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Iraqi Kurdistan’s gypsies want to vote: No
more singing and dancing 8.6.2012
By Abdul-Khaleq Dosky, Duhok- Niqash |
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Gypsies in Duhok, Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Photo: Ekurd.net/Youtube
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June
8, 2012
DUHOK,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — The number of gypsies
living in Iraqi Kurdistan has grown. And now the
minority group wants its own politicians to take
their rightful place in the local parliament. As the
gypsies say, it’s time Iraqis realised “we don’t
just sing and dance”.
“We don’t just sing and dance,” Iraqi gypsy, Nayef
Hamou, states proudly. “We have a long, rich
heritage and, along with others, we have contributed
to the development and reconstruction of this
region.”
And that is why Hamou, and many of his fellow
gypsies, are now demanding political representation
in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan of Iraq.
Hamou lives in what is known as the Adar Complex,
about ten kilometres south west of the city of
Duhok, one of the largest residences for the gypsies
of Kurdistan. It was built in 2008 and now houses
more than 260 gypsy families.
“We want to be represented in the parliament and on
the provincial councils,” Hamou tells Niqash. “We
have many problems, such as the lack of schools and
job opportunities. There are many unemployed young
people in the complex and inside gypsy communities
and we want these problems addressed.”
Fahima Fattam, another gypsy in the Adar Complex was
worried that gypsies were in danger of losing their
culture and that this was another reason why gypsies
needed political representation. “We have our own
traditions, which we respect,” she says. “But many
of these – such as the language, the costumes, the
marriage traditions – will disappear if there are no
efforts made to protect them.”
“The future of the gypsy way of life is uncertain,”
Fattam argues. “IN order to have our voices heard we
need our own representatives in parliament and on
the provincial councils. This is the only way to
address the gypsies’ problems.”
And both Fattam and Hamou may soon get their way. A
census conducted by the Aluka Cultural Centre for
Gypsies in Dohuk suggests that there are now more
than 31,000 gypsies – also known as Domari in the
Middle East – living in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“We formed a higher committee composed of gypsies
from Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Duhok and then we
formed groups in each province to conduct the
census,” Younis Tahir,www.ekurd.net
the head of the Aluka Centre says. “As a result we
counted 31,145 gypsies living in the three
provinces.”
The survey took place over a period of six months
and, when compared to similar earlier surveys, the
increase in the number of gypsies in Iraqi Kurdistan
has been significant. Tahir says the last survey
showed only around 25,000 gypsies in the region.
According to Tahir, there are two major reasons for
this increase. Firstly, he says, social traditions
among the gypsies mean the group has a particularly
high birth rate. And secondly, a large number of the
gypsies have come to Iraqi Kurdistan from other
parts of Iraq after they became targets for
extremists and Iraqi militias. Additionally the
authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan are taking measures
to try and persuade the gypsies to settle in one
place.
As a result of their increasing numbers, the gypsies
have decided they need better and more appropriate
political representation.
“As yet, we haven’t formed any kind of political
party,” Tahir explains. “But we did join some of the
other Kurdish political parties, such as the KDP and
the PUK. Because we would face significant
challenges if we competed in elections on our own.
However we hope that eventually the government will
allocate us a political quota on the provincial
councils, in the same way they have done for other
minorities.”
“Gypsies should adapt to developments taking place
all over the world and in doing so, they should try
to benefit from the political changes taking place
in Iraqi Kurdistan too,” Mohammed Biro, a gypsy
leader also resident in the Adar Complex says. “Our
community has suffered a lot through lack of a
stable life. And this has seen us suffering from
poverty, illiteracy and ignorance. Now we are still
making a living by begging while we see other Iraqi
minority groups benefitting from the political and
economic changes here in Iraqi Kurdistan.”
Sociologist Biyar Baffi, who is based in the
northern city of Zakho, near the Turkish-Iraqi
border, believes that local gypsies will need to do
a lot in order to make real changes within their
society. Apart from some of the gypsies’ own
traditions which can be damaging – for example, the
tradition of marrying in their teens – Iraq’s
gypsies also have years of oppression to overcome.
“The former Iraqi regime played a role in weakening
this sector of society,” Baffi explains. “Gypsies
were not allowed Iraqi nationality and that made it
difficult for them to enrol in schools and to access
employment opportunities with the government.”
However, as he points out, if the gypsies win their
own seats in Parliament in Iraqi Kurdistan or on the
provincial councils, they may well be in a better
position to be able to lobby for better educational
and employment opportunities.
Ordinary Iraqis also tend to have a negative and
stereotypical view of gypsies, Baffi says, despite
the fact that the gypsy society is changing. He also
thinks the fact that having gypsy families isolated
in a compound outside the main centres in Iraqi
Kurdistan is not helping this.
Gypsy participation in the electorate is welcome,
says local lawyer Biyar Tahir Doski, who heads the
office of the Independent High Electoral Commission
(IHEC) in Dohuk – IHEC supervises the electoral
process in Iraq. “As long as their participation is
within the framework of Iraqi election law,” he
adds. “So as long as the gypsies hold Iraqi
nationality and as long as they have the necessary
official documents to show they have the right to
participate in the elections, they are very
welcome.”
For now though, the would-be gypsy voters’ most
difficult question may not have anything to do with
their minority status. The provincial elections, due
to be held in Iraqi Kurdistan in September, were
postponed this week due to confusion over laws that
had to do with who minorities in the region could
vote for. The elections have been postponed
indefinitely, until electoral law can be revised.
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author or news agency,
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