People-Iraq

Christmass in Kirkuk

2012-01-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

CPTnet

4 January 2012

By Ramyar Hassani

IRAQ REFLECTION: Christmas in Kirkuk.

Sun, clear sky and a little mild weather made it seem like spring in the winter. The situation in the streets was normal; traffic was light, making for an ordinary day!! This was the situation on 26 Dec. 2011 when the CPT team arrived in Kirkuk to accompany the Christian community for the day.

In the history of the city, various ethnic groups such as Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs have lived together, along with a number of Christian families from different backgrounds including Assyrians and Catholics. There are around 1500 Christian families with 8 churches in the city and the Christian village of Se Kanian 10 kilometres away.

After 2003 and the fall of Saddam Hussein, every year there is a lot of fear of suicide attacks during the celebration days in Kirkuk and cities in southern Iraq, and of course Christians are always targeted during Christmas celebrations. In 2010, because of a chain of suicide attacks in the churches and in the Christian areas, the Christian community of Iraq decided not to celebrate New Year’s.

This year 2011 was better, but there was a lot of security present, not like a normal Christmas in Europe and the U.S., but the celebration went on, and of course in Kirkuk too.

During the mass on the second day of Christmas, in the Virgin Mary Chaldean Catholic church in Kirkuk, CPT accompanied Christian people who since 2003 have had a lot of problems, and fears of being killed, kidnapped, or displaced.

The priest, who had a cold, was concerned and sad about the absence of people in the church and he mentioned many times that today is the day of being together and celebrating our most important day which is Christmas. He asked, in this holy day, what are you doing in the home? Watching T.V.? Lying on the sofa? What is more important than being with the other Christians in the most important day for us?

But the fear of suicide attacks in front or inside of the churches is not the main reason for people’s absence. There is another reason why most of the Christians were absent. In the Christian village of Se Kanian, on the same day, while there are 50-60 Christian families in the village, there were only 17 persons in the church during the mass. The reason is the same reason why people in Iraq generally have disagreements. It is the small issues that make life very difficult. On the top of the church in the village it is written that it is a Chaldean Christian church. So most of the Assyrian Christians of the village were absent.

From here to where?

2012-01-16T02:57:00.000-08:00

11 January 2012

IRAQ REFLECTION: From Here to Where?

by Bud Courtney

It is late afternoon. The sun has disappeared. It is fairly cold. We are seated on benches in front of a home in the Makhmoud refugee camp in northern Iraq, speaking with Josef and Armeena. About two years ago, they were part of a delegation of about forty-six persons who formed a Peace Brigade. They had intended to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and deliver a letter to him simply explaining that this group, and the Kurdish people, were not terrorists. They wanted peace. They wanted what all of us want (and many of us expect) -- our basic human rights. Mr. Erdogan refused to meet with them. Instead, the group was arrested, tried and sentenced to ten to fifteen years in prison. Josef and Armeena fled. Ten of the group remain in prison today.

Eighteen hours later, three of us CPTers are seated with two vice-consuls in the offices of the Turkish Consulate. We have brought with us a tin of cookies and a letter explaining our hope that this New Year could, indeed, be the year where people tried to find alternatives to violence and that we will look back and say 2012 was the year of change.

“I realize that violence does not work,” vice-consul Cafer Agik told us, “but the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] are terrorists and when they attack us, we have to fight back.”

At the refugee camp, we had informed each group we spoke with that we would have a meeting at the Turkish Consulate the following morning, and asked what they would like us to say on their behalf. Repeatedly, the message echoed Armeena’s words to the Turkish judge when she was tried for her participation in the Peace Brigade. “You have sent my children to the mountains. I have three martyrs, my children, killed by the government.” And another Josef stated, “Here in the camp are children, women and old people. Erdogan sees us as terrorists. I do not want to kill police, but I want our right to live together.”

(Makhmoud refugee camp)

A span of twenty hours. A refugee camp tucked away off the back-roads outside the city of Hawler, and a modern office in the city in a recently constructed office building offering spacious views of the region from every window. All the parties we spoke with expressed the realization that violence does not work. Yet each side lives seemingly far removed from the realities of the other.

In the Consulate, we had talked of education, constitutional change, and seeing one another as human beings. I was truly grateful for the opportunity to meet with the refugees in the camp and the vice-consuls at the Consulate who took considerable time to dialogue with us. But upon leaving, I continued to wonder what it will take for both sides to sit down, to look one another in the eyes and share their common humanity. Only then can this year be the year when people take real risks to enact change.

New Year

2012-01-16T02:51:00.001-08:00

3 January 2012

IRAQ REFLECTION: Speculations on what the New Year holds for Iraq

By Amy Peters

In the last weeks of 2011, the United States officially withdrew the last of its troops from Iraq. Within a couple of days, news reports from Baghdad were filled with more violence, death and destruction. On December 22, a series of bomb attacks killed 63 people in the capital city. These events seemed to confirm speculation that conditions in Iraq will worsen with the departure of U.S. troops.

We in CPT have been curious about the thoughts and feelings of Kurdish people on the current situation in Iraq. One person told me, “The Kurdish people do not like that the Americans are leaving. They came without a plan, but now they are leaving and there is still no plan.” Because of this, many people in Iraq think that civil war is inevitable.

Another person told me that there is no foundation for peace, that “this land is like magma, ready to erupt, the ground is ready for war”. I heard similar thoughts from a high school student and a lawyer.

I have not seen U.S. soldiers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and so sometimes I have a hard time believing that their departure will have a big impact here. When I say this, Kurds respond, “It will be worse in the south, but anything that affects southern Iraq will be felt in the North. The central government still controls us. If it is unstable, we will be too.”

Kurdistan is a region that has survived chemical bombing and genocidal campaigns, and continues to endure cross-border attacks. Most recently, on December 29, while most people were preparing for New Year’s celebrations, Turkish warplanes killed 35 young people along the Turkey-Iraq border.

War has been a lifelong lesson for the Kurdish people. So now it seems their automatic response is, “You can’t talk about peace in war time. War forces you to reorganize your whole life. We know war. We have learned it.”

We speculate on the year to come and wonder if this year will see a continuation of violence and oppression. But we continue to work and live in the hope that this year can be the one that challenges history and shows us all new ways of doing things.

IRAQ REFLECTION: Bound to not get away

2011-12-24T01:31:00.000-08:00

By Garland Robertson

They are teasing us. Flirting about, jumping from ledge to roof to line and back again. They move according to their spatial awareness. Who knows what they are thinking. Yet we are certain these small flying creatures are innocent, not knowing the promptings that surface for us as we stand by idly waiting.

Already we have waited for an hour, inside the prison courtyard. We have come to gather with family and friends of Ibrahim, a man who before resided in Halabjah. Police officials apprehended him more than two months ago and brought him to this closed facility. Outside the entrance to the prison, guests purchased an assortment of fruits and pastries to share with the inmates. This once-a-week encounter is all the opportunity provided for family and friends to stay in touch with their husband, father, brother, uncle and friend. Now as we wait, the others throughout the 30-meter square yard spread rugs and mats with provisions brought for sharing a picnic experience with their imprisoned host. We are among more than 40 people most of which have made the journey from Halabjah to the provincial capital city of Sulaimaniya to see Ibrahim once again.

(photo: the watch tower of Ibrahim's prison)

The reason for Ibrahim’s confinement is too typical. Several years before, Ibrahim had worked passionately and effectively with one of the leading political parties here. He became a respected and trusted leader in the region where he once lived. However because of corruption practices of that party Ibrahim had chosen to join with an emerging party dedicated to expose secret governmental practices that funnel resources away from community service programs. Repeated efforts to lure him back into the previous political fold were unsuccessful, so now he lives here, in this prison, charged with a violent crime that prevents him from posting bail. He will be here until his court date arrives.

Ibrahim’s arrest happened in a public protest conducted in Halabjah. Security forces from outside the city were dispatched to disperse the group who had gathered for the public demonstration. An hour before the scheduled start time, one of the visiting soldiers identified Ibrahim as the chosen target, and then the violence began. Several other soldiers approached and began beating people and shooting into the air to drive the people away. Ibrahim was beaten and struck in the back of the head by a stray bullet, and then his friend transported him to the hospital for treatment.

During a week of recovery, friends and political leaders of the previous party affiliation visited with Ibrahim. They urgently solicited his return to the party. He declined. A few days later he was directed to report to the police headquarters to answer questions. While there police officials charged Ibrahim with inciting violence against the visiting soldiers, and told that one of the soldiers had been shot and killed as a result of his encouragement of violence.
No one knows how long Ibrahim will remain here. In a discussion with family members before being allowed to come inside, we were told that some persons have stayed here for more than 10 years. The door opens and the prisoners walk cautiously down the steel stairway to be embraced by their family and friends. We talk briefly with Ibrahim. We want him to know of our interest in his detainment. He is fearful some secret proceeding will sentence him into oblivion before anyone has a chance to defend him. Witnesses once before employed to testify against him refused to follow through with their mission, but Ibrahim knows there will be others. It is a routine proceeding, fabricating a case against someone who has embarrassed a powerful opposition party. Maybe the next time, employed witnesses will be too desperate to tell the truth.
We prepare to go. They are still there, to tease the others while they share the picnic together. I can guess what the prisoners are thinking, "...if I were a bird or an international human rights worker, I could fly away too."

AN APPLE A DAY...

2011-12-07T02:04:00.000-08:00

(a November reflection)

an apple a day keeps the doctor away why can’t thousands of apples hanging from acres of trees keep bombs and shells away. Why are the rosy apple-cheeked children not running through the orchards, plucking ripe fruit from the abundant trees?

These were the questions that we, the CPT Iraq team and the Autumn delegation (from the USA) asked ourselves as we visited the mountain village of Merkajia. This tiny settlement is unique in Northern Iraq in that it is mainly a community of Assyrian Christians. One family fled to the valley running from the massacre of Christian population in the years preceding the fall of the Ottoman Empire (1915-19. ) This family grew to over 100 households.

Our host, N. told us of his family’s roots on the land. They had planted hundreds of fruit trees, especially apple, grape and quince. These have been destroyed several times through various Iraqi and Kurdish conflicts over the years. But the villagers have persevered and replanted orchards and rebuilt houses.

It seemed like an idyllic situation. Apples were hanging in abundance and grapes in huge purple and green clusters. The water of the Kani Rush (Black Spring) encircled each tree illustrating ancient irrigation techniques. As we roamed the orchards with N. he plied us with all the varieties, urging us to taste and to learn that each was better than the last.

But N. is living alone in his house. His wife and children are in a city two hours away. They have spent most of the summer separated due to fear. The village is situated in a valley on one side of the border mountains between Kurdish Northern Iraq and Turkey. The sparsely treed peaks are the territory of armed fighters, trying to protest the oppression of Kurds in that country. In retaliation for this, Turkey sends military jets over the mountains in an effort to eradicate this opposition group. The civilian villages are caught in the middle.

Thus, the stony roads of the community are now bereft of children’s laughter. N. longs for the day when his family can be together in the village again. However, this will not happen until summer when school in the far away city ends for the older children. And then, the shelling will probably begin again as it has for many summers.

The delegates and team members were eager to volunteer to help harvest the mighty bounty of fruit. It soon became apparent that N. was reluctant to show us where and how to do it. Finally, he was honest with us. “There is no market for the apples”, he said. Fruit from foreign orchards can be brought into Kurdistan more cheaply than I need to make the harvest worth my while. Maybe someday soon there will be a window of opportunity when I can sell my apples, but that time is not now.” So we had to be content with carrying two crates of apples back to the CPT house with us to share with friends and neighbors.

The Color of Loss in Iraq

2011-09-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

If Beth had a blog: The Color of Loss in Iraq: During a recent visit to NYC with friends, we walked past a startling visual display along the fence line of Marble Collegiate Church. I h...

Violence attracts violence.

2011-09-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

by Stefan Warner

I recently attended a funeral for a Kurdish family killed by the Turkish military while it was conducting air strikes in Northern Iraq. It launched a rocket that hit the family's truck, killing seven people, including a six-month-old girl.

I do not understand Kurdish, which gave me time to contemplate as I sat there. Why did this family die? Why will this six-month-old baby not grow old, be loved, and love others, like I will? Why did the Turkish military send warplanes into Iraq that killed this family?

The Turkish military would say that the PKK (an armed Kurdish group fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey) claimed responsibility for an ambush that left fourteen Turkish soldiers dead. So some might say that if only the PKK would stop the violence against the Turkish state, then Turkey would not retaliate and innocent people wouldn't die. Possibly. But before condemning an oppressed group for using violent tactics, we need to understand the conditions that lead up to this behavior.

Starting in the 1930s, the Turkish government started a policy of assimilation and "turkification." Thousands of Kurdish people died as a result, usually during forced resettlement. Well into the 1980s, Human Rights Watch documented numerous examples of the Turkish military forcibly evacuating villages and destroying homes to prevent the return their Kurdish inhabitants. Earlier this year, Turkey's electoral board barred prominent Kurdish candidates from running in elections, and to this day the Turkish government refuses to recognize the Kurdish people as a distinct minority.

I do not support the violence done by PKK and I mourn the deaths of Turkish military personnel. But what can be expected when a nation-state oppresses an ethnic group for eighty years? I think Archbishop Hélder Câmara sums it up in his tract, The Spiral of Violence: “ Violence attracts Violence. Let us repeat fearlessly and ceaselessly: injustices bring revolt, either from the oppressed or from the young, determined to fight for a more human world."

Archbishop Câmara explains that there are three levels of violence. Number one is some injustice such as slavery. Number two is revolt. Number three is repression. In U.S. history, one can look at the Nat Turner uprising as an example. Nat Turner was born an enslaved man of African descent in Virginia and eventually led a slave rebellion, which, when put down, was followed by even more brutal treatment of enslaved people in the south. The violence of Nat Turner and his followers was not senseless. It was the result of intense violence and oppression done to him and his people by white slave masters, who I believe bear the ultimate blame for the violence of the revolt.

I'm still a pacifist. I am still a follower of Jesus and I hope his example of non-violence can lead us all out of oppression and domination. However, I hope we who are proponents of love and non-violence will fight the temptation to condemn the oppressed, and look past the layers of violence, to see where the original violence started.

Action at US consulate in Hawler ( Erbil)

2011-08-30T04:47:00.001-07:00

Action to Stop Iranian Shelling Against Kurdish Farmers

2011-08-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Statement to the Iranian Consulate and to the World

2011-08-13T02:09:00.000-07:00

Statement to the Iranian Consulate and to the World

We come peacefully on behalf of all people concerned for the safety of persons living in the mountainous regions along the Iraq-Iran border.

The consequence of Iranian shelling on farmers and their families in Iraqi Kurdistan is devastating. Iranian shelling kills and injures people, kills and scatters animals, destroys orchards and property, and prevents harvests from crops already planted because persons must abandon them in order to survive.

Iranian shelling of the border villages does not prevent or discourage the activities of the PJAK or the PKK. The disruption caused by Iranian shelling inside Iraqi Kurdistan is an ineffective and irreverent way of resolving conflicts created by innocent cultural and ethnic diversity.

We plead with the Iranian Consulate to use the influence of his office to inform governing officials in Iran of the distressing consequences of the shelling and to obtain compensation for damages done to farmers. We plead with the Iranian Government to stop permanently the shelling temporarily suspended in honor of the spirit of Ramadan.

We also urge officials in the Iraqi Central Government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the United Nations to lead the international community to unite together to condemn Iran's routine slaughter of people and the destruction of an ancient pattern of community life.

Finally we plead for compassion to replace violence for all persons involved in this historical conflict.

CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) is an international human rights organization dedicated to reduce violence and restore relationships damaged by injury and suffering. CPT has been in Iraq since 2002.

Search for Freedom: Ayad Klanm

2011-08-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Ayad Klanm
By David Hovde

In 2007 Ayad Klanm lived with his family in a neighborhood of Baghdad where most of his neighbors were Shia. Many were members of the Mahdi Army, a Shia militia formed by Muqtada al-Sadr. Because Ayad was Christian some of his neighbors believed he worked with the Americans although he never had. One day as American troops drove down his street in their vehicles Ayad was outside his house and greeted them. Some of his neighbors asked him why he did that and said it proved that he worked with the Americans. Ayad responded that he greeted them because they were human beings. Ayad thought it strange that they would let their children talk to the American troops, but they would not allow him to. They told him that if they ever saw him talk to the Americans again they would cut off his head. After that Ayad believes people began to monitor his family. When his children would go to their relatives, some of his neighbors would tell him they knew they were there.

Someone put an explosive outside Ayad’s family’s front gate that detonated late one night at 11pm as Ayad’s four-year-old daughter, Maryam, and her aunt went outside the front door. The explosion injured Maryam’s right leg from the knee down, tearing off the skin. The family drove her immediately to the government hospital. The doctor was not there that night so they waited until the day hours. When the doctor saw her injury he said that he could not do surgery for her because if he did the Mahdi Army would kill him when he went outside the hospital. The doctor advised them to take her to the clinic or a private hospital. Ayad told him that they did not have money to pay for surgery at a private hospital. The doctor said that would not be a problem that they should take her there and that they would do the surgery. An hour later they arrived at the private hospital. The doctor there said they would do their best and the rest was up to the gods. After two hours of surgery the doctor came out to talk with the family. He said it was like a miracle. He put a rod in her leg during the surgery, but he did not know how the surgery went as well as it did.

When the family and relatives at the hospital learned that the surgery cost more than they were able to pay, they asked the doctor to reduce the cost. The doctor agreed to reduce the cost greatly, but they still did not have enough money to pay. Maryam had to go to the doctor twice a week after that and every time they changed her cast there was an additional cost. Ayad contacted his sister in Sweden who sent money to help.

Ayad knew who planted the explosive outside their house. He talked to the man, who was Shia and a member of the Mahdi Army. The man said he did not put the explosive there because of Ayad’s family, but because of the Americans. He said he wanted it to explode on the Americans who passed by on the street. When Ayad asked him if he knew what happened to his daughter, the man became angry and said that if Ayad wanted to talk anymore about this he would kill him and his family. Ayad did not talk to him anymore after that.

Ayad and his family moved from Baghdad to Sulaimaniya in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2007. They feel safer but Ayad does not have a job, has health problems, and they only have enough money for food. Maryam needs another surgery that is complex and cannot be done in Iraq but only in Germany. Ayad and his family desperately want to find asylum in another country.

Basm William

2011-08-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

Basm William
By David Hovde

In April 2011 Basm William and his family lived in a Shia neighborhood in Baghdad. Some of their neighbors who in the past had visited with them, eaten with them, and spent time with them in their house later told Basm and his family that there was no place for Christians in that neighborhood and that Basm and his family would have to leave the neighborhood and the country. On April 17, 2011 Basm found a note on his car from Kataa’ib Saraya Al Haq (Righteousness Brigade), a militia that broke off of the Mahdi Army. Kataa’ib Saraya Al Haq is trained in Iran and does activities in Iraq against Americans and Christians. In the letter they used many bad words against Basm’s family. The letter said that they had to leave this Muslim country and there was no place for Christians here. It said they had to leave Baghdad immediately or they would kill all his family members.

After two days Basm and his family left Baghdad, leaving their house and furniture behind. They heard that people could go to Syria and stay there for up to three years while applying for asylum in another country. Basm went to Syria to try to apply for asylum. He heard of people who had been there for three years who had spent up all their money and had not been given asylum in another country. He decided to move with his family to Sulaimaniya in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Basm and his family now live in Sulaimaniya in a crowded apartment and sleep on the floor. He does not have a job. His wife, Maha Mashalla, sometimes travels all the way back to Baghdad to work. Though his family receives some financial assistance, it is not enough to cover their rent. They desperately want to find asylum in another country. Meanwhile they need financial and material assistance.

Basm says there used to be 1,500,000 Christians in Iraq. Now there are about 300,000. The churches in Baghdad are guarded by troops or behind walls now. Basm says that there is the possibility that someday there will be no more Christians in Iraq.

Iranian Attacks on Kurdish Villages Intensify

2011-08-08T23:23:00.000-07:00

Iranian Attacks on Kurdish Villages Intensify
by David Hovde

“The tomatoes will be ready in a few days,” Mahmud said. “Yesterday (07/27/11) there was bombing on this mountain.” Mahmud is the leader of Kani Spi, a village in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq a few kilometers from the Iranian border. Mahmud described the advances that the PJAK (a resistance group fighting for the rights of Kurds in Iran) had made recently. “The PJAK burned two Iranian tanks. One day a helicopter came and the PJAK made it turn around. One morning at 4:30am the PJAK took over an Iranian base and killed all the soldiers. This made Iran very angry because they thought they could control the area. So, Iran attacks harder with shelling this year. One mountain is PJAK controlled, one Iranian controlled. For two days the PJAK controlled the Iranian bases on the other mountain. Then the PJAK chose to leave since they didn’t have the power to stay longer.

“One night several bombs came close to Kani Spi.” (Mahmud shows us a piece of shrapnel.) “We heard the noise in Weza and other neighboring villages. As the noise came closer our whole village left. There are two different kinds of rockets: one explodes before it hits the ground, one explodes when it hits the ground.

“Of Kani Spi’s twenty-three families three did not return to the village after the end of the heavy bombing. But the farm needs everyone. We are busy planting tomatoes and cucumbers and watering the fields every two days. The people have invested money in fertilizer for the fields. If the fields don’t produce it’s a financial loss of between $2500 and $3000 per family. People are tired of this. We wonder if our children should work in the city. Sometimes we can’t sleep at night for fear of the shelling.”

