, then I participated in an advanced course of photography.We went to all the cities in Rojava, from Derik to Afrin. We took photos of soldiers and the nature, as well as anything related to Rojava's culture. We opened an exhibition that hosted a hundred photos, we also produced several documentaries about Afrin's movements, a village that only women live in, and many more.” ...

Oct 25 2020

October 25, 2020

“When I started reading the old books about the foundation of music, I went all the way to even read about the Pharos and the Meds. Something that grabbed my attention was that they had used music to treat illnesses. I went deeper into this, and started treating illnesses myself playing a violin because it is an instrument that touches your soul and gives you peace. I have a friend that's always stressed, I once asked him to come and have a cup of coffee with me. When he came, I saw that his hands were shaking so I told him to close his eyes, I will play him some music and asked for his opinion. When I started playing, I noticed his stress getting less, and I was sure that music can treat illnesses indeed. I researched more about it and saw that there are centers in Japan, United States, and even Dubai that work on healing through music. I can diagnose people through seeing their eyes and feeling their pulse, and then play them a piece of music.” ...

Oct 25 2020

October 25, 2020