Kurdistan

A country in the making!

It has been just two days since I returned from Iraq-Kurdistan. Normally it takes me longer to write my blog entry but this time I am constantly afraid of forgetting something important. I have had a truly amazing time in this country and every day was full of new experiences and impressions of the country and its people. So you will get a very fresh, probably slightly unstructured story to read but you can be sure that it is authentic and in the end I think that is what matters.

So as usual I picked a country which is temporarily not a tourist hotspot for various reasons and I was pretty nervous to be honest. All I have seen in our media was people losing their heads and military jets bombing terrorists. When I took the bus from Şırnak to Silopi, the Turkish city close to the Kurdish border, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I definitely was the only foreigner and despite my attempt to grow facial hair to “fit in” I was spotted immediately by the locals, which did not help to ease my paranoia.

After the most chaotic border crossing I have ever experienced where my passport partly disappeared for half an hour in a mob of arguing Dolmus (Grouptaxi) drivers I managed to set a foot on Kurdish soil. It was already dark and I had no idea where to go. Luckily the family that I shared the Dolmus with to cross the border offered me to share a cab to the city center. The first time I encountered the hospitality of the Kurdish people.

Turkish-Kurdish Border Control

When I went out to get some food in the same night I already made my first experience what it means to live in this country  when I got a Falafel at a shop where the owner was a Kurdish Christian who has lived and worked in Europe for a long time and that employs Syrian refugees. It turns out that many of the Kurdish people have lived abroad when they had to flee from one of the several conflicts their country already had to endure. Now Kurdistan itself has become a country which hosts a great number of refugees. 

The 20 year old Masror who had to leave his hometown Haska in Syria with his family is just one of thousands. We all “know” that behind the numbers of refugees, we hear in the news, individual stories and tragedies take place but it became a fundamentally different meaning to me when I was talking to this young and smart guy in my age. His story was already an overwhelmingly complex structure of fear, hope and expectations for the future; therefore it is immpossible for me to process that there are thousands who share the same faith. Sitting there listening to the story of his life my problems back home seemed rather silly.

Masros, 20 years, Refugee from Syria

At the same time I am not ashamed of having those first world problems I simply had no saying in where my life will take place on this earth, so did he.
Still I felt a certain responsibility towards him, not necessarily to help but to listen to what he has to say.

On my second day I was strolling through the city of Zakho without a specific idea of what I am doing. I came across this construction side and realized that there are some things odd about it; in particular kids playing without any safety on the second floor and lots of laundry that was hanging around to dry.
I took me a moment to process that this was a refugee camp of Yezidis who were forced to leave their homes in Sinjar by terrorists of the Islamic State. The Kurdish government, with the help of UN and NGOs, has already established 23 camps for refugees allover Kurdistan, each fitting up to 5000 people but the capacities are simply not enough and so some the Yezidis have no choice but to live on bare brickwork with improvised sanitary installations and inconsistent electrical power. I have spent quite a bit of time with them and I am simply amazed. They have to improvise life with the very little belongings they could take with them and everyone of them knows family or friends who have died in the conflict or are in captivity and yet they greet you with a smile, invite you for dinner and offer to help you in any way they can. I forgot about the tragedy these people have to live through because they seemed so happy to me. I cannot thank them enough for their openness and great hospitality. 

Yezidi Refugee Camp in Zakho

Yezidi Man

I was reminded again of what was happening to the Yezidis when I got the chance to talk to Caton Golu Cudida, one of the old Yezidi women that were released from IS just a week ago. What she told me made me shiver. How all the men were killed except the old ones, young girls were sold, one of them her daughter, and food that was just enough not to die. Right now there are still thousands of them in the hands of IS. The time with the Yezidis has been very intense for me. The contrast of pure happiness with what they got and this deep rooted sadness of their loss brought up emotions in me that I had not felt in a long time. I can honestly say that I admire and salute them for the beautiful character they embody.

One of the 23 Refugee Camps in Kurdistan

Dinner Invitation from a Yezidi Family in the Refugee Camp

Refugee Camp Zakho

Warming up around a little stove

I made my way to Dohuk to talk to the government to get permission for the frontlines because I also wanted to include the Peshmerga and their opinions into my story. By the time I arrived in the city I was pretty short on cash and as I have skipped the research part on the country I was leaving to while I was home, I did not know that Visa card is not the most common tool of payment. Therefore there is exactly one ATM in Dohuk which takes this card. Of course I did not find it the first day and so I was stranded with 2000 ID (Roughly 1,50€) in a city I did not know without a place to sleep or food.

So I made my way through the city to find a nice bench to sleep on. I stopped on top of a hill to enjoy the view for a while, and pity myself of course, when some children came up to me.