Mahmud told us that Iraqi Parliament members came recently to meet with the villagers. The villagers showed them the Iranian bases which are inside Iraqi territory, defying international law. The villagers also showed them the Iranian tanks facing their direction and craters where rockets had hit. The Parliamentarians said they would try to pressure the Iranian government to stop the attacks. They said the Iraqi government is trying to get foreign consulates to speak out against the attacks. The villagers asked them for compensation for their losses. The Parliamentarians didn’t promise anything but said they would talk to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

“Since 1991 Iran has shelled every year,” Mahmud told us. “CPT has been visiting us for five years. You’ve never seen the PJAK here. They do activities in Iran and Qandil. We have to continue our life. We can’t go to the city. This is where we want to be. We want to stay here if our neighbors allow us. The problem isn’t religious or political – it’s because we’re Kurds. Turkey and Iran have problems with the Kurds in their countries. They want to move the problem to the border and inside Iraq. They don’t want the Kurds to have autonomy.”

A Kurdish Iraqi border officer at an outpost on a mountain above Haji Omeran told us that the Kurdish people want to live in peace with all their neighbors. However, if they are denied peaceful coexistence they will not be passive but will stand and resist all measures used against them. The fighting on the border is about this. The officer also told us that 16,000 additional Iranian soldiers have been dispatched to the border area. He said 200 Turkish military officers experienced in mountainous combat maneuvers against the PKK (a group fighting for the rights of Kurds in Turkey) have joined them.

Iraqi officials say that this year so far Iranian attacks across the border killed three civilians, including a ten-year-old boy, and injured eleven. The Iranian assaults also displaced 800 residents in the border villages from their homes, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Search for Freedom: Ahmed Hussein& Suheila Rashid

2011-07-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

Search for Freedom: Ahmed and Suheila
By David Hovde

Ahmed Hussein Sharif and Suheila Rashid Rahman both came from families that actively worked for Kurdish rights in Iran. Their fathers were friends and Ahmed's sister married Suheila's cousin. Ahmed often visited Suheila's family and when he asked her father if he could marry Suheila, her father did not refuse. They married in 1999. As a couple they worked for the rights of Kurds, women, children and the environment. They did not support any parties that used violence. They believed in equality between men and women and cared for women affected by violence.

The Iranian authorities arrested Ahmed in 2003 when Suheila was pregnant with their first son. In prison, the authorities tried to get him to confess that he was part of a Kurdish party that used violence against the government. He would not. They released him after forty days. In 2005 they arrested him again. They released him after taking him to the intelligence office.

After their son, Karo, was born, Ahmed spent much time with him for three and a half years. Then in 2007 soldiers came to the house to arrest Ahmed again. Because of the trauma Karo experienced seeing the soldiers arrest his father, he could not speak for a long time. In prison, the guards tortured Ahmed daily. No one could visit him, or even knew where he was. Later, he got out on $50,000 bail.

One day in 2009 the family went to visit Suheila's sister. While they were away, the authorities broke into their house, destroying everything, even digging up the garden. They found nothing. A few days later, while Suheila and Karo were away at another sister's, many soldiers came to the house and arrested Ahmed. Suheila came home immediately then went to stay with her parents. She was heartbroken that Karo would have to start school while his father was in prison.

Ahmed was put in a single cell with enough room for only one person to sit. The torture this time was more severe. The guards often beat him with sticks or cables. One time they pulled out three of his teeth, poured water on him after he passed out, then beat him some more. He went 33 days without a shower. The guards tortured him physically in many other ways.

The guards also tortured him psychologically. Several months after his arrest, the guards told him his wife could visit. She came with their son, pregnant with their other son. They interrogated her all day without letting them see Ahmed then sent them home. They told Ahmed they arrested her as well and would do the same things to her that they did to him.

A few months later, their second son needed to be born by C-section. Suheila cried much that day because it was the second time a son would be born to them while Ahmed was in jail. The doctor had to wait to do the procedure because Suheila's blood pressure was very high. She was worried about Ahmed.

Around that time, the authorities told Ahmed they would hang him and that he could make some final requests. He chose to right a letter to his father, shave and wash. They blindfolded him and led him to a room, where they made him stand on a stool and put a noose around his neck. He was shaking. The guard laughed and tried to get him to confess to belonging to a political party. He would not. He stood there for 40 minutes. Then, another guard came in and said not to hang him. Ahmed was too weak to walk, and had to crawl out of the room.

Shortly after that the authorities transferred him to the prison in his home city of Marivan. Suheila and Karo came to see him. They did not recognize him at first. He weighed 40 kilos. His skin was black. He had teeth missing. Suheila fainted. A female guard poured water on her to revive her. Suheila and Ahmed cried for about 10-15 minutes. They kissed each other and Karo. Even the head of the prison cried that day. When Suheila left, she was in shock. It affected her body so that she was not able to produce milk for their newborn son, Zhiar, for over a month.

Ahmed's father hired a lawyer and had to pay $70,000 for his bail to get him released. Three months after his release, on July 6, 2010, Ahmed and Suheila left Iran. They came to Iraq with their family. They did not want to leave their home, work, friends, and family, but they had no choice. Ahmed believed that, if the authorities arrested him again, they would truly hang him.

Ahmed and Suheila's family have lived in a refugee camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the past year. Many other Iranian Kurds left Iran as well, fearing for their lives. Ahmed and his family, like many other Iranian Kurdish refugees, do not have enough money to rent a home in the city. They still receive threatening phone calls, which say that Iranian intelligence is looking for them and will bring them back to Iran. Ahmed and Suheila want to find asylum in another country so that Karo and Zhiar, can have a better future. A saying that kept Ahmed strong while in prison was: "This generation has to do something for the next generation."

Search for Freedom: Shahram Wahab Bolouri

2011-07-26T02:27:00.000-07:00

Search for Freedom: Shahram Wahab Bolouri
by Zach Selekman

In 2009, Shahram Wahab Bolouri joined the Green Movement protests in Tehran, Iran. Already subject to discrimination as a Kurd, Shahram had refused to join the army after secondary school and therefore the Iranian Government refused to allow him to go to university, get a government-funded job, get a passport or buy a car. Having kept in touch with his friends in the university, he got involved in politics as they did. Despite warnings from Ayatollah Khameini that protesters would be taking their lives in their hands, he joined the week before elections took place. Shahram took photos and videos of the protests and sent them to websites to be published. He also spoke to people from Iran who were living outside of the country to update them on the situation.

The day or day after the June 12, 2009 elections, Shahram received strange calls to his cell phone, asking for someone whom Shahram did not know. Later that night at 2am, the same number called his landline phone but would not respond to Shahram’s answer. The same caller called several more times. Then someone rang up to Shahram’s family’s apartment, saying that they were neighborhood guards and that a thief was in the apartment and they were coming to arrest him. Shahram told them that they were okay but the supposed guards came up anyway. Shahram suspected that the people at the door were after him. Shahram attempted to hide in the bathroom while his father answered the door to a large number of plain-clothed government forces. They handcuffed Shahram and confiscated videos from his room and the hard drive from his computer.

Shahram asked his arresters where they were taking him. They told Shahram not to worry, they were taking him to the “good place.” When they got to the car, they blindfolded Shahram but he was able to see a sign that said they were going toward Evin Prison. That night, the group that arrested him – who were revealed to be Army Intelligence, put Shahram in a solitary cell. This cell was just a little bit more than 3.5 feet square with a small hole for a toilet, a small pipe for washing and a bright light that always stayed on. Shahram was kept there for 25 days.

Shahram was then moved to a different building in which he was interrogated every day. During this time the authorities also used psychological and physical torture. On one occasion, the authorities, realizing that Shahram had done bodybuilding, asked him to squat and stand up 100 times. He did this, but they said that Shahram didn’t count so they told him to do it again, but to count to 200. Then they said that they couldn’t hear him – they made him to do it 500 times. Before this, Shahram had broken his leg in a motorcycle accident and he told the officers that he couldn’t do the exercise that many times. The authorities told him that he could do it because he was a bodybuilder, but after about 100, Shahram fell to the floor. The guards told Shahram that he was cheating them and told him to count from 1500 to 1. Shahram fell down again and passed out.

After 7.5 months, Shahram was released on a bail of $200,000, for which his parents and his relatives gave over the deeds to their homes. Thinking the nightmare was over, he received a letter from the prison that his sentence was actually for another 4 years. He decided to leave the country, unsure if he would be executed or tortured if he returned to the prison. Shahram is currently waiting for assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to be able to seek asylum in another country.

بەڕاستی قسەكردن لەگەڵا دەسەڵات لە كوردستانی عێراق نووسینی: دەیڤد هۆڤد

2011-07-24T02:35:00.000-07:00

From People-Iraq

بەڕاستی قسەكردن لەگەڵا دەسەڵات لە كوردستانی عێراق

نووسینی: دەیڤد هۆڤد

اسماعیل عبدالله وەك شوفێر كاری بۆ لێپرسراوێكی خانەنشینكراوی حكوومەت لەشاری سلێمانی دەكرد. لە (17/2/2011)دا، خەڵكی دەستیان بە خۆپیشاندانكرد لە سەرای ئازادی شارەكەدا دژ بەو گەندەڵییەی كە لەناو هەردوو حیزبی دەسەڵاتداری ناو حكومەتی هەرێمی كوردستاندا هەیە. لەڕۆژانی یەكەمی خۆپیشاندانەكاندا، هێزەكانی ئاسایش هەرزەكارێكیان كوشت‌و بەهەڕەمەكی تەقەیان بەناو خۆپیشاندەراندا دەكرد. رێكخەرانی خۆپیشاندانەكان لە سەكۆكەوە بانگەوازیان بۆ ئازادی‌و دادپەروەری دەكرد. شانبەشانی هەزارانی دیكە، اسماعیل بەشێوەیەكی رۆژانە سەردانی سەرای ئازادی دەكرد.

اسماعیل وەك خۆبەخشێك لە خۆپیشاندانەكاندا بەشداربوو. لەسەكۆكەوە ووتاری دەخوێندەوە‌و بووە یەكیك لەوانەی كە رۆژانە لە سەكۆكەوە لێدوانی دەدا. اسماعیل بەردەوامبوو لە كاركردن، بەڵام هەڕەشەیەكی زۆری لێدەكرا. دەسەڵات مووچەكەی بڕی. پاشان یەكێك لەگەورە لێپرسراوانی حكوومەت پەیوەندیی پێوەدەكات‌و داوای لێدەكات كە واز لە لێدواندان بهێنێت لەسەكۆكەوە‌و بەڵێنی پێدانی شوقەیەكی نوێی پێدا ئەگەر بێت‌و وازبهێنێت. وەڵامی اسماعیل ئەوەبوو كە ئەو خۆی‌و بیروباوەڕەكانی نافرۆشێت. اسماعیل ئەو پەیوەندییە تەلەفۆنیەی تۆماركردوە‌و لەسەر سەكۆكە بۆ ئامادەبووانی لێدایەوە. هەروەها ئەو تۆمارەی بە تەلەفزیونە ناوخۆییەكان دا بۆ ئەوەی پەخشی بكەن.

لە (9/4)دا هێزەكانی ئاسایش كۆتاییان بە خۆپیشاندانەكان هێنا. گازی فرمێسكرژیان دژ بە خۆپیشاندەران بەكارهێنا‌و دواجار سەكۆكەیان سووتاند. اسماعیلیش خۆی شاردەوە. كاتێك گوێبیستی ئەوەبوو كە گفتوگۆ لەنێوان هەردوو حیزبی دەسەڵاتدار‌و ئۆپۆزسیۆن هەیە وایدەزانی كە بارودۆخەكە گونجاو‌و ئارامە بۆ ئەوەی خۆی دەربخاتەوە. وپێدەچوو كە دەسەڵاتداران گەیشتبێتنە ئەو بڕوایەی كە گوێ‌ بۆ ئەو كەسانە هەڵبوێرێ‌ كە داوای گۆڕان دەكەن.

لەئێوارەیەكی درنگی (26/5) اسماعیل چوو بۆ سوپەرماركتێك لەگەڵا هەندێك لە برادەرەكانی. لەگەڵا گەڕانەوەی بۆ ناو ئۆتۆمۆبێلەكەی، دوو ئۆتۆمۆبێلی دیكە پێشیان لێگرت‌و هەشت كەسی دەمامكدار دابارین بەسەریدا‌و چاوبەستیانكرد‌و بۆ ناوی یەكێك لە ئۆتۆمۆبێلەكان بەلێدان بە قۆناغی تفەنگەكانیان راینكێشا. ئۆتۆمۆبێلەكەیان بۆ ماوەی (30) خوولەك لێخوڕی‌و پاشان وەستان‌و اسماعیلیان فڕێدایە خوارەوە. اسماعیل دووچاری لێدان بە كێبڵا لە هەردوو قاچیدا‌و بەقۆناغە تفەنگ لەدەمووچاویدا. یەكێكیان تەلەفۆنێكی بۆ دەكرێت‌و پاشان بەوانەی دیكە دەڵێت "مەیكوژن. تەنها نیشانەیەك بخەنە سەر دەمووچاوی بۆ ئەوەی بزانرێت كە لێدانی خواردوە."

لەو كاتەدا یەكێكیان دەمامكەكەی لەسەر دەمووچاوی لابرد‌و یەكێكی دیكەیان بەتفەنگەكەی لووتی اسماعیلی لە سێ‌ لاوە شكاند. بەچەقۆ قۆڵا‌و پشتیان زامداركرد. پاشان پێیان ووت "ئەگەر بێت‌و ئەمجارە بەشداری خۆپیشاندان بكەیتەوە ئەوا دەتتۆپێنین." اسماعیلیش وەڵامیان دەداتەوەو دەڵێت "ئەگەر ئێستا خۆپیشاندان هەبوایە، ئەوا دەم‌ودەست بەشداریم تێدادەكرد." یەكێكیان پەنجەی اسماعیلی شكاند‌و اسماعیلیش لەهۆش خۆی چوو.

اسماعیلیان خستە ناو ئۆتۆمۆبێلێكەوەو لەدووری (25 كم) لە شارەوە فرێیاندا. اسماعیل بەپێ‌ بەرەو شار گەڕایەوە. ئۆتۆمۆبێلەكان بەلایدا تێپەڕدەبوون بەڵام هەڵیان نەدەگرت بەهۆی بوونی خوێن بەسەر جەستەیەوە. اسماعیل بەپێ‌ گەڕایەوە بەرەو شار‌و پاشان لەدوكانێكەوە تەلەفۆنی بۆ خێزانەكەی كرد.لەو كاتەی لەچاوەڕوانیدابوو، شۆفێری تەكسییەك ناسییەوەو بردی بۆ نەخۆشخانە. ئەندامانی خێزانەكەی‌و هاوڕێكان‌و رۆژنامەنووسان هەموو لەچواردەوری كۆبوونەوە لەكاتێكدا پزیشكەكانی سەرقاڵی چارەسەركردنی بوون.

پاش مانگێك تەندروستی اسماعیل باشتربوو. نەشتەرگەرییەكی بۆ ئەنجامدرا بۆ ئەوەی ئێسكی لووتی بۆ چاكبكەنەوە. لێپرسراوانی حكوومی‌و كۆمەڵایەتی‌و هێزەكانی ئاسایش قسەیان لەگەڵدا كرد‌و دڵنیایان كردەوە كە لێكۆڵینەوەكان بۆ دەستنیشانكردنی رفێنەرەكانی بەردەوام دەبێت. اسماعیل دەڵێت "یان ئەوەتا نازانن كێ‌ ئەم كارەی كردوە یان درۆ دەكەن. خەڵكی بەئاشتییەوە هاتە سەرشەقامەكان، بەڵام هێزەكانی حكوومەت بە توندوتیژی وەڵامیاندایەوە. نامانەوێت وەك سوریامان لێبێت. ئێمە توندوتیژی‌و شەڕی ناوخۆمان ناوێت."

Post Demonstration: Speaking Truth to Power in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

2011-07-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Speaking Truth to Power in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
by David Hovde

Ismail Abdulla worked as a driver for a retired leader in the government in the city of Sulaimaniya. On February 17, 2011, people began to demonstrate in Azadi Square in the city, against corruption in the ruling parties in the Kurdistan Regional Government. In the first days of the demonstrations, the security forces killed a teenager and at times shot randomly into the crowd. The organizers from the stage spoke of freedom and justice. Along with thousands of others, Ismail came daily to the square.

Ismail volunteered at the demonstrations. He started speaking from the stage, and became one of the daily speakers. He continued working, but started to receive many threats. The government cut his salary. A high government official called him and asked him to stop speaking from the stage, offering him a new apartment if he obliged. Ismail said he would not sell himself or his beliefs. He recorded the phone conversation and played it from the stage. He also gave the recording to a local TV station.

By April 19, the security forces ended the demonstrations. They used tear gas on the crowds, and burned down the stage. Ismail went into hiding. When he heard that the two rulings parties were talking to the opposition groups, he thought it was safe to come out. It seemed the authorities might be finally paying attention to those calling for change.

Late in the evening on May 26, Ismail went to the supermarket with some friends. As he returned to his car, two cars pulled up in front of it. Eight men in ski masks came out of the cars and put a mask on him. They put him in one of the cars as they beat him with the butts of their guns. They drove for about 30 minutes, stopped, and made Ismail get out. They beat him with cables on his legs, and the butt of a gun on his face. One of them got a phone call, then said, “Don’t kill him. Just put a sign on his face that he was beaten.” At that point, one of them took off his mask, while another used his gun to break Ismail’s nose in three places. They cut him with knives in his arms and back. They said, “If you ever get involved in demonstrations again, we’ll kill you.” Ismail said, “If there was a demonstration right now, I’d do it again.” One of them took his finger and broke it. Ismail lost consciousness.

They put him in a car, drove him about 25km outside the city, and dumped him. He walked toward the city. Cars passed him by when the drivers saw the blood on him. He walked all the way into the city, then used a phone in a store to call a family member. While he waited, a taxi driver recognized him and drove him toward the hospital. They met up with his family. Friends and journalists gathered round him, as the doctors helped him.

A month later, Ismail’s health is improving. He has had surgery to fix the bones in his nose. Leaders in government, society, and security forces talked with him, ensuring him the investigation for his abductors with continue. Ismail says they either do not know who did it, or they are lying. “The people come out on the streets peacefully,” Ismail says. “The (government) forces come out with violence. We don’t want to become like Syria. We don’t want violence and civil war.”

Post Demonstration: Stop the Whipping in Sulaimaniah

2011-07-18T00:31:00.000-07:00

Stop the Whipping in Sulaimaniah
The Federation of Civil Society Organizations
July 16th 2011

Following the call for a demonstration at 5 pm on July 15th 2011, scores of various types of military, security, militia and polices forces were stationed at the heart of the city of Sulaimaniah. The center of the city was literally occupied by those forces, which without any legal, ethical or moral restraints, attacked people and established special locations for whipping activists and ordinary citizens.

The behaviors witnessed today, were not different from those committed by the military forces of the Baath regime and are contrary to the internal and international laws and regulations. They are even contradictory to the law of demonstration in Kurdistan region. A member of the Federation of Civil Society Organizations was observing the developments closely and he witnessed the arrest and torture of (Rehman Gharib) the director of Metro Center to Defend Journalists. He was taken to an unknown place by the security forces at the time that a member of our federation was threatened by a person from the security forces. When requesting an explanation for these inhumane behaviors the response was that "we are coming from the villages and will not show the slightest degree of mercy". This response in itself intentionally defames the village dwellers and discredits the security forces.

The security forces established and official whipping location and hid it by a blue veil. The location was between the famous "People" café and "Suliamaniah" library. A person passing by could easily hear the sounds of slapping, kicking, and crying of people being tortured. Scores of security forces wearing civilian clothes were seen, arresting people and taking them to that narrow alley were the torture was underway. We overheard a young policeman who was advising the youth not to get into trouble, because if they were arrested, they would be killed by the security forces.

Journalists were not allowed to cover the incident. A number of journalists and many ordinary citizens, who were recording the developments using their cell phones, were arrested. A member of the Christian Peacekeeping Teams was arrested, to be released later by the police.

All of these violations are against the law and basic principles of human right. We in the Federation of Civil Society Organizations strongly condemn these behaviors and call on the government and parliament of Kurdistan to conduct an urgent investigation into these worrying developments. The authority which was torturing people on the streets of Sulaimaniah was not, to us, a national Kurdish authority, but one which is plagued with a hysterical fear of its own people. At the time that we express our extreme worrisome, we call on the Public Prosecution, to sue the heads of the security, police and the militia force stationed in the city in order to decrease the possibility of similar incidents in the future.

The Federation of Civil Society Organizations
15 NGO and a group of activist in Sulaimanyah
15/07/2011

Post Demonstration: A Heaven for Anti-Freedom Terrorists

2011-06-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

A Heaven for Anti-Freedom Terrorists
Federation of Civil Society Organizations
27/06/2011, Suleymaniah

The attempt to assassinate Karwan Kamal, a lawyer and civil society activist, at 11pm on 26/06/2011, proofed one more time, the concerns voiced by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders, the EU and other international organizations about the deterioration of the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights in Iraqi Kurdistan Region. It is shameful that the Kurdistan Regional Government is providing one excuse after another, for the continued "defamation" of Kurdistan by those reports through its apathy and unwillingness to find and sue those terrorists who are committing intimidations against civil society activists and make their names and affiliations public.

