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Iraqi Kurds daily lives: Kurda
21.11.2006 |
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November 21, 2006
The BBC News website has spoken to a range of Iraqis
about their daily lives, and is publishing a series
of their stories this week. Kurda is project
director for the Iraq History Project, based in
Sulaimaniyah, in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdish area
is, compared to other parts of the country,
peaceful.
The Iraq History Project takes testimonies from
people who have been victims of political violence
in Iraq over the past 35 years. Aged 26, she has
nearly a 100 hundred staff working for her.
No-one else is doing what we do. I truly believe it
will help Iraqis understand themselves and each
other better.
I already knew about the suffering of the Kurds in
the north; but I didn't know about the abuses Arab
Shias suffered in the south. |
The Kurdistan region of Iraq is peaceful and
prosperous |
We have a team of about 40 people, who are trained
in taking oral testimonies. The interviews are later
written down in the language of the interview -
Arabic or Kurdish.
I am married. I live with my husband, our baby and
my in-laws. My sister looks after my baby five days
a week when I'm at work.
My parents, my brothers and sisters, we all fled the
country many years ago. My family live all over
Europe.
I met my husband in London, but he is Kurdish as
well.
I left when I was 13 and I returned 10 years later,
in 2003. I came back on my own. People thought I was
mad. I don't know if it was the right decision.
I feel when I am here people look up to me. I taught
at the university for one semester - they all wanted
me to stay, because I am different.
For example, people here tend to work with their
families and give work to their families. I adopted
an equal opportunity policy. I interviewed everybody
and gave the job to the most suitable person.
But I was under a lot of pressure from people I knew
to give jobs to them. I resisted, but it was hard.
People here are very angry and uptight. They have
been through so much: the Iraq-Iran war, 35 years
under Saddam, civil war in Kurdistan. So, people
sometimes forget they are human.
If I live in London, I am just a number. I am a
lawyer, and could go and work in any solicitor's
firm and carry on. Here, I am so much more. I feel
my staff haven't seen a director like me before -
young and full of energy. They tell me I'm an
inspiration for them here.
After lunch today I went to a big exhibition with a
colleague. There were lots of international
companies exhibiting: firms in construction,
electrical goods, energy, food, and plastics.
Before Saddam fell, people were very wary of
investing here because they were so unsure of the
future. People kept their money in plastic bags at
home. After the fall of the regime, people started
investing. Property prices have risen so much. If I
sold my house here I could buy two flats in London.
The cost of living has gone up too. It's more
expensive to buy a chicken here than in London.
The oil-for-food programme has made people really
lazy. Farmers were given the end product - like
flour - more cheaply than the wheat they could
produce themselves.
Kurdistan is an agricultural area, but there is
little local produce.
There is so much reconstruction going on in this
part of the country, but there's still not enough
labour, despite all the people coming in.
But I am bored! There is nothing to do! We sometimes
have dinner in a restaurant with friends. But other
than that... there is no cinema. I really miss
seeing films.
bbc co.uk
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