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New Year's festivities offer an escape 22.3.2007 |
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March 22, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- A black
cloud of smoke hung over the ancient citadel at the
city center this week amid sporadic explosions that
shook its foundation.
Anywhere else in Iraq, this would be cause for
alarm. But for the people of Iraqi Kurdistan, the
festivities begin with a colorful bang.
Newroz, or New Year's on the Kurdish calendar, marks
a weeklong homage to the return of spring. Family
and a love of nature are pillars of Kurdish culture,
and the enthusiasm with which both are embraced has
bounced back after years of persecution under Saddam
Hussein.
"Newroz is a time when we can embrace our identity
and traditions as Kurds, which was not always
possible," said Salim Salim, a local hotel owner.
"It is also the best time to be in Kurdistan because
you can see how different life is here from the rest
of the country. ... Even Arabs come from Baghdad and
other places in the south come to have some peace."
Crowds throng the sidewalks at the city center well
into the evening, talking over tea and snapping
photos as the firework fusillades rained down.
Taxi drivers pounded on their horns, and musicians
gave impromptu concerts that encouraged some men to
dance while others laugh. Security is visible
without being invasive.
Walid Aziz, a mechanic from Samarra, said he brought
his family to Erbil for the week to escape the heat
and stress that dominate daily life back home.
"Things are so difficult right now that we have to
come here every couple of months for a weekend, just
to walk around and feel normal," he said, as he had
his caricature portrait drawn. "You can really relax
here. ... I stop worrying." |
Kurdish girls dance beside a fire in celebration of
Neowroz in Akri, Kurdistan region. AFP 2007
Kurds celebrate Neowroz in Kirkuk EPA 2007 |
Circumstances have not
always been so calm.
In Saddam's Iraq, Kurds were the victim of
systematic ethnic cleansing. Conservative estimates
hold that some 2,000 villages were razed and more
than 50,000 Kurds killed, among them many victims of
chemical weapons.
The Erbil-based Kurdish government now enjoys
autonomous status under the Iraqi Constitution to
oversee three provinces, where a stringent security
apparatus of peshmerga soldiers and police remains
on guard.
However, Erbil Police Chief Abdullah Khaylani said
that all Iraqis -- Kurds, Arab-Muslims and
Christians alike -- are always welcome in the
region, especially those eager to ring in the New
Year's in peace.
"The Kurdish people have no problem with anyone.
This is their home; we are welcoming everyone," he
said. "We guarantee their safety."
washingtontimes com
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