This recent terrorist attack is targeting a young, enthusiastic and caring lawyer who volunteered as an unpaid attorney for the families of the victims of February 17th. This attack is a terrifying message for all of the freedom seekers in Kurdistan and it is a clear statement about the unfounded claims of security and prosperity in the region. Those who participated in the demonstrations and are criticizing the shortcomings of the political system in the region are denied the right of security, if not the right of life itself. This attack, underscores the worries of many in the region, that civil society activists, intellectuals and journalists should be always expecting the dark, antihuman and tragic forces which took such young and vibrant lives as Sardashd Othman and Soran MamaHama.

It is obvious that it is not us (the civil society activists, journalists and intellectuals) who are the derivers of instability and social turmoil in the region. On the contrary, it is those masked forces that are operating outside the realm of jurisdiction and the government's power which are controlling life and death decisions in this region. It seems that those forces chose to deny activists and freedom seekers the safety and life of dignity they deserve. Those forces are attempting through their actions to silence discontent and anger toward all of the injustices and crimes committed against the people of the region.

We, in the Federation of Civil Society Organization, which is a cooperative body of 15 non-governmental organizations and a number of independent civil society activists, are startled by these disgusting acts of terror. Our civil and humane moral and consciousness obliges us to identify ourselves with the victims of terrorist acts by dark forces whoever and wherever they are. We therefore, strongly condemn the attempts at taking Karwan Kamal from us, without any legal or moral penalties or consequences to face the perpetrators.

We would like to acknowledge that the Kurdistan Regional Government and its security forces and institutions are the responsible parties for this attack until an independent investigation discloses otherwise. We therefore demand an official and strong condemnation by the government, concrete and immediate actions toward finding those who committed this act of terror. Otherwise, it is our unequivocal right to disregard the Kurdistan Regional Government as that legitimate body which can protect our lives and safety. This would mean a further widening and deepening of the rift between citizens and a government that present itself as the protector of civil rights, private liberties and public interests at the time that it is apathetic and indecisive about a sea of terror that it is sinking in.

Post Demonstration: Lawyer was shot injured in Sulaimaniya, Iraq

2011-06-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

Lawyer was shot injured in Sulaimaniya, Iraq
CPT Iraq, June 27 2011

A Kurdish lawyer Karwan Kamal was shot at 11:20 pm, 26th June, 2011. One bullet went through his left foot and broke two bones. He was attacked by an unknown armed man at a parking lot. He said: "when I was paying the money, I suddenly felt pain in my leg. I fell and saw a man with traditional Kurdish clothes aiming at my head with a hand gun. I jumped over a low wall to protect myself." He said the armed man shot a total of five bullets and left in a private car close by.

Karwan was an active participant in the 2 months demonstrations against the corruption of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), started in February and ended on 19th April because of the violent response from the government against the protesters. After the crack down on the demonstrations by the government, some leaders were arrested, abducted and beaten up, and followed. Karwan has been trying to collect those cases. Ten days ago, many involved in the protests heard there was a list of 200 leaders composed by the security force of protesters who were to be arrested or killed. It appears that Karwan is the first victim from that list.

Karwan is in the hospital now. The surgery was done and he was able to receive visitors.

Post Demonstration: protest leader abducted and tortured

2011-05-30T02:04:00.000-07:00

Iraqi Kurdistan: Sulaimaniyah protest leader abducted and tortured

Post Demonstration: The end of the pretence of Kurdish democracy

2011-05-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

The end of the pretence of Kurdish democracy
By Kamal Chomani:

The Kurdish leadership has often talked about a ‘thriving democracy’ in Iraqi Kurdistan, and through this they secured increased Western support. We saw hundreds of articles about ‘The Other Iraq’, but now such claims are being disproved.

Many Kurdish journalists, intellectuals, scholars and opposition leaders have declared – hundreds of times – that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) ‘democracy’ is a mask – like that worn by many dictatorial regimes. However, because of the instability in the rest of Iraq, neither the international media nor western diplomats would accept this.

Democracies do not use violence against civilians who are protesting against corruption and calling for better public services, equality and an expansion of democracy and freedom of expression. But the Kurdish authorities brutally suppressed the protests that grew after 17th February.

--read the whole article from Kurdistan Tribune--

To Education

2011-05-26T03:38:00.000-07:00

teenagers from Kirkuk wrote to the education system.

"OKUL"

Hi, I am Hibe. I am 14 years old and I am in Grade 7. I am very
thankful to my school and my teachers. I especially appreciate their
teaching, explanations, and the way they treat us. Maybe they get more
tired than us. Even though there are so many things we like about
them, there are also many other things we dislike.

For example, they don't consider our health issues. There is only one
day per week for Exercise and Art classes. and that is because the
other teachers think that other subjects are more important than
Exercising and Arts and that we should skip them.

They don't care about our rights. They don't let us take our books and notes from our school bag and look at them while we are in the classes. Unfortunately they don't want to hear this, because they want to do differently.

"GIRLS"

Hi, I am Merve. I am 16 years old, and I am in Grade 9. I love to
study. That is why after school, when I get home, I look at my
schedule, and then I eat something and relax and go back to study.

Some people ask the girls “ why aren't you studying since we are
spending so much money for your school. “ They let us believe we
owe them something. Or sometimes they say the opposite, like, “why do
you go to school since girls will get married and stay with their
husbands?”

Adults make decisions for us, and they don't even bother to ask us. We are upset about this. And this will effect how we relate and communicate with people because they don't respect our thoughts and decisions.

Many times we tell them to stop because it is wrong, but they keep doing it. They should value us more.

"Good Students"

In this world there are some people close to God and humanity. Why are we going to school if the teacher is not teaching us how to do this?

There are too many bad things in this world that we can get involved in. We can do them easily because teachers can't see us.

But there is God who can see us from the sky.

First, a person needs to have good values and strong personality so they don't do the bad things.

Secondly, we don't steal anything at school, outside or at home, because that is a sin.

Thank God, we are Good Students.

"Youth Education and the Right to Thinking"

Hi, as everyone knows there are so many young people. Each one thinks differently. For example, some are interested in parties and fun, some want to reach a goal in their life, and some like to study.

Unfortunately, adults don't ask us about what we want. If you ask them about the teenagers, they will say “ they are too young to understand anything about decision-making; or the teenagers are interested only in fashion.” We get those answers all the time.

Those people judge us by our looks, not by our thoughts. That is very wrong. By doing this, they are taking away our independence and our abilty to think.

This will lead to psychological and communication difficulties.

translated and edited by: Yasmin Hedo and Peggy Gish.

National Oppressor

2011-05-24T02:53:00.000-07:00

( The poem is written in Arbic language, by a young woman from Kirkuk, January 2011)

From Delegation Fall 2010

O national oppressor, God has given me sufficient capacity so
that I can write poetry equal to holy sites.

but I know there isn't any pain equal to your pain, because in
all of the four parts of Kurdistan, there is killing .

O my nation .... I give you my blood and my life .

but I know that my blood doesn't ease your pain, but only makes
the enemy melt under your feet.

Then you embraced the people who forgot they were killers and criminals.

What’s a Woman

2011-05-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

What’s a Woman
by Aida Al Rubei （the original poem is in Arabic)

From 庫德斯坦,伊拉克

What’s a Woman
She is mother, sister, wife, daughter.
Also lover,
great artist and author.

Sometimes she is a judge who is in charge,
Keeping order in the best way.
A clear riddle.
An indistinct clarity.

Legend is actually reality, and myth is the presence of certainty

She is a meaning that there is no need to explain.
Obscure which is
She who is named in the Holy Koran

She is the symbol of beauty.
The taste of love.
The savor of light and of a happy heart.
Euphoria psychology
Song of the heart
Soul of food

She is a sea without decision
magic full of secrets
Moon of the night.
Sun of the day.

The eyes watch her and the heart is suspended.
Tracking minds and spirits raised by the nostalgic

Approaching them men waver between uncertainty and trust ..... and ....doubt and uncertainty, hesitation and foot ..... Anxiety and sleep ...

Woman is played by the mighty minds of the strongest.... Captured and
lost her love of kings and emperors.

With her right hand woman rocks the cradle…and shakes the world with her left.

Woman smashed most of the values and traditions .... And fascinated
men until they became her slaves

Women are most endowed with those who deserve not her donation.
she loves them without borders.

But she is deprived of loved ones that give her health and life .
she is not given a happy ending.

Womens' lives are filled with bent people having heads and warheads .
Women who went astray in their minds, rested and calmed their souls
Women are seen as beasts and take control of thrones .
Women are vulnerable, soft, capable, and violent beings.

Women are awakened in their hearts to the most sophisticated meaning .
of love ... and moved higher in hearts to the lowest types of desires .

women who have given the assurances of the highest human
tenderness of life .
Disregarded and tormented for receiving satisfaction.

women who do not lose their natural being, retain their beauty and can still find the beauty of life's spirit
and savor rare and eager immortality.

Women are interwoven with all measures of reason and emotion, love and hatred and beauty.

Mullah Kameron Ali Khwarham

2011-05-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Mullah Kameron Ali Khwarham
by Peggy Gish

“I felt responsible to go to the demonstrations after the violent response of the authorities to the protesters on 17 February,” Mamosta Mullah Kameron Ali Khwarham told two members of CPT as they sat in his home in the village of Faraj Awa, just southeast of Suleimaniya. I wanted to let the protesters know that they are not alone, that some of the religious leaders are with them.”

Mullah Kameron was arrested twice after speaking out in the anti-corruption demonstrations that lasted from 17 February to 18 April 2011, (62 days) in Suleimaniya, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

“There’s a passage in the Holy Koran that says if you see those in power oppress the poor, but you remain silent and don’t do something about it, you are standing with the powerful,” he said. “Islam teaches us that there is no justice without freedom and freedom brings justice.”

In his speeches at the demonstrations, Mullah Kameron called for a revolution without violence—a “jihad.” He urged the armed militias to put down their guns. He appealed to the demonstrators to see the soldiers as their brothers and not throw rocks or hurt them. “The Jihad” I am speaking about is not a violent struggle or a struggle of believers against non-believers, but the nonviolent struggle of truth and justice against corruption and injustice.”

“But the authorities took my words and twisted them to use against me. “They picked out the word, ‘jihad,’ and made it look like I was advocating for violence. Government leaders threatened me. Anti-terrorist forces came to my house, put a mask on my head and arrested me. They took me to jail and tortured me after charging me with encouraging people to participate in illegal demonstrations.”

When he was charged under the antiterrorism law, which could have brought the death penalty, 50 local pro bono Kurdish lawyers from the Independent Group of Lawyers, local protest leaders, and members of international human rights organizations, The Christian Peacemaker Teams and Amnesty international, helped put pressure on authorities for his release. After listening to his whole speech recorded by KNN-TV, in which it was clear he was calling for a peaceful struggle, the judge reduced his case to a civil charge and he was fined and released.

Coming from a lower class farming family, Mullah Kameron has long felt the pain of the workers. From his youth, he was gifted as a mediator. He felt compelled to stand with those with little power and to speak out concerning social, economic, or political problems in society.

As he spoke to CPTers in his home, he took time to respond to his four children and held them affectionately on his lap. He helped his wife serve the food and included her in the discussion circle.

Mullah Kameron explained that the authorities often sent in provocateurs to throw stones, after which security forces responded with firing into the crowd. They created violence in order to discredit and stop the protests. The problem is not with our country or the government itself, but with corruption, injustice, and inequality, so the leaders should step down.” Now, after the brutal crackdown on the demonstrations, he has little hope for the current situation to change.

He spoke harshly about the support the powerful countries of the west gave to corrupt and dictatorial leaders here and around the world, thus allowing them to crush their people. The US has two faces. They promote democracy for their own people and dictatorships for the rest of us, to serve their purposes.”

He concluded the conversation with a plea. “You must try to get your government to stop supporting the violence and corruption of our government. Please help your people see that there are many people outside your country who do not have the freedom to demonstrate as they do. Help them to want this freedom for all.”

The State of the People's Uprising

2011-05-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

The State of the People's Uprising
by Michele Naar-Obed
May 10 2011

The people's uprising against corruption and lack of basic rule of law in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Iraq, has come to an end for now. For 62 days, the people of Suleimaniya Province fought a valiant nonviolent campaign in the form of street demonstrations and strikes which started on February 17, 2011. During these days, the people held "open mike" rallies in the public squares of a number of cities where a host of people from different sectors of society had a chance to express their ideas about how to move forward as a society. They presented a list of demands and structural changes, developed the "Road map to the Peaceful Transition of Power in Southern Kurdistan", and appealed to the international community for backing and support.

Following the demonstration of February 17, the two ruling parties, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) run by Jalal Talabani and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) run by Massoud Barzani, called in their personal military troops to crack down on the demonstrations. The demonstrators appealed to the soldiers to lay down their weapons and join in the people's campaign. They shared flowers, candies, handshakes and hugs with the soldiers and from the open mike, greeted them as " brothers".

The soldiers eventually left the squares throughout the Suleimaniya Province and the people continued the hard work of organizing and defining their voices. They proved themselves to be a real challenge to the ruling powers who often used violent methods to sabotage their movement.

In the end, the authorities won this round of the battle by creating scenarios that allowed for the violent, massive and repressive military crackdown which wiped out all public demonstrations and organizing through the use of live ammunition, beatings, kidnaping, arrests, and psychological terror. The anti-terrorism unit, headed by a member of the Talabani family and trained and armed by the United States, branded the demonstrators as terrorists and used every method available to silence its own people.

Within the two months of demonstrations, ten people were killed and hundreds wounded by the ruling party's armed forces. Hundreds of arrests were made and many were beaten and tortured during their detainment. Soldiers are still present in Suleimaniya City but are slowly returning to their bases.

Now, the struggle is being fought on the political level, but politics is a dirty game as politicians tend to fight for their own agenda, marginalizing the people and paying lip service to their demands.

The demonstrators are currently in a time of healing, physically and psychologically. They are evaluating, strategizing and learning from other nonviolent campaigns. They are in growing pains but firm in their commitment to grow, not by the weapon, but by the mind and heart.

All of us who have ever engaged in nonviolent struggle for change where the common good is more important than the ideology of the few, whether it be religious, economic or political, should embrace the people of the Kurdish north of Iraq in the recognition that we are all part of the same struggle.

Day 4 of Post Demonstrations

2011-04-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

Day Four of Post Demonstrations and Military Occupation of Suleimaniya Iraq
by Michele Naar-Obed
April 23 2011

Today marks the fourth day since Azadi Square in Suleimaniya Iraq was violently overthrown by military forces following 62 days of primarily nonviolent protests against KRG government corruption by the ruling parties PUK and KDP. On April 18, the stage from which daily speeches at the demonstration were made was burnt to the ground.

Since Tuesday, April 19, 2011 the city of Suleimaniya has been occupied by well over 10,000 armed soldiers. Azadi Square and the surrounding streets and alleys are filled with soldiers and rings of soldiers are spread out throughout much of the city. The bazaar close to Azadi Square is open to citizens but people must keep walking and if anyone appears to group together and approach the square, they are immediately subject to beating by clubs and arrest.

During the day of April 21, thousands more soldiers were called in and a ring of military bases and some tanks formed around the outskirts of Suleimaniya city. Jalal Talabani, president of Iraq and head of the PUK appealed to Nouri Al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister for 3000 more Iraqi troops to be sent to the Suleimaniya province according to a recent report in the Washington Post.

There have been hundreds of arrests in Suleimaniya city these past four days and most people have been released quickly but only after having been beaten and threatened by the security police. Many women have been arrested in this sweep.

According to a reliable source, the teachers of Suleimaniya city submitted a demand for the forces to leave the city within 48 hours or they would strike beginning midnight Saturday, April 23.

The religious leaders are calling for all political parties and lists to resolve this situation immediately.

The United States continues to hold to its policy to support nonviolent demonstrations and denounces the use of violence against unarmed demonstrators by the KRG forces. However this statement makes a mockery of these basic human rights considering the current situation in the region. The human rights officer at the US Consulate located in Hawler has been kept apprised of the situation on a daily basis by either phone or email since April 17.

There is little to no word about the situation in the capital city Hawler since their demonstration took place on April 18. The cities of Halubja, Rania, Qaludze, Kelar and ChamChamal are also under military occupation.

The recent Human Rights Watch report on demonstrations throughout Iraq: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/21/iraq-widening-crackdown-protests

Day 62 of Demonstration: Like Kerosene on a Wound

2011-04-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

Like Kerosene on a Wound
By Peggy Gish
CPTnet

From Demonstrations- Suleymania

Lightening and thunder burst over Suleimaniya as thousands of new security forces carrying batons lined city streets. It was April 19, and the backup soldiers positioned around the outskirts of the city got drenched in the storm. A day earlier, the forces occupied the main square after removing protesters who had been a constant presence there for 62 days. Demonstrations were banned, with a "shoot to kill" order that was later changed to "shoot the legs" of anyone who disobeyed.

"I don't know what is happening to our society. Now our leaders are killing their own people," a university student told us, her eyes full of pain and disgust. She too was walking around in the city center assessing the situation the day after soldiers took over the square.

When we asked one of the soldiers from another Kurdish city what he thought about the protests, he said, "These are just people trying to cause problems. We are here to keep the peace."

On our way home, another team member and I stopped when we saw a crowd of students milling around peacefully in front of Suleimaniya University. About 15 students sat down quietly in the middle of the crowd.

"Sixteen buses of students were kidnapped when they drove to the court house this morning,” a young woman told me. “They intended to ask the judge why he is not doing anything about the crimes of killing demonstrators. We are going to stay here until they are returned." Another student said, "We are being denied the right to speak out our concerns freely."

Soon security police arrived and stood in a line along the street. I walked up and greeted several of them in Kurdish, with little response. My attempt to find and talk to their commander was interrupted when the police started spraying water over the crowd. Then they charged into the crowd, beating students with batons. We followed students as they hurriedly fled the area. A block away we heard shooting and later found out that 75 students had been injured and 100 arrested.

"They took our buses to a deserted area, and we were told not to phone anyone or we would be beaten," one of the students who had been taken captive on the buses told us the following day. "At first they took off the buses any student organizers, teachers, or members of opposition parties, beat them, and took them away. Then any woman with a head covering or any man with a beard were told to come down, and some were beaten."

He explained that after keeping them about eight hours, security forces let the people go two by two to walk back to the edge of the city. When we asked him how he thought this would affect the students who had been protesting, he said. "It is like putting kerosene on a wound."

Though public protests have been banned, many here tell us that the determination of the people for change has not been crushed.

http://cpt.org/cptnet/2011/05/06/iraq-reflection-kerosene-wound

Day 62 of Demonstration: Seven thousand armed forces

2011-04-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

From Demonstrations- Suleymania

(photo: one truckload of soldiers coming into the square. Feb21 2011)

IRAQ: Seven thousand armed forces positioned throughout Suleimaniya City, Iraq; 1000 students detained by Asaish
CPTnet
19 April 2011

Following sixty-two days of continuous protest in Suleimaniya Iraq against corruption within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the government has revoked legal permission for the protest, and a source within the armed Peshmerga Forces told CPTers that forces received orders to shoot to kill any demonstrators today.

The otherwise nonviolent demonstrations in Suleimaniya at Azadi (Freedom) Square ended in major violence on 17 and 18 April. On both days, security forces formed a ring around Azadi Square. Claiming groups of young men throwing rocks had provoked them, the forces entered the square of about 1000 unarmed and nonviolent demonstrators, shooting tear gas and live bullets. They also beat people with batons as they tried to clear square of all demonstrators. At 6:30 p.m., 18 April, the armed forces burned down the stage and platform used by speakers at the demonstration.

Nine people have died and close to 1000 have been injured since the demonstrations began on 17 February 2011. Hundreds have been arrested and disappeared. The independent television station, NRT was burned to the ground in February and the authorities have detained, beaten, kidnapped, and tortured hundreds of journalists.

Today, 19 April, at 11:00 a.m., the Asaish (secret police) took hostage approximately 1000 students from Suleimaniya University who were planning to demonstrate at the Suleimaniya Courthouse.

Seven thousand Peshmerga, Asaish, and Emergency Protection Force loyal to PUK party leaders are positioned throughout the city of Suleimaniya as of this morning, 19 April.

Day 61 of Demonstrations in Suleimaniya Iraq

2011-04-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

IRAQ: ""You broke the square, but you can't break us." Day 61 of Demonstrations in Suleimaniya Iraq

by Michele Naar-Obed
CPT Net

From Demonstrations- Suleymania

A new song was playing on Iraqi Kurdistan radio yesterday, 18 April, 2011, which included the lines, "Don't kill this generation" and "don't kill the future." While the song played, guns were blasting and tear gas filled the streets in both Suleimaniya and the KRG capital city, Hawler (Erbil).

Day 61 of Suleimaniya's daily demonstrations against corruption in Iraqi Kurdistan started early this morning. The CPT team arrived at 11:00. Music was playing from the stage and small groups of people were gathering. Two CPTers decided to use the quiet time to grab a cup of coffee and juice in a cafe next to the square. A few of the demonstration organizers were doing the same.

Meanwhile armed soldiers, the anti-terrorism unit, and police were positioning themselves around the square., with guns, tear gas, water cannons, and riot gear.

When the two CPTers and organizers left the cafe, a group of about twenty young men were talking about confronting the soldiers and police. Some were talking about throwing rocks. Others told us them that soldiers would throw the first round of rocks to provoke a fight. Still others told them that the government pays some of these young men to throw the first stones in order to provoke an escalation of violence. The organizers and CPTers gave an impromptu workshop on nonviolence. Some of the young men decided to stay in the square. Others were ready to confront the soldiers. One young man said he needed the money.

