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Iraqi Arabs face restrictions when they
move to Kurdistan
17.2.2008
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February 17, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',--
Every three months, Munawer Fayeq Rashid goes to the
Asaysh, an intelligence Kurdistan security agency in
Erbil, the Kurdistan's capital, and hands over his
identification. The Shiite Muslim Arab never goes
alone. He has to bring a Kurdish sponsor to vouch
for him.
Although Erbil is part of Iraq , Iraqi Arabs who
move here or elsewhere in Iraqi Kurdistan have
learned that they're not considered fellow Iraqis.
"They treat us like foreigners," Rashid said. |
Security is priority No.1 in Kurdistan region |
When he moved to Erbil from Baghdad , worried about
the safety of his Kurdish wife and his children,
Rashid had to find a Kurd who'd swear that he was a
good man. Then Kurdish authorities questioned him
intensely before issuing him a residency permit
that's good for only three months. He must carry it
with him everywhere.
"They asked every detail about me," Rashid said.
"'Where do you live? Who are your relatives? Who
were your neighbors in Baghdad ?' But the most
nerve-wracking question was: 'Are you Sunni or
Shiite?'"
Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government say
they have no choice but to vet people who want to
move to the country's northern provinces, where
violence has been far less common than it is in
other parts of Iraq . If the government weren't so
strict, it would run the risk of letting violent
militants into the region, said Esmat Argoshi, the
head of security in Erbil .
"We have to know who they are," he said. " Kurdistan
is part of Iraq , but at the same time we need
someone from here to sponsor them,www.ekurd.net
to say, 'I know this
person and I'm going to be responsible.' ...It's to
keep the security situation very strong and stop
terrorists from coming to Kurdistan ."
More than 50,000 Iraqis from outside Kurdistan now
live in Erbil , and each has registered with the
Asaysh, Argoshi said, including Kurds who were born
and raised in mostly Arab provinces.
After a battery of questions and the testimony of a
Kurd to vouch for them, would-be residents are
issued special ID cards that allow them to live in
the city. The card must be renewed every three
months. If a person wants to visit another city in
the Kurdish region, he or she must have a Kurdish
sponsor in that city, too.
The rules have created tension between Kurds and
Arabs, both of whom are citizens of Iraq but who
speak different languages and have different
histories. Most Kurds are Muslims, but they shudder
at the thought of traveling to the dangers of
Baghdad .
On a recent drive from Erbil to Sulaimaniyah city,
Kurdistan's cultural capital, soldiers pulled cars
off the roads and checked IDs. When a soldier saw a
Kurdish man and an American woman,www.ekurd.net
he was painfully polite,
but an Arab man was questioned aggressively.
"Do you have permission to go to Sulaimaniyah ? Show
me your ID!" the Arab was ordered. He meekly pulled
out his documents as the Kurd and the American were
sent on their way.
Sisters Hannah and Asraa Waleed moved to Erbil
nearly two years ago. They've slowly gotten used to
life in Kurdistan and are thankful for the refuge.
Hannah Waleed's husband worked as a merchant in the
Baghdad market of Shorja, but the bombings became
too frequent. A Kurdish friend offered to sponsor
the family and they came to Erbil .
The two sisters spend their time at Naza Mall , an
Arab hangout, where they can shop for clothes, cell
phones and home appliances, or sit outside and enjoy
some coffee surrounded by people speaking Arabic.
They can't imagine moving back to Baghdad , but they
know they don't belong in Erbil .
"You walk outside and you can't speak your own
language," Hannah Waleed said in the Naza Mall
cafeteria.
Her sister pulled out her passport and her residency
ID card. "We have to carry this everywhere we go,"
she said.
Hannah Waleed's family once tried to visit Duhok, a
Kurdish town famous for its waterfalls and forests.
But without a sponsor, they weren't allowed to enter
the city.
Others complain that the restrictions give the
Kurdish areas the air of a police state. Asaad al
Ismail , a Kurd who was born and raised in Baghdad ,
said he doesn't mind having to register with the
Asaysh. But his friend quickly butted in when the
conversation turned to politics.
"There is freedom here," the friend said, "but not
when it comes to talking about politics."
Another Arab woman from Baghdad was so fearful that
she wouldn't give her name and would only whisper
her concerns. She said she was worried that people
would overhear her and that her residency permit
might not be renewed.
It may be safer here, but life is still difficult,
she said. Her relatives can't visit without a
sponsor, and it hurts her pride to have to ask Kurds
to go with her and her family to the Asaysh.
She steered clear of criticizing the local
government.
"It's like Saddam's time," she said, referring to
the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein .
* Since 1991, the Kurds of Iraq achieved self-rule
in part of the country. Today's teenagers are the
first generation to grow up under Kurdish rule. Most
Kurds don’t speak Arabic, especially the younger
generation, the 2nd language in Kurdistan after
Kurdish is English language. In the new Iraqi
Constitution, it is referred to as Kurdistan region.
Kurdistan region has all the trappings of an
independent state -- its own constitution, its own
parliament, its own flag, its own army, its own
border patrol, its own national anthem, its own
education system, its own International airports,
even its own stamp inked into the passports of
visitors.
Mc.Clatchy News
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