They were interested in what I do and my camera and it did not take long until their father came out as well and invited me to their place for some food and tea! Me, a complete stranger, and a foreigner who does not even speak their language. I have never experience such unconditioned hospitality anywhere so far.

Got invited to sleep here

Of course a German visitor was something unusual and so the neighbors and some extended family came by as well. At the end I was even offered a place to sleep. In this moment I was the luckiest person alive. Then again I was reminded of the reality this country lives in when suddenly the police knocks at the door to take me away for interrogation. I honestly did not see that one coming! Of course it makes sense though that in a country that is at war a foreigner with a camera is something police wants to investigate further. While I was talking to the police the family who offered me a place to stay and one of the neighbors rushed into the interrogation room. They vouched for me and argued with the police to let me go. Again, those were people I have met only hours ago. When I was allowed to leave I could not believe what those people did for me. Needless to say that they still insisted that I will stay at their place for the night. Simply stunning. I thought I might just got lucky with this family but I encountered this natural hospitality on a daily basis. In general the people living in Kurdistan are very honest and to help each other out, foreign or not, is one of their core values on which their society is based. The Kurds are really one of a kind.

It took me some days until I was granted the permission to go to Sinjar where Peshmerga and Yezidi-militia are fighting against IS. The officials were very concerned about my personal safety and they wanted to make sure they take the proper precautions to minimize the risk for me. So when everything was arranged I was taken to the frontlines and had the opportunity to talk to the people who are defending not only their land but also values which they share with the western world. One of the reasons why the German army has been delivering weapons to the Peshmerga and helped them to train soldiers to use them efficiently.

Military Checkpoint on the way to Sinjar

Bombed Village, except the Moschee

Left-overs of a Humvee after an Airstrike

House of an IS commander after an Airstrike

This experience was also a first for me. To enter a war zone where a constant threat for your life is normality was a surreal place for a European. On my way I saw burned out cars, bombed houses and deserted villages. When I arrived at the local headquarter I witnessed men enjoying their spare time with some tea on plastic chairs in front of houses that were abandoned by their owners and now the temporary home for the soldiers.  They were happy to chat with me, take pictures together or to show me their equipment. The atmosphere was relaxed and I was again a very welcome guest.

Temporary Peshmerga Headquarter

Came back to Kurdistan from Germany to fight IS

Soldiers enjoying the Sun

I had the opportunity to talk to Captain Cheteen Doski from the anti-terror unit that was under the command of the recently assassinated Sheikh Ahmed. He and the other officers invited me for diner and first of all thanked the German government for their support and the delivered weapons, especially the Milano rocket, which had contributed to their recent success against IS. At this point I felt the need to thank them for fighting this war for us as well. When we continued our talk he mentioned that most of his men have not been paid in 7 months because the money from the Iraqi administration has not come through yet from Baghdad. When I later on talked to the soldiers they told me the same. They actually sell their personal belongings to be able to finance the fighting. I also met many Kurds that have come back to Kurdistan because they wanted to fight in the war to protect their nation. 

Captain Cheteen Doski (Right)

Picture of Sheikh Ahmed as a Memory

Anti-Terror Unit of Peshmerga

I was impressed by the courage and the willingness to give up a structured life somewhere else to fight in the war. I think this aligns well with the fact that Peshmerga is the only army at the moment which is fighting IS on the ground after the Iraqi army was descending into chaos and still has big problems to organize a counter offensive to regain their lost territory. The success of the Peshmerga is not only based on the weapons and airstrikes from the west but also because they stand united behind a vision of their own state. The General Sheikh Ali, who leads the troops in the Sinjar area, has managed to unite the different interests of the Peshmerga and has led them to their success to regain control and disperse the Islamic State in the region. Sheikh Ali and his man embody the dream for which many Kurds hope, an independent state of Kurdistan.

General Sheikh Ali

 Throughout history international intervention and local conflicts have always avoided the establishment of a Kurdish state. Now with this conflict Kurdistan can cease the opportunity to finally achieve independence. There are many who would like to prevent this from becoming reality, especially Turkey, but in my opinion I do not think they have the right to do so nor the power to intervene. Kurdistan has been an autonomous province for a long time and knows how to govern itself and also I see it as a role model. Whereas the world around it collapses in religious conflicts and civil war, Kurdistan has a very liberale attitude towards religion. I have met Christians, Yezidis and many more religions living together without any major problems. As a foreigner I felt safe even in the most remote areas. They have an elected president which is widely respected and to be honest I think they will claim their right sooner or later with or without the approval of the international community. They have surely won me as a supporter and I hope they can continue their progress in the future.

 Thank you for a very insightful journey Kurdistan. I am sure we will meet again!


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