The speakers gathered around the stage. After hearing the announcement that a thousand people had taken to the streets in Hawler, where government repression is much worse, the Suleimaniya crowd cheered.

Next, news came to the square that the Suleimaniya University students were sitting in the street. For the second day, a ring of soldiers prevented them form entering the square. A crowd gathered on one of the streets exiting the northeast corner of the square.

Then the mayhem began, with the forces launching tear gas. The people who were closest to it came running back towards the square with swollen eyes and faces. Some could not breath. Ambulances were nearby and ready to treat them. News came that the soldiers were moving closer to the square. The stench of the tear gas permeated the streets. Demonstrators set up barricades on the street and began burning tires in order to keep the soldiers from breaking into the square.

The sound of gunfire was prolonged and getting closer to the square. Shops along the street began to close down. Pedestrians ran towards the square to get away from the worst of the tear gas and the shooting. The team made contact with the U.S. Consulate by phone and stayed in contact throughout the day.

The organizers appealed to the people to stay in the square and to remain nonviolent. Most of the people listened. Then the shooting began on the other side of the square and soldiers set up in sniper positions on rooftops. Nobody knew where to go; the shooting was coming from all sides. People crouched down behind stone walls. Others began breaking up huge blocks of cement to make baseball-sized rocks. The organizers appealed to the people to sit down. Many did and all the while shooting was going on from all sides. The U.S. consulate representative could hear the shooting over the phone and said consulate personnel were in contact with the highest level of KRG authority. Nobody seemed to know who was giving the orders to shoot.

Organizers called for the demonstration to end. Many people, including the CPTers, left although they had difficulty finding a safe exit. At 6:00 p.m., the team received a report that approximately 500 to 700 people were still in the square. The soldiers and police came in with guns, batons, and tear gas, injuring eighty-one badly enough that they had to be taken to the hospital . The armed forces set the stage on fire and burned down all the art displays set up on the wall in the back of the square.

At 9:00 p.m., 200 young people went back to the square and were immediately surrounded by armed forces . The young people chanted, "You broke the square, but you can't break us." The Suleimaniya University students are planning to demonstrate in front of the courthouse tomorrow, 19 April, 2011.

http://cpt.org/cptnet/2011/04/19/iraq-you-broke-square-you-cant-break-us-day-61-demonstrations-suleimaniya-iraq

Battle for Kurdistan - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

2011-04-19T01:41:00.000-07:00

Battle for Kurdistan - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

Day 60 of Demonstration in Suleimaniyah Iraq

2011-04-18T02:49:00.000-07:00

IRAQ: Day 60 of Suleimaniyah, Iraq demonstrations ends in bloodshed
by Michele Naar-Obed
CPTnet 18 April 2011

From Demonstrations- Suleymania

(Photo:Men on the tree overlooking the stage where an open microphone was available for public statement. March8,2011)

Sunday, 17 April 2011 marked the sixtieth day of demonstrations calling for democratic change in Suleimaniya Iraq. The demonstration proceeded in its normal manner throughout the early afternoon. The crowd began to gather around 2:00 p.m. Speakers took their place on the stage. At 3:00 p.m., the Suleimaniya University students began their march from the University to Azadi (Freedom) Square. They were stopped by a large group of soldiers, some armed with guns, others with riot gear. A group of young men left the square to escort the students in, and the students eventually made their way past the soldiers and marched into the square waving their Kurdish flags and chanting "Zanko” (university). The crowd already assembled in the square greeted them with cheers.

CPT Iraq team members left the square shortly after the students arrived and passed by large numbers of the armed soldiers gathered along the street. The group of young escorters was still gathered in a park close to the entrance of the bazaar that leads into the square. The atmosphere was tense but quiet.

After an hour, the team received a phone call that saying shooting and tear gas explosions had begun inside the square. The husband of one of the team's partners was in the hospital because of tear gas inhalation. The team continued to receive phone calls from organizers still at the square who reporter that many of the demonstrators could not leave, because soldiers had surrounded them.

The team contacted the U.S. Consulate to report the situation. The position of the U.S. is that the people have a right to hold nonviolent demonstrations without fear of attack by the Kurdistan government. The Consulate has intervened a number of times in the past when armed soldiers threatened unarmed demonstrators.

After CPT reported the current situation, the Consulate representative said the diplomats were hearing conflicting stories. The team decided to return to the square to see the situation first hand. Upon arrival, the team saw at least one thousand armed soldiers surrounding the square. About fifty to one hundred demonstrators were still at the stage. The team members, although blocked by a line of soldiers, were eventually able make their way towards the stage.

At the same time, many soldiers with clubs dashed towards the stage and began hitting people on the head. The team heard shots fired in the distance and saw ambulances were everywhere. Civilians who were trying to go home from the bazaar got caught in the mayhem. A few of the soldiers came at the CPTers with clubs and they retreated.

The team then found a fairly safe place on the outside of a ring of soldiers and watched as people were clubbed, loaded into ambulances, arrested, and chased further back. Water cannons appeared along with more soldiers armed with tear gas grenades and guns. The team made eye contact with the soldiers and flashed the sign of peace. Some soldiers looked confused, others nodded their heads and gave signs that they would not shoot. One soldier fluent in English told the team that the soldiers had come to the square because some of the young male escorters were throwing rocks by the gate of the bazaar. The team asked why the military was in the square, where no one was throwing rocks, he had to leave and deal with another skirmish before he could answer.

The team called the U.S. Consulate giving continuous first hand reports. The Consulate representative called all high-level KRG authorities. The number of injuries from the day is not yet known.

Day 50 The situation in the capital city of the KRG remains tense

2011-04-07T03:52:00.000-07:00

The situation in the capital city of the KRG remains tense

The demonstration that was scheduled today, April 7, in Erbil, the capital city of the Kurdistan Regional Government, was postponed. The organizers of the demonstration have applied many times for permission to demonstrate but they have been denied each time. They have decided to follow through on the legal process, which is to appeal to the courts.

Due to the extreme repression in the city of Erbil, the demonstrators felt that it would be too risky to their lives to demonstrate without having gone through the entire legal procedure. If they lose their appeal in the courts, they will reassess their next steps.

Some other news: a bus full of civilian passengers, some of whom were traveling to the Erbil airport, was turned away at one of the checkpoints entering into the city on April 3. Some of the passengers were German citizens. When the passengers argued that they needed to catch flights at the airport, the checkpoint soldiers opened fire in the air. Nobody was injured but this is another example of fear and intimidation tactics that the ruling party uses to insure silence.

Additionally, four students who are residents of Suleimaniya but study at the University of Salahadeen in Erbil have received threats against their lives stemming from their attempt to read a statement in front of the Parliament building in Erbil back in February 2011. They, along with thousands of other Suleimaniya students studying at Salahadeen University were thrown out of the school and sent back to Suleimaniya in late February. They were allowed to return to school in late March.

One of the four who has received three threats returned to the university on April 4 but was warned by his friends that unknown people have been at the university asking about him. The student then began receiving threatening messages on his cell phone and on Facebook. Upon return to the dorms on the evening of April 7, he saw a group of strange men waiting at the gate. He was able to contact some friends and a Parliament member from Gorran (opposition party) and he was taken to a safe house where he still remains. He was able to get word out about his situation. Human Rights Watch and UNAMI Human Rights have been contacted.

Below is the statement from the Erbil organizers:

An Announcement by the Organizers of the Demonstrations on Thursday Regarding the Response by the Governor of Erbil

In multiple attempts, numerous requests [were] directed to the governorate of Erbil—by influential members of different sectors of the Kurdish society who respect the rule of law—[for] a civil gathering. The main objective of the gathering would be attempting to solve the current [issues] plaguing the Kurdish society through peaceful and civil means. It would also aim at loosening the uneasiness in Erbil and its residents and [opening] doors of dialogue between the government and the people, which is in our best national interest. But unfortunately the [credibility] of the promises by the president of the region came under serious question when the authorities disenfranchised us from our rights to demonstrate and free speech. Through that decision, not only were the rights and freedoms of people violated but also the promises of the president of the region were broken by his own party officials. The refusal to allow us the right to practice our freedom of speech and demonstration by the authorities in Erbil has angered the vast majority of the people in the city.

Therefore,

1. The speeches by the president of Kurdistan region should not be listened to anymore because they are only lip service [to free speech].

2. It became clear that this current government is not taking the laws of its own parliament seriously, particularly the law [allowing] demonstrations. This had led to a sense of hopelessness among a wide range of the people of Kurdistan.

3. There is no respect for the international standards of human rights, rule of law and freedom of speech and association by the authorities in Erbil.

4. It is clear that the rule of law is only applied to the poor and marginalized. The government is using the law as a shield to protect corruption and abuse public resources.

We, as a group of the people of this city, demanded from the authorities in the city the permission, according to the law [regarding] demonstrations in Kurdistan, to organize a peaceful gathering. Unfortunately, the governor of Erbil responded negatively to our request. The excuses presented [for that] refusal are illegal and illogical; therefore, we answer as follows:

The refusal is based on a legal error; the reply to our request was directed to one person at the time that the request letter was signed by 100 persons and three people were selected as the organizers of the gathering.

* The Governorate: the organizing committee should not be less than three persons and not more than five Answer: the organizers of our gathering are three people: Aral Kakil, Brwa Abdulla and Karwan Hashim

* The Governorate: the request should carry the address and signature of the organizing committee. Answer: Five people had their address, names, and telephone number presented on the request letter. Those five people represented the 100 who signed the letter.

* When people say that there is no emergency situation in Erbil and the city is calm, [our response to that assertion is that] previously a group of forty people put forward a demand for a demonstration but their request was refused again under the excuse that there is an emergency situation in Erbil. It seems that the governorate of Erbil is unaware of the fact that the Ministry of Interior did not allow demonstrations based on the premise that there are emergency situations in the city.

* The notion that the Kurdish public is divided, particularly because of the relative calm situation in Erbil compared to Suleimaniyah, we in Erbil don’t see that at all. There are claims that nobody was detained or exposed to extrajudicial arrest or kidnapping in Erbil, but there is evidence documented by video, audio tapes and photos that many people are being harassed, threatened, and intimidated through various means particularly through threatening phone calls and text messages and e-mails.

The excuses of the governor of Erbil are baseless and we are ready to follow every legal and civil path to protect our right to demonstrate and to free speech. We announce to the beloved people of Erbil that the failure of the governor of Erbil to allow us to demonstrate has no legal basis. This [refusal] will only increase our anger and discontent with this corrupt government. And we shall continue our struggle for a more democratic Erbil and Kurdistan.

On 22-1-2011 [ KRG President] Masud Barzani said, if the authority didn’t allowed people to protest, “I swear by God that I’m ready to go with people to the street and demonstrate with them.” We just ask where is this promise?

Organizers of the Demonstrations on Thursday

Arbil

5 April 2011

Day 44 of demonstration ends in gunfire and injuries

2011-04-02T04:03:00.000-07:00

Day of Anger at Freedom Square, Suleimaniya ends in gunfire and injuries
by Michele Naar-Obed

On 1 April 2011, the nonviolent nature of the demonstration at Freedom Square in Suleimaniya Iraq deteriorated quickly. Two young male provocateurs later alleged to have ties to the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) security forces, led a group of demonstrators to the outskirts of the square and began throwing rocks at the armed forces who were positioned in large numbers on street corners. April 1 was the forty-forth day of ongoing demonstrations and the government has done little to recognize the demands of the demonstrators or negotiate with them.

Two significant events led to the decision to term Friday's demonstration as the “Day of Anger.” The Kurdish authorities arrested a prominent Mullah (religious leader) who spoke publicly in support of the demonstrations and encouraged nonviolent revolution. They charged him with inciting violence under the anti-terrorism law and refused to let two pro bono lawyers take on his case or visit him.

The second event was President Barzani responding to the demonstrators’ demand to prosecute the security forces who injured and killed unarmed demonstrators by saying that all demonstrators or supporters of demonstrators must be prosecuted.

After a spate of rock throwing, the security forces opened fire. CPTers present at the square heard shots fired consistently for about half hour. The shooting became closer to the square and the organizers ended the demonstration for the day and encouraged people to go home. About fifty to seventy-five remained at the square and within an hour’s time, the armed security forces entered the square. CPTers heard that they tore apart the speakers platform and destroyed the art exhibits that have been on display there. The group of remaining demonstrators reportedly tried to stop the security forces from destroying their property, and the forces opened fire. Many people tried to re-enter the square but the forces fired upon them as well. By the end of the evening, forty-four people were injured including some police hit by the rocks.

The following is a statement written by the Ad-hoc coordinating committee of the demonstrations:

A Message from the Freedom Square's Provisional Committee to the General Public Following the announcement of the "Anger Friday" by the demonstrators in Kurdistan Region, we worked hard to protect the peaceful nature of the demonstrations and to allow the demonstrators to express their anger and discontent against the apathy of the political leadership and authorities through peaceful means.
However, today, April 1, 2011, at the time that we were engaged in our peaceful activities, after the Friday prayer, a group of the demonstrators faced acts of violence by security forces. Those security forces used live ammunition and bullets against the demonstrators. Bullets were also aimed at the people gathering in the Freedom Square.

At the time that we stress the fact that we shall continue our civil and peaceful activities, we emphasize that all demonstrators are equal citizens of this country and we are strongly against insulting them by labeling them as thugs, anarchists…etc. It is the responsibility of the authorities to protect demonstrators, and we condemn every illegal conduct by the government as shooting live ammunitions and bullets and arbitrary arrest of private citizens.

By its conduct today, the government once and again showed that it lacks the will to respond to the demands of the people and has no intention to respect the rule of law. We, therefore, announce that these conducts by the authorities will not only increase our anger but also embolden our resolve to continue the demonstrations until we fulfill all the rights that we aspire to. We also assure everybody that we will not stay silent toward those crimes and will announce our decisive position on them.

Freedom Square's Provisional Committee
1/4/2011

The CPT Iraq team notified Amnesty International on behalf of Mullah Kamaron and the U.S. Consulate on behalf of the demonstrators.

The Least Reported Unarmed Revolution in the Middle East | Common Dreams

2011-03-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Least Reported Unarmed Revolution in the Middle East | Common Dreams

Day 25 of Demonstration: The truth has been unleashed

2011-03-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

From Demonstrations- Suleymania

(photo: Friday prayers at Sara/Azadi square, May25 2011)

“The truth has been unleashed”; protest organizers arrested, disappeared, threatened
March 13th, 2011
CPTnet

“The truth has been unleashed,” a young protester told CPTers today (Sunday), “and cannot be silenced, not even by more soldiers.”

“Even if there are only fifteen people left at this square,” said another, “I will never leave until this corrupt, unjust government is finished.”

Additional security forces deployed to Suleimaniyah yesterday. According to one protest organizer, their intention was to take Sara Square by force overnight. The organizer said apparent foreign diplomatic intervention stopped them from doing so at the last minute. In a conversation between Jalal Talabani and U.S. vice-president Joe Biden, later that night, the latter reportedly urged Talabani not to deploy additional security forces to Sara Square.

“If these soldiers come to the square to attack us, much blood will be shed,” a protester told CPT.

In previous weeks, security forces had withdrawn from Sara/Azadi Square. Since 17 February, security forces have killed at least five protesters and wounded many dozens in confrontations. In a threat to the status quo, however, many soldiers publicly expressed their support for the protests, or at least their refusal to fire at them.

Apparently unwilling or unable to rely on regular troops from Suleimaniyah, the regime appears to have resorted to illicit actions, including anonymous threats, disappearances and attacks by unidentified thugs. CPTers spoke to one man who said that after speaking at the open microphone at the protest, he was arrested by security forces and beaten for eight hours before a number of journalists could secure his release. Last week, plainclothes individuals, whom many believe were sent by the regime, brutally attacked protesters camping in Sara Square overnight.

Protest organizers are currently on high alert, sleeping at different houses each night and moving in the constant accompaniment of volunteers to increase their safety. Overnight protests have not taken place for some days.

The protests in Sara/Azadi square are now in their fourth week.

Day 17 of Demonstration: Fires, broken bodies, arrests, and chaos

2011-03-05T04:50:00.000-08:00

From Sulaymaniya Protests, 6 March

Fires, broken bodies, arrests, and chaos at Freedom Square in Suleimaniya
CPTnet

On 5 March 2011, thirty-five-year-old Ayoub joined with approximately 200 young people for an all-night vigil at Freedom Square in Suleimaniya. At midnight, he lay down in his tent to rest. Ayoub had been on a hunger strike for the past twelve days and planned to continue until the government answered the demands of the people who had been demonstrating for eighteen straight days.

At 2:30 a.m., the morning of 6 March, Ayoub heard people yelling “Wake up, wake up” For a moment, he thought, “Parliament has come with good news.” Within seconds, he knew there was trouble. “When I woke up, I didn't want to believe the Kurdish authorities would do this,” Ayoub said.

Men dressed entirely in black with ski masks over their faces, carrying guns, batons and electric cables began rounding people up and taking them away. Other eyewitnesses said they could have been from the Anti-Terrorism Unit. Men in plainclothes also carrying guns, batons, and electric cables, began to beat people. Ayoub tried three times to get away and each time, his assailants beat and stunned him with the electric cable. He showed CPTers the marks on his hands and said he was bruised and bloodied all over his body.

The men in plainclothes began to set tents on fire. One tent was occupied when it went up in flames. The victim remains in the hospital, according to another eyewitness. Ayoub's tent was burned to the ground along with all of his papers and a few cherished books.

When Ayoub was able to finally get up and run away, a man in a teashop took him inside and kept him safe for the night. Ayoub returned to Freedom Square at 9 a.m. The burned tents were gone and the square was clean. In addition to the destruction of the tents, the demonstrators’ sound system and the stage set up for the speakers who come daily to the demonstrations were destroyed.

Other eyewitnesses reported that members of the Asaish (Security Police) were present during the attacks but did nothing to intervene.

Ayoub, a contractor who does road and masonry work has made many complaints in the past to government authorities about the corruption he has seen. “I have reported directly to our Prime Minister, Dr. Barham Salih that poor quality materials are used, causing a big problem,” he told CPTers. Ayoub believes that the government cannot reform because of the corrupting influence of political parties. Ayoub has also written to the Minister of Higher Education and the Parliament with a list of concerns he has about the violation of human rights on the people of Iraqi Kurdistan. He has yet to receive any answers.

“I am on a hunger strike now and if the people don't receive answers to their demands soon, I will do something else,” Ayoub said. He did not share what that something else is.

As of yet, the international media has given little attention to the crisis in the Kurdish north of Iraq and sinister deeds continue to happen in the dark.

Day 13 of Demonstration: Protests turn to public mourning

2011-03-01T04:56:00.000-08:00

Protests turn to public mourning, White Group continues strategizing
CPTnet
March 1st

For the past two days, the protests in the central square of Suleimaniyah, redubbed “Freedom Square,” have taken the form of public mourning. P1020591 Last Saturday, 26 February, the protest resulted in two deaths and eleven wounded as security forces opened fire on the crowd shortly after a sound bomb apparently went off behind the stage.

After Saturday's violence, protesters and security forces publicly reconciled, with many soldiers reportedly throwing down their weapons, crying they would not shoot at their brothers. The protest on Monday saw a vastly reduced military presence.

Protesters on Sunday attached lists of names—of those killed, wounded, and arrested during demonstrations for the past two weeks—to a wall on one end of the square. Next to these lists is a list of lawyers working pro bono to defend those arrested. The lawyers' group is also working with Amnesty International, which last week called on the Kurdistan regional government to rein-in militias affiliated to political parties responsible for the deaths.

The White Group, which had been forming a line between protesters and security forces, continues to meet each day to strategize and adapt to new realities. On Sunday, these meetings resulted in the decision to join the protest as normal participants. The protest organizers invited them to form a human “peace wall” again starting Wednesday, 2 March.

Also on Monday, a parliamentary delegation visited the demonstration to listen to protesters' demands. The ruling parties, however, were not represented in this delegation.

Day 11 of Demonstration: The Great Wall peace community

2011-02-27T04:38:00.000-08:00

From Sulaymaniya protest, Feb 24

The White Group agenda
CPTnet

Following the 26 February 2011 incident, the White Group drafted the following statement:

After many conversations following the incident on Saturday, February 26, which resulted in injuries and death, we decided to make the following points regarding the future activities of the White Group:

1. After the shooting, the Peshmerga [military] forces that were surrounding the demonstration mixed with the people and the people welcomed them by clapping. The work of the peace wall initially was to stop the interaction between the Peshmerga forces and the people. Following the mix of forces and people in this good way, it was determined that the role of the peace wall was finished. For this reason, the White Group is no longer necessary. However, at any time the demonstrators feel the need for the White Group, we are ready as a group to re-establish the wall.

2. We will work to make pressure on the courts to stop the arrest of people without court orders and we will investigate those people who have made arrests without court orders.

3. We will make pressure on the judges not to limit any statements for publication especially during this time and current situation. Many famous people have published statements and we want to pressure the courts to protect human rights for public interest. We will also pressure the courts to protect the right to record criminal activity in these incidents.

4. We will prepare daily reports about activities in Suleimaniya city and send them out internationally.

5. We will follow up and document all the people who have been arrested and disappeared as well as visit jails, police and Asaish [Kurdish secret police].

