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Kurdish Businessmen pay the
Arab workers an additional sum over
Sulaimaniyah (Kurdistan-Iraq)- Kurdistani cities
are full of Arab workers coming from the center and
south of Iraq to find an employment opportunity,
within the prosperous construction works, day after
day, in the Kurdish region which is stable security
wise. On the other hand, these workers complain
about maltreatment.
Kurdish officials and citizens deny that and they
confirm that they are treating them as 'guests'.
Ammar, an agricultural engineer who came from Al Kut
to Sulaimaniyah, said that many Kurds treat the Arab
workers 'with hatred and humiliation. Therefore,
they either avoid employing them or only pay them
half the payment of any local workers.'
Nevertheless, Kuna Najm Eddin, who made use of the
presence of Arab workers in overhauling her house,
said that the Arabs 'are very sensitive'. She can
not speak in Kurdish to he husband in front of Arab
workers as they feel angry when they hear them talk
in an un-understandable language. She said that she
pays the Arab worker an additional sum over what is
agreed upon and that she and her husband treat them
as guests, in addition to cooking the most delicious
meals for them.
Ammar admits that he received the best treatment on
behalf of some families, but this type of families
is rare, according to him.
It is worth mentioning that the authorities also
participate in the bas treatment. The police
sometimes chase them. Nevertheless, Sarkout Hassan,
Sulaimaniyah police chief, confirmed that the issue
is not related to the fact that the worker is Arab
or Kurdish, but to his behavior. For instance, he
stated that when some persons sleep on the pavements
and on the roads, this arouses the worries of the
security elements under such a sensitive condition.
The police do not differentiate if they were Arabs
or Kurds. Ammar expressed some understanding with
regard to the worries of the Kurdish police with
regard to the Arab elements, due to what is
happening in the center and south.
It is worth mentioning that many Arab workers have
benefited from the recent procedures taken on behalf
of the administrations of Kurdish cities. They have
supplied with big halls for accommodating them, out
of assistance, according to a security official.
Al Sharq Al Awsat
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