Kurdish Students in Kurdistan-Iraq Hopeful
for the Future 19.6.2006
By Margaret Besheer
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Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq, In
Kurdistan, the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, the insurgency
wracking other parts of the country seems remote. In a region that
has long attended to its own affairs, people are looking to the
future. In the city of Erbil, university students are preparing for
final exams. VOA's Margaret Besheer visited with some students at
Salaheddin University, and brings us this report.
Far from the violence of Baghdad and other cities around the Iraqi
capital, students in this mostly Kurdish city say they are hopeful
about their futures.
At the girls-only dormitory, 22-year-old Sumaya says she believes
she will have a brighter future than her parents, who were among
thousands of Kurds who fled to Iran, Turkey and Syria under the
regime of Saddam Hussein.
Sumaya was born and raised in Iran. Her family returned to Iraq in
1993, after the first Gulf War, when the United Nations established
a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to protect the Iraqi Kurds, who
were largely left to handle their own affairs. Sumaya says there has
been a lot of change for the good.
"I see Kurdistan has great changes. They [Kurds] have come back to
their country, and they use their money here and make buildings,"
she said.
She says people are also now free to move between cities, which they
could not do when Saddam was in power.
In the cafeteria, Hawman is studying with classmates from his
engineering course. This 22-year-old says politics do not interest
him and his friends. |
Salaheddin University gates in Erbil, Kurdistan (Iraq)
Photo: VOA |
He says, "we do not talk about politics, we talk about friendship
and our studies and our lives."
But they all express concern about the quality of their education
and the ability to find jobs when they graduate. Many say they are
likely to go abroad to complete their studies and work.
Many of the students here do not speak Arabic, the principal
language in Iraq, because they were raised in Turkey or Iran.
Eighteen-year old Tola says the books they have at university are
from the 1970s and are completely out of date.
Kwestan, a 25-year-old English major agrees the syllabus is out of
date. She says, in her English courses they are studying the plays
of 16th century English playwright William Shakespeare, and she
thinks it would be more useful to read modern writers.
"So many teachers said that after Saddam Hussein finished they
wanted to change the syllabus of the college," she said. "But it is
unfortunate that until now there is no change and it is very boring
for the students."
And some of the students say, despite the changes around them, they
do not yet feel completely free.
Tola says life here is not free the way it is in the West, and he
hopes some day it will be.
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