6. We will collect videos and photos of the demonstrations to keep as a record and to preserve the truth.

7. We will bring in international and independent investigators and include them in the team of local investigators.

Day 10 of Demonstration: Today was not a good day

2011-02-26T05:05:00.000-08:00

Today was not a good day
26 February 2011

The demonstration was going along fine when suddenly an explosion occurred from behind the stage. Black smoke filled the air. For a moment, everyone seemed to be stunned and frozen. Then the crowd panicked and started running in different directions. Someone announced that the explosion was just an electrical explosion from a generator. The White Group raised their hands in an attempt to calm everyone down and gestured to the soldiers standing behind the White Group that everything was okay. Within five minutes, hundreds from the crowd broke through the White Group line and ran directly up to the soldiers screaming at them and blaming them for what happened. Shortly after, demonstrators told the White Group that a percussion bomb went off behind the stage. Accusations that the sound bomb was set the night before by people who want to destroy the demonstrations and Suleimaniya began to circulate.

The group of demonstrators who ran towards the soldiers behind our line was beginning to return towards the center. To the credit of these soldiers, they never raised their guns and with the exception of a few flying shoes, we did not see the demonstrators do anything more than scream at the soldiers.

For a few moments, there was hope that this might just calm down without any further incident but then the shooting began. The place quickly turned chaotic and many people, including the CPT-Iraq team, ran into the bazaar. The shooting continued for a few moments and then the merchants in the bazaar asked everyone to leave because they wanted to close their shops for fear that the bazaar would be destroyed. We stood in the street for a few minutes trying to get our bearings when another crowd of people stormed down the street. In order to not be trampled, we moved back against the wall and let the crowd run by. We later learned that they were running in fear that the soldiers would start shooting and many roads were closed at this point so there were no really clear exits.

The team at this moment is home and safe, and local news reports one dead and eleven wounded. Violence in other cities is also being reported on local news. Other reports are coming in by phone and weblog, e.g., "my friend is calling me; he is excited and shouting. Karzan, you have to see this. Lots of protesters carrying rocks went toward the Peshmerga force and fight almost broke out again. But now they are making peace. Some members of the Peshmerga force are putting down their weapons and kissing the protesters. We are brothers and we won't shoot at you. Some (Peshmerga) are crying."

Day 9 of Demonstration: The White Group formed human chains three lines deep

2011-02-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

From Sulaymaniya Protest, Feb 25 - "Day of Rage"

(photo: Peace Wall managed to avert a riot as a small group of youth wanted to attack the soldiers behind..Feb25 2011)

The White Group formed human chains three lines deep…
25 February 2011

Filled with approximately 15,000 people, Freedom Square in Suleimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan was a shining example of a nonviolent revolution. At 10:00 a.m., the square was already starting to fill. Before the noon prayer began, there were about 10,000 people listening to the opening speeches. More came when the noon prayer began which took place in the square. People came with plastic cloth, cardboard, and prayer rugs. The Mullah offered a special prayer to all the people who have been participating in these days of protest recognizing that these are the voices of the ordinary people and not the parties.

The rest of the day consisted of many speeches, quite a few of them from women. "There can not be a revolution without the women,” a young university student said.

A group from Qaludze marched in with their banner apologizing for getting there so late. Checkpoints made it very difficult for everyone traveling today. The [people from Qaludze] were greeted with welcoming cheers. A group of doctors and medical students marched in with flowers, banners, and placards. "No more killing," and "We want democracy" were two slogans that stood out. The speeches were interspersed with music. One particular song with the line, "I will never sell this city out to the gold sellers,” was played repeatedly.

While the Suleimaniya demonstration continued, three high level government officials met in Suleimaniya. They seemed to agree that change is necessary and there was some talk of new elections in the immediate future.

The White Group (Geroupee Spi) had a large presence at today's demonstration. There were a few tense moments when a crowd of people began giving the soldiers—who were… blocking off key streets—a hard time. The White Group intervened and someone from the stage began to chant, "These Peshmerga are our brothers." The White Group also heard that a group of provocateurs from Erbil were planning to come to destroy the demonstration. One of the security officers spoke with one of the Erbil troublemakers saying, "The people here will kill you if you come." Apparently, this was enough to change their minds.

The demonstration ended at 5:30 p.m., but not without one more round of tensions. Six young drunk men put on a good show of trying to break through the White Group line to attack the soldiers. They rallied a small group to break through the line with them. One was carrying a knife. The White Group formed human chains three lines deep to keep them back. Bottles of water started flying followed by numerous shoes. There are probably many barefoot men walking around the city of Suleimaniya tonight. The soldiers kept their calm, never once raising their rifles and the White Group contained the situation and eventually talked the young men out [of doing what they were planning]. The White Group ended the day by cleaning up the square.

Not every city was so lucky to end without violence. Government buildings in Mosul, Tikrit, and Kirkuk were burned down. As of now, we have not heard confirmations on death or injuries.

Demonstrations will continue daily in Suleimaniya. The youth will not rest until change occurs. Although the streets of Suleimaniya are a little less tense and not as filled with soldiers and heavily armed vehicles [as they were earlier], there is still a sense of urgency in the air for change to come quickly. The White Group will continue its presence at the ongoing demonstrations and will hold a safe space for people to raise their voices for this needed change.

Day 8 of Demonstration: White Group says to U.S.

2011-02-24T05:15:00.000-08:00

From Sulaymaniya protest, Feb 23

(photo: The "White Group" was again keeping security forces and protesters apart. Feb23 2011)

White Group says to U.S., “The situation in Suleimaniyah is deteriorating”
Suleimaniyah 24th of February 2011
To: The State Department of the United States of America, American Embassy and Consulates in Iraq
From: The White Group (Geroupee Spi), Suleimaniyah

Dear Ladies and Sirs,

As representatives of the newly founded “White Group” we urgently address you. Since last Thursday, the 17th of February, the situation in Suleimaniyah city and Governorate is severely deteriorating.

After demonstrators protested against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in a peaceful demonstration, some rallied towards the main branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Militias of this party answered stone throwing with live ammunition, killing four, and injuring more than 150 people, in addition to detaining unknown number of demonstrators.

Since then, the situation is heating up. Thousands of heavily armed militiamen were sent into the city; young protesters are enraged. Every day thousands, if not tens of thousands, gather in Suleimaniyah and other cities of the governorate for demonstrations. Normal life came to a standstill.

We are trying to calm the situation, standing daily in white clothes between the heavily armed militias and the demonstrators. We could have prevented further violence, but we are not sure for how long we are able to continue.

We are severely shocked that until now we didn’t hear any official U.S. statement. Since one week now this situation is unfolding. Any condemnation or even expression or concern from the U.S. would have helped a lot. People here are just demanding their basic rights. We all thought that the U.S. seriously believes in democracy in Iraq. Now we see you watching how militias not accountable to the government, but [to political] parties, use excessive force against demonstrators. As you can see in these pictures heavily armed soldiers are stationed everywhere in our city.

Therefore we strongly urge you to take action. We believe your voice is still heard in Iraq and especially Iraqi-Kurdistan, where U.S. troops were greeted as liberators in 2003, inspiring us to work hard for improving the situation of people here. Please make clear to the responsible politicians and parties that the U.S. will not accept further violence and killings against civilians.

Your silence was recognized too. Especially the young demonstrators we talk to on a daily base got the impression the U.S. is not with the people but the parties here. The future of Iraq and Kurdistan lie in the hands of this young generation. The future of bilateral ties with the U.S. too.

So it’s high time to take action. We don’t know how long we will be able to keep the situation calm. We need your help now. If it will be too late after Friday, the day of demonstrations all over Iraq and Kurdistan, we all will regret that no steps were taken to prevent harm and more destruction.

We are again very afraid that if nothing happens, our city and governorate will soon see a bloodbath.

Wit best Regards

The Members of the White Group (Geroupee Spi)

The White Group is composed of various civil society organizations, civil society activists, journalists, and artists.

ADDENDUM

Here are the most urgent demands of the demonstrators. We think they are all moderate and correspond with the principles of democracy and rule of law:

1. Suing all of those involved in murdering the demonstrators in Suleimaniyah and publicly announcing the court rulings related to this matter.

2. Withdrawing all of the forces brought to Suleimaniyah and keeping only those forces affiliated with the Ministry of Interior in the city.

3. The authorities should promise that force will not be used to face the demands of the demonstrators and that it listen to those demands through creating channels of dialogue and conversion.

4. Urgently issuing a decision by the Parliament of Kurdistan to prohibit the use of military forces in internal affairs and conflicts.

5. The President of the region and the Prime Minister should immediately issue an apology to the victims and the people of Kurdistan.

6. Freeing all of those who have been detained as a consequence of the demonstration on February 17th and the demonstrations followed.

Day 7 of Demonstration: Protests continue; riot averted

2011-02-23T05:23:00.000-08:00

Protests continue; riot averted
CPTnet
Feb23 2011

The seventh day of anti-government protests in Suleimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan ended peacefully, today. The "White Group," a non-violent group of citizens sympathetic to reform including actors, writers and lawyers, again deployed itself between the protesters and the security forces. Towards the end of the protest, the group, together with other protesters, managed to avert a riot. A small group of protesters sought to assault the soldiers and march on the KDP office, where security guards had opened fire on protesters last Thursday, killing at least two, and wounding dozens. The White Group organized several human chains to prevent a confrontation with the military, and talked to the violent group to de-escalate the situation.

Day 6 of Demonstration: Armed with plastic flowers

2011-02-22T05:36:00.000-08:00

From Sulaymaniya protest, February 22

Armed with a calming demeanor, plastic flowers, white vests, and white cloth, approximately eighty White Group members formed a semicircle around the square
CPTnet
22 February 2011

Approximately 4000 to 5000 demonstrators gathered today at Freedom Square in the city center of Suleimaniya. The gathering, which started about 1:00 p.m., was almost festive … Most of the demonstrators were unemployed citizens. One man who spoke fairly good English told us, "Some of the people you see here today are students who spent six years in medical school and still have no job. How can this be when Jalal Talabani gives his family and his son millions of dollars and yet unemployment in the KRG is so high?'

Speeches from the square were fiery yet civil and were interspersed with poetry and music. At one point, … people from the city of Kalar marched into the square and were greeted with cheers and support from the Suleimaniya demonstrators. Last night, news of demonstrations in Kalar was filled with reports of violence and heavy injuries. Shortly after the Kalar group arrived, two white doves were released into the air and they circled above the smiling and cheering crowd. "These birds represent peace and hope to us," one person told CPT.

The plan for CPT today was to document events and stand with the White Group. This group, consisting of about fifteen local NGOs and young people from the University formed yesterday to act as a buffer between the security forces and the demonstrators. Many of the injuries from the past few days resulted from rock throwing and beatings between these two groups during clashes. Armed with a calming demeanor, plastic flowers, white vests, and white cloth, approximately eighty White Group members formed a semicircle around the square. Behind them were well over 1000 armed security forces. In front of them were the 5000 demonstrators. There were at least three instances where tensions were defused when some people from the square tried to barge into the line of security forces. The White Group quickly stepped between them and security and calmed what could have been a violent exchange. However, one of the most remarkable methods of preventing violence happened when the White Group handed out bunches of plastic flowers to the security forces. Some held the flowers in their hands. Others put the flowers in the barrel of their rifles. The faces of the security forces had softened and many were smiling and making eye contact with the people. In front of them, stood the White Group, firmly rooted in their space and each holding a flower as well. Today's demonstration ended without any violent incidents. The White Group remained in the square for six hours until all the demonstrators and security left. The group will return tomorrow.

While things are appearing to calm down a bit in Suleimaniya, there are reports of violence at demonstrations in the smaller cities and subdistricts. Qaludze, Halabja, Kalar, and others have reported serious skirmishes between security forces and the people. There is still a fear that these areas have the potential to become uncontrollable. Meanwhile, the leaders of the main parties are due to meet again in two days. President Barzani apologized to the father of the fourteen-year-old boy who was killed on 17 February and it is rumored that the family has received compensation money for the loss of their child—a nice gesture on his part but one that probably indicates that the KDP is more worried than remorseful.

Protest movements throughout Iraq are planning a coordinated "Day of Rage" coming Friday, 25 February. CPT understands that Suleimaniya will participate in this wave of protests. Although everyone here in Suleimaniya is thankful for two days of no violence, the sense that the city has been turned into a war zone still reverberates through the streets filled with soldiers and heavily armed vehicles.

Day 1& 2 of Demonstration: Change is in the air

2011-02-18T06:04:00.000-08:00

Change is in the air
Feb18 2011

Two days ago, CPT got a call from one of our partners who said there was a man at the city center who was fed up with the government and threatened to set himself on fire. Within an hour or so, he was taken off. Some say the Security Police got him and kept him from burning himself. Others say Mustafa talked him out of it.

Yesterday was the day of the big demonstration in Suleimaniya that ended in chaos, injury, and death. First, we heard that the demonstration was not permitted and that it was likely called by the Communist Party. The Communist and the Islamic Union Parties were both present. At the high point of the demonstration, there might have been about 3000 people present. Traffic was not blocked and there was no real presence of police. At some point towards the end of the demonstration, a group of people broke off and headed towards the KDP headquarters, which is maybe a fifteen-minute walk from the city center where the demonstration took place. Shots were fired, people were running, and ambulances arrived. Salim Street, the main street heading out of the city center, was blocked off.

Throughout the evening, we were hearing reports that up to nine people were killed and dozens wounded. At 7:00 p.m., the city was under curfew until 7:00 this morning. During the night, the Gorran headquarters in four cities throughout the KRG were said to be looted and set on fire.

The events…are still pretty muddy. A few facts have surfaced. The demonstration was called by a group called Civilian Defenders Network. This may not be the exact title but this is the closest translation from Kurdish to English that I could get. The demonstration was, in fact, permitted. The group got permission from the Suleimaniya Governor. Here's where the rest gets muddy. Some say a group looking for a fight made their way down to the KDP headquarters. The group might have been a few hundred people. Some say this group broke into the building and started destroying computers and furniture. Others say they started throwing rocks. Some say that the first people to go to the KDP building were actually paid to do this by the KDP. Supposedly, they led the larger group of 200 to 300, provoking the group to throw rocks and storm the building and then took off before the shooting started. Nobody has said who ordered the KDP headquarter guards to start shooting and there has been no insinuation that the protesters had weapons. This morning a Special Forces anti-terrorism unit from Erbil arrived in Suleimaniya. At present, they are at the Furmandy base, which is close to the Suleimaniya airport. They are supposedly here to guard the KDP building. The Gorran people are demanding that they return back to Erbil. The Gorran people are also demanding an emergency Parliament session and they are demanding that the guards who shot into the crowd are brought to the court for a full investigation.

In the end, it seems that one person died. He was fourteen years old. About forty have been wounded. Most of them are teenagers to mid twenties.

Day 3 of Demonstration: The face of stability, security, and democracy is quickly eroding

2011-02-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

The face of stability, security, and democracy is quickly eroding
Feb 19 2011

Today the situation here is escalating. The PUK and KDP Peshmerga were out on the streets of Suleimaniya in full force, allegedly to protect the KDP headquarters. Last night Nawshirwan Mustafa, the leader of the Gorran list, demanded that these military forces return to Hawler. Meanwhile the KDP said that Dr. Barham Salih, the KRG prime minister, ordered the military to the streets to protect the KDP headquarters.

CPTers walked up to the city square where many students from the university were holding a demonstration. On the way to the bazaar, CPTers saw nine humvees loaded with big weapons drive up Salim St. towards the bazaar. About eight or nine blocks from the bazaar, Salim St. was closed even to pedestrians. We zigzagged up to the entrance of the bazaar and we tried to make our way to the city center. We passed by a truck with a water cannon positioned in the middle of the street ready to fire in any direction.

Eventually, we were headed off by hundreds of Asaish (secret police) and maybe Peshmerga (military). Even the local guide did not know who was who. Later we learned that these guys were expecting more problems at the KDP headquarters. The parents of the 14-year-old boy [who was shot] were so distraught that they and their family members were threatening to go to the KDP headquarters with guns to express their outrage at the murder of their only child. There were rumors that other people were threatening to torch the KDP headquarters.

By the time we made it to the city center, the students had finished their demonstration. It seems they had two hours there without any major incident.

After a while, we headed over to the Rizgari bus station to take a bus home. Then the shooting began. The bus was re-routed and more armed soldiers were heading up Salim St in fast moving vehicles. We heard shooting even close to our house but there are no reports yet about any shooting other than in the area of the KDP headquarters.

Reports on twitter are now saying that twelve people are injured including three journalists. Some are bullet wounds and two Asaish have been injured by rocks. There are also reports that the Special Forces military, some of whom are PUK and some KDP Peshmerga are fighting with each other because some of them are refusing to fire at the demonstrators.…

The sad issue here is that the KRG has put on a face of stability, security, and democracy. They have invited the world to come and explore the wonders of Iraqi Kurdistan. They have enticed investors from all over the world to come here. The face of stability, security, and democracy is quickly eroding as the ruling parties have insisted on answering the calls for justice with firepower, which seems to get more and more lethal each day.

Unconscious Social Punishment Toward Disable People

2010-12-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

Unconscious Social Punishment Toward Disable People
Parzhin

The story that I tell today is the story of a thirty nine year old woman with the mind of a three year old child. In her early childhood, she fell down while her cousin was holding her. From that time she has suffered from an illness which allows the body to grow while the mind does not.

Her name is Nazdar. Shortly after the onset of her illness, Nazdar's father died. One of her brothers disappeared without reason. Nazdar lived with her other brother and her mother, but after nine years, her mother died from a dangerous disease.

Nazdar's problems truly began at this time, as her body continued to grow while her mind did not. She stayed with her brother, but eventually her brother decided to marry, figuring that having a wife would be a help for his disabled sister. After the marriage, Nazdar's life became a living hell as her brother mistreated her and her sister in law refused to care for a disabled person.

Everyday her sister in law treated her like a servant, made accusations against her and both she and her brother treated Nazdar violently, including handcuffing her and keeping her locked in the bathroom for hours and beating her.

She is afraid for what they have done to her, and that is why she works hard and spends time with her nieces, taking care of them, hoping to make her brother and sister in law happy.

While her family expects her to act like an adult, she does not know how to do so. She wants a doll to play with; she needs a mothers love and caring because in her mind she is a 3 year old. She only knows how to say and repeat one sentence, "Take me to my parents."

Perhaps death is best for Nazdar. That is what she wishes for.

There are similar stories like Nazdars' in our society. Even in our family there is not any respect for disabled people. Maybe the word "disabled" is not right as many of these people have more ability than many of us.

Unfortunatley, in our society is very common to treat people this way. But every one of us has to think, if we were them, how would we like to be treated. Do we want to be treated like "vulnerable people?"

A glimpse of the Problems in Kirkuk

2010-11-11T23:55:00.000-08:00

A glimpse of the Problems in Kirkuk

( from an activity with 5 students living in Kirkuk.)

About the problems in Kirkuk city, the government is responsible for the people's needs and wants. As we mentioned in our statement,we said that the problems are: lack of security, scarcity of water and electricity, freedom of speech, lack of proper education, libraries and the lack of cleanliness in the city. If there is a good plan to solve each of these problems, then they can be fixed.

For example:
(1) the security situation in the city, the government needs a plan to place trustworthy officials in place, also, the background of those officials must be publicly known by all, they should be trained in human rights work and also, they should be responsible for the security of the whole nation as well as all the people. These past years, we have discovered that all those bombings, problems of violence, were perpetrated by these officials.

(2) water: some of the quarters inside Kirkuk have water all the time, while some areas lack water, government should have a plan to solve this problem so that all the people in Kirkuk have water some of the time.

(3) electricity: as we see, today we have both national as well as generator power and the people buy as much as they want from generators. By orders from the Kirkuk government, there must be 9 hours of generator power for all people. However, at times we have both national as well as generator power together, but the generator owners are not reimbursing the people for the times that we have both powers together. So, there must be a plan for this problem to determine when national power is off so generator power can be used. Or perhaps, the government can own their own generator to supply power. If they follow this plan, our city will be more attractive without all those wires. There should not be special attention paid to the leaders' homes where they get electricity while many others do not.

(4) freedom of speech: the people in Kirkuk, especially the journalists, editors, writers live in fear because they are not free to express the truth as they see it. All the media in this city, as well as the union officials, belong to the Parties, because the Parties want everything to be in their own personal interest and to be used for their interests. This indicates that if anyone wants to speak of the corruption here, they will be threatened or the writer will be murdered. If there are any demonstrations in this city, this is also a danger to the people. That is why we need to have independent media. There should be a guarantee for the safety of these writers and journalists, provided by the unions.

(5) education: In this city, our education is the same as we have had in the past, with no renewal in the system. We have some teachers that are not teaching lessons in the school because they want to teach these same students outside of school premises and be paid for the lessons. They sometimes remove the girls from the schools saying that it is not culturally correct for girls to be educated. The boys have many more opportunities to study. There must be a plan to oversee the education system and to give the students the freedom to study. They must oversee those teachers that are paid to teach in the schools. The government should tax families that want to remove children from school. In order to improve the situation here, education must be compulsory. At the same time, we have many youth who graduate and can't find jobs. We have many Kurdish students living in Kirkuk who find that their names are in Hawijau, Mosul and Tikrit. Therefore, when it comes time for university, they must travel to those cities. Also, they must travel to those cities to find employment. This is a threat to our security, indicating that they want to remove Kurdish people from Kirkuk.

Stormy Attributes

2010-11-11T23:07:00.000-08:00

STORMY ATTRIBUTES
Anonymous

We know that rape has always robbed the rights of others. Everyone tries to save his family and honor from strangers and perpetrators of evil. However, how can a family protect their rights from those who should be protecting them, i.e. parents.

I will tell you a story which does not occur in every home. This happened to a family and caused a loss of dignity, morality and honor. Honor is the most precious loss.

The events of this story happened in a house with a lovely fragrance, a clean home. The characters are the members of a family, the father who seems to the viewer to be respectable, the mother who is pretty and kind but who is powerless, and three boys and five girls. On the faces of the boys and girls, the appearance is of a good life.

I visited them once and enjoyed sitting with them, but at the same time my heart filled with worries. There were secrets and surprises which made my mind stop and broke my heart. I wished to return to the moment before I heard of this tragedy. Regrettably, the wishes and desires of a human person, when exceeding the limit, can make a man lose control of himself and destroy him. I am talking here about an ugly issue. The father raping his daughters, each one at a different time, taking advantage of their daughter who spontaneously wanted to embrace their father. However, he forgot himself, lost his sense of responsibility and the fear of God, while his daughters were still at the stage of innocence.

He did his gruesome act thus denying the girls access to marriage. They reached the age when a girl starts admiring a young man and then he offers to marry her. This is when the girls began to realize the enormity of what their father did against them, for the men rejected them. Between them, the girls discussed the matter.

What to do while the years are passing without finding any solution? I put that question to you to find a solution to this problem. I hear that there is a process for such cases. It is called re-virgining (vaginal surgery).

After a while, I returned to visit them and found them still suffering from spinsterhood. Their father had died and left them mired in worries and trouble.

This story, in spite of its grief, deserves to be brought to the public for justice. How can a father abuse his daughters and take their rights from them? Those who have avoided punishment in this world will not escape from the punishment of God, the final judge.

Laughter Returns To Sewajan's Teary Eyes

2010-11-10T01:51:00.000-08:00

Laughter Returns To Sewajan's Teary Eyes
By Awezan Nuri

One day, suddenly, Sewajan came with a very cute baby and her poor parents. When I saw her teary eyes, I knew she was carrying a big problem on her shoulders. She didn't look like she had any happiness in her life. After greeting me, she didn't say anything. Her parents told me her story. "Sewajan is our daughter. She got married and she has only one child. Her in-laws mistreat her and her husband always listens to his parents as they encourage him against his wife. Therefore, he behaves very violently towards Sewajan. Even though each month has thirty days, he just stays five days with his wife and his child. He does not leave them any money. While at home, he spends all the time beating and threatening her.

Sewajan parents were not like other parents, they could not find a solution to their daughter's problems. Because of tradition, Sewajan accepted all the brutality that her in-laws and her husband inflicted upon her.

While listening to her parents, I glanced at Sewajan from time to time and she was weeping. As she listened to her parents, she cried, and her child, seeing her crying, wanted to touch his Mom's tears. Sewajan said, "Mom and Dad, may I speak with her alone?"

Then she told me, "Ms, my husband is not a bad man, but his parents make him crazy, because they are always telling him bad things about me. My in-laws live near me and they treat me like their servant. Purposely, they find some work for me to do because they don't want me to take care of my child and give him my love.

There are no regrets for what I have done, and what I will do for them. They are like my parents and it is my duty to respect them. I would be very happy if they could accept me as their daughter. When my husband comes back from work, they start gossiping. They have a thousand accusations about me. When he listens to them, he treats and my child as a stranger. When I ask him why he is listening to them he says 'They are my parents what can I do?'

Anyway it is not a big problem, I have another problem, my child and I need money. He leaves us for twenty days without money. We do not know what to eat and what to do. We like to buy food and clothes but we can't without money. My child has recently learned to speak and to eat different foods and I don't know how to satisfy him. Now I need a solution to my problem. I need someone to talk to my husband, giving him some advice. Ask him if we want to continue to be a family. If not, let us divorce."

Sewajan's talk upset me and her crying upset me even more. That is why I asked for her husband's phone number. I called him. I sat with her husband and we talked and I offered him many solutions. After he heard me, he said with a shaky voice, "That is right, I have made many mistakes, but I will try to correct my mistakes."

After two days, Sewajan called me and she was very happy and laughing. She said, "Thank you very very much, my husband changed so much for the better and he doesn't leave us alone for a very long time. When he leaves us, he leaves us enough money and says, 'Oh God, you were like a messenger and saved my life from separation and destruction. Thank you very much.'

Before she turned off the phone, I heard her husband say 'hi' to her and to his son, 'Dad's home, son, how are you doing.'

She said "good by darling" to me and thank you very much."

( This article was translated from Kurdish language from Pana for Peace.)

A Human Rights Statement from residents in Kirkuk to United Nation

2010-11-08T00:56:00.000-08:00

a field in Kirkuk, Spring 2009

A Statement from residents in Kirkuk to United Nation
by a youth group in Kirkuk

Since the formation of the Iraqi state in 1920 up till now, the Iraqi people have become fuel for the political unrest because of many apparent and hidden reasons.

The most prominent reasons are the newspapers, sectarian, religious and national. which make internal wars more destructive than external wars, Since the regime of the monarchy, until the last dictator Saddam, all have adopted the policy of autocracy and violence against the Iraqi peoples. The violence practiced is especially denying the rights of minorities, and the use of genocide against them. Iraqi peoples were waiting for the end of Arab Baath Socialist Party regime. Analyzing its name is enough to know the target which works for it in this country. Now that seven and a half years have passed since the fall of this regime, many new parties and new forms of power have emerged, the most dangerous of them is the power of terror.

Humanitarian tragedies are repeated daily in Iraq, the cheapest thing to deal with politically is human blood . It makes civilians the victims of political problems. On the other hand the lack of security, causes people significant psychological crises.

The fate of the new generation in this country stands in front of a great danger and no one considers himself accountable for this. Accountability and responsibility are not to express personal feelings, but to reduce and eliminate the present conditions. There is lack of water and electricity and this lowers the standard of
living for poor people and causes many social problems every day. Many people become sick and die. Nevertheless, all these conditions did not become the focus of the parties concerned in Iraq. All institutions in Iraq bear a share of this tragedy inflicted upon the people. Cultural and civil institutions played a role in deepening these differences playing the role of agitators, instead of reconciliators. Politicians are fighting political battles through the media, and in many cases, transferring their battles from headquarters into the streets, thus making people victims of this without making any useful changes in their lives through their work programs.

All these and many other diverse problems faced by the people, forces them to live tragic lives and international parties are silent about this human tragedy. Now, seven months after the parliamentary elections in Iraq, the political battle for power is not over yet. This causes continued human miseries, It was incumbent on political parties to respect people's votes. Those who have won the confidence of the people should be pushing to make their lives better but unfortunately, they are making the situation worse.

Therefore, we call on the international organization of UN to come to the aid of the country as a country suffering from disasters. The UN must recognize this fact. Because the tragedy of this country is the absence of political parties that take responsibility for the administration of the country. UN organization must consider itself responsible for that and stop this campaign of murder and corruption by the parties against each other because of their political disputes and lack of attention to people's lives.

Within that is the killing and insulting and harming of journalists and writers, who raise their voices against this type of power and are hoping for reform.

All these facts are known to the Iraqis and to the world. Being silent means participating in the painful events that occur in Iraq.

Therefore, we in Pana for Peace Group hope that the UN organization will form special committees to repair the paths of the lives of Iraqi people.

Girls life

2010-11-07T02:25:00.000-08:00

Girls life
by Lavin

GIRL: the word itself is already a problem for girls because a girl in the Bedouin, Arab and Conservative Religious Community is believed to be a problem.

For a girl herself, even her presence becomes a problem, while at the same time the girl is a problem within the family in the Arab community with its religious and traditional traditions.

Today I'll write a basis for this and with each point, there is either a negative or a positive principle. There is a rule that states that a girl's problem starts when the Almighty Allah gives the spirit to the baby inside the mother's abdomen. The first parent to learn the gender of the baby, by ultra sonar, is the mother. Families usually prefer male children. There are thousands of reasons, for this, according to the girls themselves, their ideas and their culture.

This preference is also due to the environment and society. If the mother already knows that the child will be a girl, here begins the sign of sorrow at femininity. If you have knowledge of a girl child before birth, and maybe the father and the mother and all family prefer a male child, here begins the problem. Medical experiments indicate that sadness around the baby's mother and the father affects the morale of girl babies. This has been proven scientifically. Because of this, generally girl babies are more negative having been affected in the womb. Girl babies after birth at home may be meeting a cold mother, the baby is a sad thing to be met, called not by the given name but by nicknames.

( This article was translated in English from Turkmen language. It was one article from Pana for Peace October. )

Untitled

2010-11-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

Photo: Leland Grammer

Delegation to Northern Iraq
Final reflection, October 27

Can your ears reach our land?
is your attention here anymore?
Have you stepped out to relieve yourself?
Do you hear our shed blood?
Can you taste the tears of our mothers?
Are you a father to every child?

Bring your good times
to our shanty
Love breath us into
symphony
Teach us to dance
through the pain
Your daughters are snapped like twigs
...where was I...
Your children are tended like cattle
...where was I...
Your sons invent new ways to die
...where am I...
I rail at the sky and step on your echo
I call for conveyor belts to drop from the heavens
and miss you in the face of an illiterate refugee boy
and in the friendship of a fisherman's son

Leland Grammer

Nevada City, California, USA

October 27, 2010

Maybe God Waits for us to Open Our Hands

2010-11-03T02:41:00.000-07:00

Delegation to Northern Iraq
October 21-23, trip to Choman district, KRG

Photo: Matt Andrews

As our van rumbled over the gravel road winding steadily up the side of the mountain, we saw the sun setting against the backdrop of a solitary house and the moon reflecting its light across the opposing side of the sky. The road on which we travelled was safely situated between fields of landmines, with little skull-and-crossbone signs keeping us moving forward. Our driver parked the car outside a makeshift fence that surrounded the house, and a family of three with smiling faces met us with a warm Kurdish greeting.

We had arrived at the home of Mahmud and his family. Mahmud lost his right leg below the knee after a landmine explosion on his property many years ago. The family still lives here, perils and all. It is how they make a living. They still grow some crops in areas not overtaken by explosives. They raise turkeys and other animals (although sometimes the livestock wander into a nearby landmine field and don't make it back). They have to travel back and forth between this remote homestead and the city, because their son is still in school and they want him to finish his education. No school is located in any neighbouring village. Sometimes they travel back and forth and stay in one place for months at a time; sometimes they travel back just for a quick weekend to tend to the animals and make sure they haven't wandered away.

It's a difficult life, and the family struggles to make it work. Although they love it here in the mountains, they talk about the difficulty of making ends meet, of never knowing whether more bombs or military attacks will hit them, of no services being provided for families like theirs who exist on the hope of small annual agricultural crops. They tell us about the feeling that there will never be peace, not lasting peace. There will always be tension between their people, the Kurds, and neighbouring Arab, Turkish, and Iranian countries. They feel as though the violence will never stop. No one is coming to dismember the landmines, so most of the land in the region cannot be farmed. Little education is available. Farming subsidies that are commonplace in the West are unheard of here. Farmers cannot get help with crops or treatments for killing pesticides. The uncertainty of knowing whether bombing will drive them away from their home makes long-term horticultural planning difficult.

Our evening was filled with the exchange of stories and music, a mix of cultures gathered on rugs covering a concrete floor. We loved getting to meet Mahmud and his family. We loved learning about their joys and sorrows. And we were all struck with the complexity of the problems surrounding the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. There has been such a history of violence and there is so much distrust. It's hard to know where to begin in an effort to promote peace and reconciliation.

While the complexities can be overwhelming to us, Scripture is full of stories of God protecting his people, providing solutions to problems that seemed overwhelming. He often chose to provide this protection in really creative ways.

In the book of Judges, Gideon starts off with an army of 32,000 men to protect the people God has given him charge over, but God wattles that number down to 300. He explains that he will help those 300 men win the battle so that the nation "will not boast...that her own strength has saved her." (Judges 7)

Another story tells of God hearing his people crying out in fear against a pursuing army. God hears and takes action. When his people awake the next morning, they find that the opposing army is looking at the streams surrounding the hillside and becoming terrified because the water "appears to them as blood." They freak and run, and the Israelites are saved. They did not lift a hand, did not shed a drop of blood in the process.

The Old Testament also tells many stories about God "hardening" and "softening" hearts, as in the days of Pharaoh and King Nebuchadnezzar, when he caused leaders to reject the obvious to their own peril or show great compassion leading to miraculous freedom.

War reminds us of the depravity of human nature when it is left unchecked. It also reminds us how quickly we as humans forget that God is all-powerful and that the hearts of individuals, government leaders, and military commanders are ultimately subject to him. In working to undo the effects of violence or helping to facilitate the healing process, it is tempting to forget that reconciliation can only happen when God reaches down and touches lives. Any of our efforts apart from the work of God will be flawed and inadequate.

The Apostle Paul, no stranger to violence, spent his early years as a religious leader, killing off Christians. He did this in the full belief that he was doing the will of God - until God met him on the road to Damascus and informed him otherwise. Paul did a 180 and spent the rest of his life being persecuted as a follower of Christ. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, he exhorts that the church accept this persecution, and reminds his fellow believers, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood...but against the spiritual forces of evil." In other words, "If it bleeds, it's not your enemy."

If we are going to "get in the way" of violence, we have to remember that our enemy is not one made of flesh and blood. We also have to remember that the only way to stop cyclical, systemic violence is through God reaching down and changing hearts. Over the last several days, as our team visited families and villages tucked away in the mountains along the Iranian border, we heard stories of how violence brought about by bombs, land mines, guns and forced displacement had forever changed the lives of the mountain people. They long for a day when they can walk outside their house to a plot of farmland instead of a fenced off field of land mines. They long for a day when they can leave a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and go home without fear that any house they build or produce they grow will be destroyed by another set of bombings. They long for a day when it is not their people (the Kurds) vs. other people - when it is simply their people being allowed to carve out a life for themselves without the ever-constant threat of violence.

The situation here is complicated. It involves a conglomerate of ethnicities, national boundaries, religions, languages, political parties, economic challenges, urban vs. rural discrepancies and distrust between everyone. But let us not think that the situation is beyond the hand of our Almighty God. Maybe he doesn't want us to be able to boast "that our own strength has saved us." Maybe He is waiting for us to open our hands, surrender all the pieces, and be willing to respond to his creative resolution with a faith that maintains the nonviolent consistency of Jesus.

Tiffany Aurora
Alexandria, Virginia, USA
October 25, 2010

Peacemaking an Anti-venom

2010-11-03T02:25:00.000-07:00

Library, Sulaimani, Iraq/ Matt Andrews

Delegation to Northern Iraq
October 14-19, 2010

After three flights, hours of layovers, and the struggles of adjusting to changing time zones, our delegation arrived in Suleimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan early on the morning of Sunday, October 17th. Our delegation - consisting of four Americans and one Iranian Kurd - was planning to spend ten days assisting the full-time team members in their efforts to build a more peaceful future in Kurdistan.

In our first couple days in the country, our schedule has been focused on learning about the Kurdish culture and about the history of the Kurds in light of their interactions with their neighbours, most notably the Iraqi Arabs, Turks, and Iranians. Unfortunately, a lot of this history is violent.

On Sunday we visited Amna Suraka, a prison where Saddam Hussein kept Kurdish dissidents and political prisoners. We walked through the facility and listened to our guide tell us stories of merciless torture, overcrowded cells, and unsanitary conditions for men, women, and children. We also sat down afterwards and listened to Hussein, another visitor that we met while on the tour, tell of his uncle's captivity in the prison and the armed fight to liberate the prisoners in 1991. In addition, Mohammed, our translator, told us of his experiences as a child who was present in the vicinity of the prison's liberation and was close enough to hear the shooting throughout the day.

On Monday we travelled southeast to the village of Halabjah, where the Iraqi government used chemical weapons to murder more than 5,000 Kurdish civilians, almost two-thirds of which were women and children, in March of 1988. We were treated to images and video of innocent civilians with burned and peeling asking and frozen looks of horror. The only crime they had committed was being Kurdish. We were told of how the bombing of Halabjah was just one of several hundred villages that were bombed in an orchestrated genocidal plan.

The things we saw and heard were disturbing, and they were designed to give us an understanding of some of the challenges that Kurds have faced in the recent past. However, they also got our group talking about the very nature of evil itself. Tiffany, one of our delegation members from Washington D.C., noted that violence of this nature was what happened when there is a lack of accountability amongst people, and the more I've pondered this idea, the more I've realized that each of us houses the necessary items to commit unspeakable acts of cruelty. Because of sin, each of us has been poisoned to consider violence as an acceptable means of resolving conflict; when we are allowed to explore that option without any kind of deterrent, it tends to grow and expand like a cancer until it has dominated our lives.

We tend to think of peacemaking as stopping one group of people from killing another, and while that is part of it, it is merely addressing one specific manifestation of the violence in the world. The true essence of peacemaking involves forcing people to examine the attitudes and prejudices in their hearts and exchange them for love, forgiveness, mercy, and friendship. It is a method that involves not just convincing an army to lay down their weapons, but a person to ignore the violent impulses in their nature. By changing hearts, minds, and souls, we attack the very nature of the problem and not just a symptom. I am learning about how CPT is doing this in the way that they have forged powerful and lasting connections to members of the Kurdish community. In time, the hope is that enough people will undergo this transformation so that violence is taken off of the table as a viable option for future conflicts.

We got to see an example of this in Halabjah. Both of the men that guided us through the exhibit were able to point at pictures on the wall and identify corpses of their family members that had been killed in the chemical attacks. This came as an instant shock to me that a man could set aside the anger in his heart in order to face the bodies of his loved ones on a daily basis. When asked why they continued to face their demons in this way, they replied that they wanted to teach the next generation about what had happened so that it would never happen again.

My hope is that in my life, both in Iraq and back at home in America, I can embrace forgiveness and mercy in the manner of our new friends in Halabjah. May I always choose to reject anger and violence, embrace forgiveness and non-violence, and teach others to do the same.

Matt Andrews
Modesto, California, USA
October 20, 2010

Ali's boutique shop

2010-10-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

Ali's boutique shop
By Ali Sinan

My name is Ali Sinan. I was born in1993.

I love surfing the Internet.

I'm in third class, and I live in Kirkuk, one of the Iraq’s largest trading centers.

I'm so related to this city, I want to do anything good for it.

One of the things I want to do in my life is to work in a clothing shop.

I'm planning on opening one soon at "Chadrchi" building, which is located in Kirkuk...

My advice for youth today is to do a job well and work hard for what they need.

As for my self, I am working and studying and haven't left any of my friends.

I love sports, especially swimming.

I have participated in many tours inside Iraq and outside of it.

I still do it.

Murat’s Daily Life

2010-10-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

Murat’s Daily Life!
By Lavin Malik

My name is Murat Sinan, I am 15 years old and I'm in third class and I work mostly with my brother.

Lavin: Tell me what you are busy with?
Murat: I go to school and then spend most of my time working with my brother, reading at home.

Lavin: How do you manage to work when you have school?
Murat: I don't work when I have school

Lavin: What are you busy with when you return from work?
Murat: I go to play pool with my friends, then I go to a cafeteria and stay there until 10 o'clock pm

Lavin: What do you want to become in the future?
Murat: I want to become a sport teacher, and I do have a sportive spirit

Lavin: What do you do when you return home, especially at night?
Murat: I watch TV with my brother

Lavin: What do you want to do for your nation when you grow up?
Murat: I've always been thinking about this, when I grow up, I want to become someone important so as to protect my nation and even sacrifice my life for it.

( the interview was done in Turkmen. )

Please Tell My Mother

2010-09-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

Please Tell My Mother/ By Diari Abdullah

I am studying in elementary school, class six, and will be passing through to class one secondary.

However, my mother still tries to feed me, leaving no way for me to choose what I like to eat. She feeds me big pieces of food. I haven’t yet swallowed one when she gets another ready for me to eat.

This makes me laugh, but I am embarrassed to do so. I know she would say immediately, "When you eat, do not chat or laugh. It is a sin".

I enjoy watching cartoons, while I am eating. My mother warns, "A piece of food will get lodged in your throat. You don't realize how much you have taken and how much you have not taken. You will make yourself dirty; you will spill the water, etc., etc."

I do not like my mother to act like that and want her to know that I am grown up and can feed myself alone.

She does not let me wash my self either. She says: "You don't know how to wash." She comes in straight away, brings in a tough, local, hand made washing utensil, attacks me with it, and reddens every part of my body. When she cleans up some parts of my privy, I am bashful, laugh and say I am tickled.

This is how she treats me when I am sleeping, when I am going to school, when we visit others and when I am playing, etc.

I am asking you in the name of God, is this a way of living?

(This article is chosen from "Pana for Peace", a publication of youth voice in Kirkuk, Iraq.)

Where There Is Not My Mother, Home Will Smell Like Hell

2010-09-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

Where There Is Not My Mother, Home Will Smell Like Hell
Awezan Nury

She was a pretty young, 9 year old girl, with light eyes, calm and cute, named ARAZO. Tears were falling from her eyes and her hands were trembling.

As I was looking at her, she was miserably sad and withdrawn, not enjoying her playtime with the other 19 children. They were living together as one family in the room. She was feeling alienated from the group. Arazo, who burst into tears at the children's laughter, was disturbed by the games they were playing. She seemed to be encountering thousands of questions, alone deep in her heart, telling no one around that she was as a stranger to them.

She did not realize that, through her pearl eyes, I saw lots of grief and pain there.

When I called her for a chat to tell me the reason why she did not play or dance or laugh with the other children in the room, and why she was not participating, she suddenly came into my arms and cried. "My mother died, she's gone away and left me behind; my mother loved me very much. She was sick, her kidneys stopped functioning. My father sold both the house and the car to buy a kidney for her, but she did not recover. My mother could not make it and died. They had shaved her head and in surgery they installed a tube, but soon after the surgery she turned yellow and could hardly breath. She called out to speak to me, but she was having difficulty expressing herself. Before she passed away, my mother said to me: "I love you my dear daughter, if I die, you come to my grave once a week." She was able to say that much and then was gone. She was crying, expressing all these thoughts completely. My eyes filled with tears, and I shared her anguish in my heart.

Then, Arazo lifted her head and said, "Mom is not home, I don't want to go back, home smells like hell. I can't go home, please sister let me stay here because I see my mother everywhere I go in the house. Why did my mother leave me and my brother, why?"

I pray to God to please give her courage as she lost her mother. Please God, help me bring back the smile onto her lips to make her overcome her deep sorrow at the agony of death. Please, God, make me utter a word to assist her. Let her have flowers instead of tears, replace suffering with hope, give her self confidence in the place of pain and distress. Make her a generous sister for her only brother whose mother left him behind also. Please God, help ARAZO live her life afresh.

(This article is chosen from "Pana for Peace", a publication of youth voice in Kirkuk, Iraq.)

Iraq future more complex and uncertain than U.S. narrative

2010-09-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

August 31, 2010 – for immediate release

Suleimaniya, Iraq – The future of Iraq is more complex and uncertain than the current U.S. narrative seeks to present, according to a report published today by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Iraq (see http://www.cpt.org/files/CPT_Report_Iraq_after_Occupation.pdf.)

The report quotes Iraqis who shed doubt on the effects of the “surge,” the trustworthiness of the Iraqi military, and the reliability of Iraqi public figures and institutions.

“Iraqis in this report challenge the simplistic success story that the U.S. is telling about Iraq,” says Marius van Hoogstraten of CPT Iraq.

The report, entitled “Iraq after the Occupation – Iraqis speak about the state of their country as the U.S. military withdraws,” is based on extensive interviews with Iraqi citizens in various parts of the country. It recommends that the U.S. “think creatively” about ways to support Iraqi society before the U.S. military withdraws entirely at the end of 2011.

The U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003, recently announced an “end of combat missions,” in preparation for a complete withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011. The report notes that there is no consensus on the future of Iraq, with some interviewees expecting the security situation to get much worse, while others are more optimistic. However, none expect Iraq to be independent after a complete U.S. withdrawal. “I don't think the American army came all this way, spent all this money, then to leave [Iraq] a prey to others,” one Baghdad resident is quoted as saying.

Although the report confirms an improved security situation over the last few years, it questions the contribution of the “surge,” i.e. the deployment of U.S. military reinforcements in 2007. About half of those interviewed pointed instead to the U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi cities in 2009 as the major contributor to the improved security situation.

Many respondents see the increased skill and capacity of the Iraqi security forces as a positive factor, although a majority maintains concerns about their trustworthiness and independence. Another Baghdad resident quoted is worried about a lack of “educational aspects in the field of human rights and loyalty to the homeland” in the Iraqi security forces.

Respondents also express serious concerns about the credibility of Iraqi politicians, the “abominable state of public services” and the economy, and corruption. “The obscene opulence of some – and especially those on the payroll of political interests – is excessive,” says one interviewee in the report, “while the rate of wretched poverty in Iraq continues to pose a humanitarian problem.”

Tensions among ethnic and religious groups continue to threaten the country's stability. Many respondents also fear interference by neighboring states, particularly Iran.

In its conclusion, CPT Iraq makes clear recommendations. “In its waning days in Iraq, the U.S. should prioritize the Iraqi economy, reconciliation efforts, and a culture of accountability in the Iraqi security forces,” says Van Hoogstraten, stressing also the necessity of U.S. respect for Iraqi democratic sovereignty. “There's a lot that needs to be done that only Iraqis can do.”

Today: Love& Yaprakh

2010-08-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Through Yaprakh (Dolma), we support the displaced families.

Yaprakh (dolma) is a special food people share with friends. The families from Sulaimani brought yaqprakh to share with the displaced families in Zharawa. We wrapped their prayer into the yaprakh. Hoping Iran and Turkey will stop bombing the villages in Iraq.

له‌ كوی په‌یمان هه‌بێت مه‌رگه‌ساتی لی یه‌

2010-07-17T23:46:00.000-07:00

خالید قادر_هیڤار

پێشه‌كی:

به‌ناونیشانی "له‌ كوی په‌یمان هه‌بێت مه‌رگه‌ساتی لی یه‌" و به‌ تایتێڵی (تۆپباران و بۆردومانكردنكردنه‌كانی خه‌ڵكه‌كانی گوندنشینی باكووری هه‌رێمی كوردستان له‌ لایه‌ن نه‌ته‌وه‌كانی توركیا و ئیران له‌ئه‌ودیوو سنووره‌وه‌) رێكخراوی (CPT) تیمه‌كانی دروستكردنی ئاشتی مه‌سیحی له‌ عێراق، راپۆرتێكی گرنگ و پر بایه‌خ بڵاوده‌كاته‌وه‌. ئه‌و راپۆرته‌ به‌شێواز و داتایه‌كی وردی زانستی و چیرۆكی خێزانه‌ ئاواره‌كان و كات و شوێنی تۆپبارانه‌كان و زیانه‌كانیان ده‌خاته‌ روو له‌گه‌ڵ ده‌رخستنی نه‌خشه‌ی سه‌رسنوره‌كانی هه‌رێمی كوردستان و دیاریكردنی بارود و خی خه‌ڵكه‌ گوندنشینه‌كان.

ئه‌م راپۆرته‌ بریتیه‌ له‌ 72 لاپه‌ره‌ و جگه‌ له‌ پێشه‌كی، له‌ 3 به‌شی سه‌ره‌كی پێكدێت كه‌ بریتین له‌:

یه‌كه‌م: هێرشه‌كانی سه‌ربازی ئه‌م دواییه‌ی توركی و ئێرانی بۆ سه‌ر سنوره‌كانی هه‌رێمی كوردستان، كانونی یه‌كه‌می 2007 بۆ كانونی یه‌كه‌می 2009.

دووه‌م: پێشێل كردنی یاساكانی نێوده‌وڵه‌تی.

سێیه‌م: پوخته‌یه‌ك له‌ مێژووی په‌یوه‌ندیه‌كانی كوردی عێراقی/توركی.

KudistanNet

لە كوێ پەیمان هەبێت، مەرگەساتی لێ یە

Video: Kuridsh farmers in Choman

2010-07-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Aram Jamal Sabir

2010-07-11T01:05:00.000-07:00

Aram Jamal Sabir, Sulaimaniyah
Executive Director
Kurdish Institute for Elections

Aram Jamal Sabir was glad to be interrupted from his work as Executive Director of the Kurdish Institute for Elections to talk with us about his passion for non-violence. He began to participate in non-violent trainings in 2004. He now teaches others about the topic.

"I can't tell you exactly when I started to believe in non-violence - sometime during all the wars and violence here," he said. "In the university I felt that violence could be used against the enemy. With time I saw that violence didn't change the situation."

Aram tried working with groups promoting non-violence, and educated himself. He saw documentary films about the subject, including one called, "A Force More Powerful". He showed the films to others and taught others what he had learned.

"In this part of Kurdistan there is so much violence," he said. "People try to fix their political problems through violence. Violence produces death and violence. Humans are not like animals - they can be non-violent. It doesn't mean there's no conflict. Non-violence is for fixing our problems. We can work through issues in our society."

At the annual day of awareness of violence against women, Aram joined with others in a public action. While other groups celebrated, Aram's group covered their mouths with tape. There is still too much violence against women, and it's not time to celebrate, or speak of accomplishments.

"The difference between violence and non-violence is that with violence, both parties lose," he explained. "With non-violence both parties win. You can persuade your enemy to believe in it. We aren't against people, but against situations. In any person there is some humanity. Non-violence tries to develop the 'bad' part of a person along more human lines."

Aram paraphrases a quote by Gandhi: "It doesn't take courage to befriend people who like us. It takes courage to befriend people who don't like us."

Aram believes that it is most important to have non-violence programs in the education system. That brings it into children's lives, which will bring it into the culture in the future. At the last elections there emerged an opposition group that doesn't want to use violence. Aram believes that non-violence is growing in the culture. He feels there's an unwritten agreement between all political parties that violence will not lead to success. Now only the authorities use violence. Aram's dream is for a different way of using power - that people in authority wouldn't see themselves as better than others.

خالد قادر محمد

2010-06-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

خالد قادر محمد
بەڕێوەبەری سەنتەری لاوانی رانیە

كاتێك كەسێك دەڕوانێتە چاوەكانی (خالد قادر محمد)، هیچی تر زیاتر لەئاگری سۆز‌و خۆشەویستی بۆ خەڵكەكەی نابینیت. كاتێك كەسێك گوێی لە چیرۆكەكەی دەبێت، ئەو كەسە سەرسوڕماو دەبێت لەوەی كە چۆن ئەو سۆز‌و خۆشەویستییەی هەرگیز بەهۆی ئەو ئێش‌وئازار‌و توندوتیژییەی كە دژ بە خۆی‌و میللەتی كورد كراوە نەكوژاوەتەوە.

ناوبراو لەساڵی 1975 لەشاری رانیە لەدایكبووە‌و گەورەترینی (11) براو خووشكە. تەنها چەند یادگارییەكی كەمی منداڵی لەبیرماوە. "ئەو نەوەیەی كە منی تیایدا لەدایكبووم لەكاتێكی سیاسی ناهەمواردا هاتۆتەكایەوە. لەسایەی حوكمی رژێمی بەعسدا ژمارەیەكی زۆری كورد كوژراون‌و ئازاردراون‌و گیراون‌و سەرنگوومكراون." "لەبەر ئەوەی من گەورەترینی ماڵەوە بووم، دەبوایە من لێپرسراوبم لە خوشك‌و براكانم، بەتایبەتی لەو كاتەوەی كە باوكم نەخۆشكەوت لەو كاتەی كە من هێشتا گەنج بووم." "هەوڵمدا كە فێریان بكەن‌و من خۆم خوێندنم جێهێشت لەپێناو پەیداكردنی پارە بۆ خێزانەكەم. هەستام بە فرۆشتنی جگەرە لەسەر عەرەبانەی دەستی لەناو بازاڕدا." "زۆرم حەز لەخوێندنەوە بوو، هەرچەندە ژمارەیەكی زۆر كەم كتێب بەزمانی كوردی هەبوون، بەڵام كتێب هەبوون كە بەزمانی عەرەبی نووسرابوون لەگەڵا ژمارەیەكی زۆری رۆژنامەی عەرەبی. هەتا بۆمكرا خەریكی خوێندنەوە دەبووم."

لەساڵی 1989دا، خالد بەجوانی ئەو رۆژەی بیر دێتەوە كە لەلاین رژێمی بەعسەوە دەستگیركرا. خالد‌و هاوڕێیەكی بەناوی عمر لەژێر هەڕەشەی چەكدا لەلایەن سەربازەكانی سەددامەوە بران بۆ یەكێك لە زیندانە بەدناوەكانی سەددام لەشاری كەركوك. "بەناو حەوت دەرگادا بردمیان بەرەو ژێزەمینی بەندینخانەكە‌و لەوێ‌ دۆزەخم بەچاوی خۆم بینی پاشان بردیانم بۆ بەغدا " خالد ساڵێكی تەمەنی خۆی لەو دۆزەخەدا بەسەربرد.

پاش سەری كەنداو خالد و بەشێكی زۆری زیندانیەكان لەبەندینخانە ئازادكران پاشان بەفەرمانێك داوایان لێكرا پەیوەندیی بەهێزی سەربازی بەعسەوە بكەن، بەڵام خالد خۆی لەچیاكاندا حەشاردا تا راپەڕینەكەی ساڵی 1991. خالد ئەو رۆژەی بیردێت كە راپەڕین دژی رژێمی سەددامی تیادا بەرپابوو لەشاری شاری رانیە. لە 5/3/1991 ژن‌و پیاوو منداڵا رژانە سەرشەقامەكان‌و ژیانی خۆیانیان دەستكەوتەوە. بۆ ماوەی مانگێك خەڵكی زۆر خۆشحاڵبوون‌و هەموو پێكەوە لەماڵەوە كۆببوونەوە. بەڵام كاتەكە زۆر كەمی خایاند كاتێك ناچاركران هەڵبێن لەپاش شكستهێنانی راپەڕینەكە.

خالد لەسەفەرێكی دوورودرێژدا بەرەو ئێران بەڕێ كەوت‌و لەڕێگا ژمارەیەكی زۆری خەڵكی بینی بەمردوویی. ژمارەیەكی زۆری خەڵكی پیر‌وپەككەوتەو منداڵا بەدرێژایی شەقامەكە لەملا‌و لەولا كەوتبوون‌و مردبوون.

لەپاش ئەوەی نەتەوە یەكگرتووەكان هەستا بەدامەزراندنی ناوچە دژەفڕینی باكوور، خالد‌و خێزانەكەی لەگەڵ زۆربەی ئەوخەڵكەی كە ئاوارەبوبوون گەڕانەوە. پاش چەند سالێك خالید زیاتر لە پێویستی دەستكەوتنی پارە دەبوایە شوێنی حەوانەوەو فێركردن بۆ لاوانی رانیە دابینبكات. بەكاركردن لەگەل گروپێكی لاوانی هونەرمەند، خالد داوای لە ksc كرد ‌و سەنتەری لاوانی رانیەی كردەوە كە "سەرەتا بەژوورێك دەستمانپێكرد‌و هەندێك كورسی‌و قەنەفەی شكاوی تێدابوو كە حكوومەتی پێی بەخشیبووین." سەرەتا بەكردنەوەی كۆرسێكی فێربوونی زمانی ئینگلیزیی پاشان بە كۆرسێكی فێربوونی دروومان دەستمانپێكرد." "پاشان كۆمپیوتەرێكمان دەستكەوت‌و پەنجا فێرخوازمان هەبوو بۆ فێربوونی بەرنامەی وێرد لەسەر ئەو تاكە كومپیوتەرە." لەپاشاندا خزمەتگوزاری ئەنتەرنێتیشمان دەستكەوت. مامۆستاكان خۆبەخشانە خزمەتیان دەكرد‌و كۆرسەكانیان دەوتەوە.

خالد ئێستا بەڕێوەبەری سەنتەری لاوانی رانیەیە‌و ئێستا ماوەی نۆ ساڵە لەو سەنتەرەدایە. سەنتەرەكە پۆلی هونەر‌و پرۆگرامی كۆمپیوتەر‌و مۆسیقا‌و وەرزشی هەیە. ئەم سەنتەرە سەربەخۆیی خۆی هەیە بەڵام لە لایەن رێكخراوێكی كوردیەوە بەناوی منداڵپارێزی كوردستان سەرپەرشتی ‌وهاوكاری دەكرێن . رۆژانە خزمەت بە نزیكەی 200 لاو دەگەێنێت. چاوەكانی خالد لەخۆشی‌و سەربەرزییدا دەبریقێنەوە كاتێك لاوەكان ئامادەدەبن لەسەنتەرەكەیدا.

خالد مێژووی خۆی دەزانێت‌و گرنگی لەیادنەكردنی ئەوەی خەڵكەكەی لەكوێوە هاتوون دەزانێت بۆ ئەوەی بتوانێت داهاتوویەكی باشتر دابینبكات. دەیەوێت ببینێت كە میللەتی كورد بۆی نەنووسراوە لەمێژوودا بسڕدرێتەوە.

هەروەها خالد هەوڵدەدات دەستی میللەتەكەی بگەێنێت بەدەستی كۆمەڵگەی نێودەوڵەتییەوە چونكە باوەڕی وایە كە ئێمە هەموو یەك خێزانین لەمرۆڤایەتیدا‌و پێویستمان بەوەیە كە پەیوەندییەكی مرۆڤانەی راستەقینە پێكەوەمان ببەستێتەوە. هێشتا كاتەكە ناهەموارە بۆ كوردەكان. "هێشتا چەند گروپێكی توندڕەو شۆڤینی هەن كە باوەڕیان وایە گەلی كورد هیچ مافێكی ژیانی نییە." خالد دەزانێت كە كوردەكان هێشتا شەڕێكیان لەبەردەمدایە بۆ مانەوەیان. "لەگەڵا ئەوەشدا، ئەم شەڕە بەچەك‌و تفاق ناكرێت، بەڵكو لەڕێی دۆزینەوە‌و بنیاتنانەوەی خۆمان دەبێت‌و گەنجەكانیش دەبێت هەڵگری ئەم مەشخەڵە بن."

خالد هاوڕێ‌و راوێژكارێكی مەزنی تیمەكانی رێكخراوەكەمانە بۆ بەدەنگەوە هاتن‌و یارمەتی دانی ئاوارەكانی تۆپبارانی بناری قەندیل. پەیوەندییەكەمان تا دێت بەهێزتر‌و قوڵتردەبێت. ئێستا دەستمان لەدەستی یەك ناوە‌و هیوادارین كە خێزانی مرۆڤایەتی بدۆزینەوەو بنیاتی بنێینەوە

Khalid Qadir Mohammed, Rania

2010-06-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

Khalid Qadir Mohammed

Rania Youth Center Director
by Michele Naar Obed

When one looks into the eyes of Khalid Qadir Mohammed, one can't help but see the fire of passion and love for his people. When one hears his story, one can't help but be amazed that this passion and love has never been extinguished by the pain and violence that he and the Kurdish people have endured.

Born in 1975 in the city of Rania, Khalid is the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters. He has few childhood memories. “My generation was born into a troubled political time. Under the Ba'athist party, many Kurds were murdered, hurt, arrested and disappeared”. “Because I am the oldest, I was responsible for my brothers and sisters especially since my father became ill while I was still young”. “I tried to educate them and I left school to make money for my family by selling cigarettes from a cart in the bazaar” “I loved to read even though there were few books written in Kurdish but there were books written in Arabic and many Arabic newspapers and I read as much as I could”.

In 1989, Khalid vividly recalled the day he was arrested by the Ba'ath regime. Finding solace in the mountains in an area alive with trees and greenery, Khalid and his friend Omer were abducted at gunpoint by Saddam's soldiers and taken to two different prisons; first in Kirkuk then in Baghdad. “I was taken through 7 doors into the basement of the prison and there I saw hell”. Khalid spent one year of his life in this hell.

Released from prison with an order to join the Ba'athist military, Khalid hid in the mountains until the day of the 1991 uprising. Khalid recalled the day that the uprising against Saddam's regime took place in Rania. On March 5, men, women and children took to the streets and took back their lives. For one month, the people were happy and at home with their families. This time was short lived as they were forced to flee when the uprising failed.

Khalid made the long trek towards Iran where he saw many people die along the way. Many old people, and children, the two most vulnerable groups froze to death along the way.

After the UN established the “northern no-fly zone, Khalid and his family, along with many others returned to Rania. Determined to do more than just make money, Khalid saw the need to provide a safe haven and education for the youth of Rania. Working with a group of young artists, Khalid started the Rania Youth Center with the support of Kurdistan Save the Children. “We started out with one room and some broken down furniture that the government donated to us”. “We started one English language course and then a course in tailoring”. “Then we got one computer and we had 50 students learning Word Program on that one computer”. Eventually, Internet services became available. Teachers volunteered their services and taught other courses.

Khalid is now the director of the Rania Youth Center and has been with the Center for 9 years. The Center offers fine arts classes, computer programing, music and sports. It has a library and puts out a weekly newspaper. It serves about 200 youth each day. Khalid's eyes sparkle with joy and pride when he is in the presence of the young people.

Khalid knows his history and recognizes the importance of remembering where his people came from in order to make a better future. He is determined to see to it that the Kurdish people will not be erased from history.

Khalid is also trying to connect the hands of his people to the hands of the international community because he believes that we are all one human family and we need to have real human relationships with other. These are still uncertain times for the Kurds. “There are still extremist groups that believe the Kurdish people have no right to live”. Khalid knows that the Kurds still have a fight on their hands for their very existence. “However, this fight will not be with guns or weapons. This fight will be through discovering ourselves and rebuilding and the youth should be leading the way”.

Khalid has been a great friend and advisor to CPT regarding the work with village IDPs from the Qandil district. Our relationship grows stronger and deeper. Our hands are joined now and together we hope to discover and rebuild the human family.

رستەیەكی دووبارەكراوەی بێ هیوا

2010-06-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

داواكارییەكی بەپەلە لەناو ئاوارەكانی كامپی مەخمووردا دەنگیدایەوە، لەوانەی كە رێكخراوی (CPT) بەمدواییە چاوپێكەوتنی لەگەڵدا كردبوون. "ئێمە تەنها ئاشتیمان دەوێت." چاومان بەنزیكەی (30) ئەندامی خێزان كەوت لەشاندی ئاشتی كامپەكە، ئاماژەیەكی نیازپاكی بوو بەرامبەر بەوەی كە پێی دەوترا "سیاسەتی كرانەوەی" توركیا بەرامبەر بە مەسەلەی كوردی لەمانگی تشرینی یەكەمی رابردوودا. لەپاش ئەوەی نزیكەی یەك ملیۆن كەس پێشوازییان لە شاندە بیست‌و شەش ئەندامییەكە كرد، لەگەڵا (8) هەشت ئەندامی (PKK)دا، لەكاتی گەڕانەوەیاندا بۆ كوردستانی باكوور (باشووری توركیا)، دەستبەجێ‌ دەستگیركران‌و پاشان ئازادكران بەڵام لەژێر چاودێریدا‌و ئێستا توركیا حوكمی پازدە ساڵی بەسەر هەریەكەیاندا دەسەپێنێت. ئەندامانی خێزانەكان لەهەموو تەمەنێك بوون، ژن‌و پیاو، ‌وهەر كەسێك بیویستایە قسەبكات دەرفەتی دەدرایە. ئەوە بەڵگەبوو لەسەر ئەوەی پەیوەندییەكانی ناو كامپەكە چۆن كاری دەكرد.

"ئێمە دەمانزانی كە لەوانەیە دەستگیربكرێن یان بكوژرێن." یەكێك لە كوڕە گەنجەكان، كە باوكی ئەندامێكی شاندی ئاشتی بوو، پێی وتین. پیاوێكی بەتەمەنتر، كە چاوەكانی پڕبوون لەفرمێسك، وتی "ئێمە بەدەست جەنگی توركیای دژ بەئێمە ماندووبووین." ئافرەتێكیش ئەم پرسیارەی كرد "ئایا داواكردنی ئێمە بۆ مافە سەرەتاییە مرۆڤایەتیەكانمان شتێكی زۆرە؟".
لەو تۆمەتانەی كە ئاراستەی ئەندامانی شاندی ئاشتییەكە كرابوون بریتیبوون لە "بڵاوكردنەوەی پروپاگەندە بۆ رێكخراوێكی نایاسایی"‌و "بەشان‌وباڵهەڵدانی تاوان‌و تاوانكاران"دا. پێدەچێت لەسایەی سیستەمی یاسایی توركیدا كە هەركەسێك داوای كەرامەت‌و مافەكانی خۆی بكات ئەوا بە هەڕەشە بۆ سەر دەوڵەت دەژمێردرێت. لەڕاستیدا، قایمقامی شاری (سِعِرْد)، سەلیم صادق، بەم دواییە بەتۆمەتی بەكارهێنانی ووشەی "كوردستان" لەلێدوانێكی رۆژنامەوانیدا بە ساڵێك‌و دە مانگ زیندانی تاوانباركرا گوایە هەستاوە بە پڕوپاگەندەكردن لەبەرژەوەندی پارتی كرێكارانی كوردستان (PKK)
بڕوانە
[http://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/121608-1-year-and-10-months-in-jail-for-mayor-selim-sadak]

لەلێدوانێكی گروپەكەدا وتیان "بەحكومەتەكانتان بڵێن كە پشتگیرییان بۆ توركیا رابگرن." جەنگی بێدەنگی حكومەتی توركیا دژی كوردەكان زیادەڕەوی زۆری تێداكرا. "ئێمە تەنها ئاشتیمان دەوێت،" زۆر بەڕاشكاوانە بەئێمەیان ووت‌و بێزاربوون لەو تۆمەتانەی كە هەژدە ساڵا لەمەوبە لەماڵەكانیان دەربەدەریكردن.

لەمانگی شوباتی ئەم ساڵدا، پارێزەر (ئیبراهیم بیلمەز) لەزاری بریكاردەرەكەیەوە (عبدالله ئۆچالان) لە كۆنفرانسی شەشەمی نێودەوڵەتییدا سەبارەت بە یەكێتی ئەوروپا‌و توركیا‌و كورددا وتی "ئەوەی ئامانجی ئێمەبوو لەگەڵا گەیشتی گروپەكانی ئاشتی بریتیبوو لە نیشاندانی ئەوەی سەرەڕای هەموو ئێش‌وئازارەكانیان بەڵام كوردەكان هێشتا ئامادەن بۆ ئاشتی... بەڵام ئەمە پشتگوێخرا. دەوڵەت هیچ رێزگرتنێكی نییە لێرە. جەنگێك لەئارادایە‌و خەڵكی دەمرن، پیاوانی دەوڵەت پێویستیان بەوەیە بۆ ئاشتی ئامادەبن وەك چۆن هەمیشە بۆ جەنگ ئامادەن."

لەدەرەوەی ئەو باڵەخانەیەی كە ئێمە چاوپێكەوتنمان تێداكرد، پەیكەری ئافرەتێكی لێبوو كە منداڵێكی بەباوەشەوەبوو. كاتێك كە پرسیارمان دەربارەی ئەو واتایەكرد كە ئەو پەیكەرە دەیبەخشێت، پێیان وتین "لەكاتی هەڵهاتنیان لەدەست سوپای توركیا كیانیان لەدەستداوە. ئێمە پێش هاتنمان بۆ ناوچەی مەخموور هەوڵمانداوە لەشەش جێگەی دیكەدا بمێنینەوە. وەرزەكە وەرزی زستان بوو، وخەڵكێكی زۆر لەسەرما رەقبوونەوەو لەڕێگا مردن."

با هەموو ئەوانەی لەناو حكوومەتی توركیادان‌و هەموومان پێكەوە گوێ‌ لەو رستەیە بگرین كە هەمیشە دووبارە دەكرێتەوە "ئێمە تەنها ئاشتیمان دەوێت." با پێكەوە هەموو شتێكمان بخەینە مەترسییەوە، وەك ئەوەی شاندی ئاشتی كامپی مەخموور كردی، تەنها لەپێناوی دادپەروەری‌و كەرامەتدا

A Desperate Refrain

2010-06-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

A Desperate Refrain
June 13, 2010
By Zach Selekman

An urgent plea echoed among those of the Makhmur refugee camp with
whom CPT met with recently, “We just want peace.” We met with nearly
thirty family members of the camp’s peace delegation, a good faith
gesture toward the Turkish Government’s supposed “opening up” of the
“Kurdish issue” last October. After at least one million people
welcomed the twenty-six-member delegation, along with eight PKK
members, back to northern Kurdistan (southeastern Turkey), they were
detained, released, under surveillance, and now Turkey is sentencing
each of them to fifteen years imprisonment. The family members were of
all ages, male and female, and everyone who wanted to speak was given
the opportunity. It was a testament to how relations in the camp
function.

“We knew that they might be arrested or killed,” one young man told
us, whose father is a member of the peace delegation. An older man,
who had tears in his eyes as he was sharing said, “We are tired of
Turkey’s war against us.” One woman asked, “Is it too much to ask for
our basic human rights?”

Among the charges against the members of the peace delegation are
“spreading propaganda for an illegal organization” and “praising crime
and criminals.” It seems that under the Turkish legal system that any
plea for dignity or rights is a threat to the state. In fact, Mayor
Selim Sadak of Siirt was recently sentenced to 1 year and 10 months
for using the term “Kurdistan” to a journalist, an act that earned him
the charge of “spreading propaganda for the PKK.”
[http://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/121608-1-year-and-10-months-in-jail-for-mayor-selim-sadak]

“Tell your governments to stop their support of Turkey,” the group
said. The Turkish Government’s silent war against the Kurds has gone
on long enough. “We just want peace,” they told us, clearly tired of
the persecution that drove them from their homes 18 years ago.

In February of this year, lawyer Ibrahim Bilmez quoted his client
Abdullah Öcalan at the 6th International Conference on EU, Turkey and
the Kurds, saying, “What we aimed for with the arrival of the Peace
Groups was to show that despite all their suffering the Kurds were
ready for peace… This was disregarded. The State has no
respectability here. There is a war and humans are dying, Statesmen
need to prepare for peace like they prepare for war.”

Outside of the building in which we met, there was a statue of a woman
carrying a baby. When we asked about the statue’s meaning we were
told, “they died while fleeing from the Turkish army. We tried to stay
in six places before Makhmur. It was winter and many people froze,
dying on the way.”

May those in the Turkish Government, and all of us, listen to the
desperate refrain, “We just want peace.” May we be willing to risk
everything, as the Makhmur camp’s peace delegation did, for justice
and dignity.

Border lives: Zharawa- Dignity

2010-06-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

From Zharawa: displaced people

Casualties without End

In December 5, 2008, there were still families in Prde Hazwa. CPT sat with a group of elders to listen to their accounts of their situation. Around 12:30 p.m., shelling occurred and CPTers could hear the explosions. The elders concluded that shelling was getting close to the camp, with some explosions as close as a ten-minute walk from the camp. Around 2:0 p.m., there was more shelling. Not far from the camp, a shepherd was injured and his sheep were killed.

The day after the shelling, December 6, the PUK party media website confirmed the attack from Iran but did not mention the civilian injury or loss: “Heavy Iranian shelling against Kurdistan region border areas is ongoing since late Friday . . . PUK Media correspondent reported on the scene. Iranian shellings targeted the Razgai, Shnawa, Maradu, Arkai, and Pshty Basta areas in the Zharawa subdistrict of Pshdar district within Suleimaniya province. The Iranian bombings, which inflicted heavy damages to the border areas, caused panic among the local citizens.”

CPT interviewed Mr. Khalid, a shepherd: “It was in Razgai. I was at Japamo. I was away from the village and I took the sheep to Japamo. They sent three shells that hit the cattle while I was with the sheep . . . I was hurt . . . the piece of shrapnel is still in my back . . . I lost many sheep that day, more than forty . . .”
During the interview, one gentleman told CPT that Mr. Khalid's children were with him. They were waiting for an ewe to give birth which was a very good thing for the farmers. But they didn’t know that they “would go home empty and with an injured father.”

A few days after CPT’s December visit, families who were still able to afford a small house in Zharawa town took in the remaining families.

The KRG announced an agreement with Iran to stop shelling civilian populated villages:

(18 February 2009) Nazum Omer al-Dabbagh, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative in Tehran, told PUK Media website today February 18th, 2009 'two meetings were held between the officials of Kurdistan region and Iran, where the tensions in the border areas due to the bombardment were discussed . . . Both sides reached an agreement to stop the Iranian bombardment on the border villages between Kurdistan region and Iran', he added. Al-Dabbagh also said 'the agreement became active in February 14th, 2009. According to the agreement, the Iranian artillery will avoid bombing the villages and populated areas. The villagers, who had left their villages, can now return to their homes.'

In the wake of this announcement, some IDPs returned home to their villages, including Mr. Ali Ahmed, his wife and their one and one-half-year-old son Mohammed, to their home in Razgai. On the evening of March 10, 2009, Mr. Ali, and his wife were in bed with baby Mohammad asleep between them. At 9 p.m., a rocket came through the roof of their house. A piece of the rocket broke off and hit the baby in the head. According to Mr. Ali, “Mohammed never woke up.” Both Mr. Ali and his wife were injured and burned.

Farmers’ Dignity

“I don’t want to go back to see my home and orchard because I can’t do anything for them. I will feel sad to see them.”

“We brought lives back to the villages that Saddam destroyed . . . The people of the village were hospitable and generous. We shared assets with each other and took care of those that were poor. During the time of the sanctions, we shared assets with the people in the nearby cities who were suffering. The people were united and worked together.”

Sitting with a group of women in Prde Hazwa, CPTers listened to their comments: “My village was like a capital city to me. …Before the bombing our lives were very happy, taking care of our animals . . . When the first bombs came I didn't want to leave the village.”

The people brought materials from cities to rebuild their houses, electricity, water systems (both for home and irrigation), gardens, orchards of apricots, figs, walnuts, pears, and daraban (local chewing gum). They devoted themselves to make a paradise: nice shade for the summer, a spring for water, a piece of green to revive lives, and a house to keep the cold winter outside. The villagers shared their wealth with people in need, the poor, or the people of the cities whose lives were devastated by the sanctions imposed on Iraq.

Even though their livelihoods have been destroyed, the villagers do not seek restoration of their losses. They simply want to return home.

Border lives: Zharawa- Lost

2010-06-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

From Zharawa: displaced people

“Razgai Village had more than 400 cows. Some died in attacks. The rest we sold very cheap. ” “We can’t go back to harvest and we lost our products.” “We could not have animals because someone owned the land (Prde Hazwa camp). In a short time everyone sold [their] animals at cheap prices. Many animals were left to predators in the villages.” “ Farm was burned, animals were lost.” “Some people moved back because they have no choice. They depend on animals but they put their lives at risk.”

The attacks from Turkey and Iran have caused substantial losses for the villagers. They cannot harvest their products because of the bombings and shellings during harvest time. Their farms and orchards were either burned or dried out because the irrigation system was destroyed. Many of the villagers also had to abandon their cows and sheep in the mountains. Mr. Soran from Shnawa village told us that he didn’t know how many animals his family has lost: the sheep might be lost, or attacked by wild animals or killed by the Iranian shelling.

Although the IDPs receive material aid from charity groups, they still risk their lives to go home to check on their animals. Ms. Amira told CPT that men usually stayed in the cave while the other family members were sheltered in Pdre Hazwa.

Villagers also sold many animals when they found shelter in the camps, as neither Prde Hazwa nor the UNHCR camp allowed them to bring their animals with them. Many villagers told CPT they had sold their animals at a substantial loss because they had no place for grazing and because of their pressing need for sustenance. The village people have not merely relied upon material aid from charity groups. They have spent the money they saved from the past, and in many cases, sold their animals, which for them, means that they have liquidated all of their assets in order to survive.

For aiding the victims of Turkish and Iranian bombing, the Iraqi government had budgeted each family 1,000,000ID ($847USD) in 2008. But every family in Zharawa only received 450,000 ID ($381USD) in November. The rest of the money disappeared into the bureaucratic system. The financial help from their government has not been enough, in light of what they have lost and continue to lose.

From Four seasons

Physical and Psychological IDP Effects

Shifting from the mountains to town, from a creek to a barren land, has taken its toll. Government agency visits and material aid from charity groups do not prevent people from suffering physical and psychological damage.

"It’s so hot.”. . . “We cannot eat or sleep because of the heat.". . . “There is no clean water.”. . . “We are scared that we will get sick." Ms. Amira, the camp nurse, reported that many of the children had gotten sick with intestinal illnesses.

Mr. Jalal, who teaches Arabic, said that because of the hardships and stopping and starting their schooling, the children will be stunted emotionally as well as academically.

“UNHCR had a policy of 'less eligibility', to ensure that IDPs would not stay longer than necessary.”

“There are many people sick because of heat, dust, and unclean water; [there are] many types of illness and insects. We have to buy clean water for children. Many adults get sick by drinking from [the] creek. Water is a big issue now. The water system built by ICRC is not working because the spring is dried out.”

But moving into a newly built UN camp did not solve the problems and thus did not alleviate the fear and stress of the villagers.

People were still worried about no clean water, no electricity, no shade, and not enough tents. Many families cannot afford the cost of being sick.

Comparing the two locations, CPT concluded that living conditions in the UN camp are even more difficult than at the first camp at Prde Hazwa. The sad irony is that conditions for the villagers are deteriorating, rather than improving, with international intervention.

On the psychological side, the struggle to maintain dignity and the loss of self- sustainability have led to feelings of disappointment. The IDPs were self-sustaining people before but have had to watch themselves lose that ability.

"We used to be busy—helping our parents and going to school… Girls and boys did the same work—at home and at school…but now, there is nothing to do."

“The life was nice, beautiful. There were water and electricity. We had farm and sheep. We were able to support ourselves. … My family is not doing anything now. We are living off money from selling animals.”

In 2008, with every visit, CPT found that the villagers struggled to show their best to their guests. When CPT began visiting during the hot summer, the hospitality of iced water and hot tea and sugar were always extended by the villagers, who, in 2008 would apologize for not being able to invite visiting CPTers to lunch. Then in the summer of 2009, the villagers would apologize for not being able to even offer clean cold water.

During one visit in 2009, the ICRC arrived with food rations. Most people hurried from their tents to pick up their rations, but one man stayed in the tent to continue the conversation and said, “What you are seeing is not who we once were. We had a life of dignity. Now we run for handouts to survive.”

This comment was echoed by many villagers: they used to have gardens, orchards, animals, clean water, electricity, and nice rugs in their villages. They were proud to have rebuilt their villages with their own hands after 1991.
One time, after staying in Prde Hazwa for eight months, one old woman came out from a tent and greeted CPT. The woman felt shame because she was not in her home and thus was unable to adorn herself with her best clothing and to prepare a feast for her guests, as she could do from her own home; now she had nothing to offer.

Mr. Dahfer also shared his concerns about the older people, “ . . . many of the older people are in psychological despair . . . people compare past and now, living under these pressures. It is bad for [their] health.”

We saw people sitting in tents, watching the barren land around them. This was not their home. They could do nothing. They were not the same confident and joyful people who marched home and rebuilt their villages in Saddam’s time.

Border lives: Zharawa- Displaced

2010-06-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

In December 2007, a wave of Turkish attacks took place in the border area with Iran, resulting in large numbers of IDPs in the Suleimaniya Governorate. On January 3, 2008, a local officer in Pshdar District reported that “up to 400 families left the 34 villages” during the December 2007 attacks.

In Pshdar, Mr. Namo reported, "PKK are not in the villages…. They are in the mountains. Nobody, not Iraq, Iran, or Turkey can get to them…. [yet] the mountains were not attacked, only the villages.”

Below is a story of 120 IDP families in the mountain area of Zharawa subdistrict, Suleimaniya Governorate fleeing from bombing and subsequently being access to their properties.

A local officer said, “This area is not stable. There is often bombing from both Turkey and Iran.”

On March 13, 2008, Iran shelled the mountain area of Zharawa, which included the villages of Arkai Khwaru, Arkai Saru, Basta, Maradu, Razgai Khwaru, Razgai Saru, Shnawa, Spi Gla, Spi Iagla , and Swragla. The attack lasted for nineteen days. One hundred and thirty-two families were displaced from those villages and relocated to a valley near the town of Zharawa in the Suleimaniya governorate. The last time they had fled from home was December 2007, due to Turkish bombing. Turkey and Iran justified their military actions, claiming they were directed against the PKK and PJAK.

Residents of the villages have endured Turkish and Iranian assaults for years. The villagers designed a pattern for survival. But the pattern changed when the U.S. started sharing intelligence with Turkey, as was reported in the New York Times in late 2007: "[t]he United States has begun to share real-time intelligence with Turkey to assist in its efforts to track down separatist, Kurdish rebels hiding in Northern Iraq."

According to a local official, in December 2007 Iran and Turkey began heavy and unpredictable shelling and bombing respectively. From 2007 until the present, over 500 families from 70 different villages have been displaced. One hundred and twenty families were from Zharawa sub-district. People in the area say the last time their situation was this bad was before 1991 under the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Prde Hazwa Camp (April 2008—December 2009) and
UNHCR IDP Camp Period (April 2009—Present)

CPT began visiting the IDP camp in Zharawa district on July 1, 2008. The IDPs were in Prde Hazwa until December of 2008. In April of 2009 they moved to another location between the towns of Zharawa and Sangasar, where UNHCR built an IDP camp. The second camp is referred to in this section as “UNHCR IDP Camp” or “UN Camp”.

The Prde Hazwa IDP Camp was 6 km from the town of Zharawa. The drive took 30 minutes, most of it on an unpaved road. Several kilometers out there was a high security checkpoint at the beginning of the ascent into the mountains. The camp was located in a large valley.

From Zharawa: displaced people

Prde Hazwa was built in April 2008 and accommodated 132 families. In September, a creek within the camp flooded, destroying four tents. With the onset of winter, survival in the tents became impossible.

Because they saw no chance of returning to their homes or surviving in tents, the families decided to rent houses in Zharawa. One woman told us she had two other families living with her; it was too crowded but people were not able to afford to live separately. She wished the UN camp could be finished as soon as possible.

The second camp, the “UN Camp” is located between the towns of Sangasar and Zharawa on a barren plane lacking trees and water. UNHCR, via the NGO contractor, Qandil, erected 45 tents for the 132 families there. Facing summer at the camp with no shade or electricity, overcrowding, and temperatures between 100 – 118° F. (38—48°C) in the summer, many families opted to move between town, their village, and the camp. The villagers risked taking their children back to the villages in the heat of summer, but the adults generally remained in the camp for fear of being dropped from the official IDP list.

From Zharawa: displaced people

ژیانی كوندەكانی كوردستانی عێراق: كانی ماسی

2010-03-14T00:47:00.000-08:00


From Turkish Military Base,Kani Mase area

"ئێمە كەسمان ناوێت لێرە چاودێری هەموو شتێك بكات ئێمە دەیكەن. دەمانەوێت بتوانین ئازاد بین بچینە هەر گوندێك، بە بێ ترس. ئێستا، ئەگەر ئاژەڵێك جیابێتەوە لەوانی دیكە، جوتیارەكان ئازاد نین بچن بگەڕێن بەدوایاندا. ئەگەر بچن، هێزی سوپای توركی لەوانەیە تەقەیان لێبكات."

لە كانی ماسی، كاك نادر بە ڕێكخراوی ووت: "توركەكان بنكەكانیان لە نزیك شارەكە لە 1996ەوە دامەزراند. توركیا ئێستا بەردەوام بۆردومان و تۆپ بارانی چوار گوندی خۆجێیی كردوە – دوانی مەسیحیەكان و دوانی موسڵمانەكان."

توركیا بۆردومان و تۆپ بارانی گوندی سەردەشتی مەسیحی كرد لە ماوەی 3-10ی كانونی یەكەمی 2008. تەنها نۆ خێزان ماونەتەوە لە ناو گوندەكە، هەرچەندە پەنجای دیكە گەڕاونەتەوە بۆ وەرزی دورینەوە لە هاویندا.

گوندی كارا، لەو لایەی دیكەی چیاكە لە سەردەشتی، لە ساڵی 1997ەوە دروستكرایەوە، بەڵام لە ساڵی 2000 چۆڵكرایەوە لەسەر حسابی بۆمبارانی توركی. دایكی خێزانێك بە ڕێكخراوی ووت: "ئێمە گەنم، جۆ، مەڕ، مانگا، دار، هەموو شتێكمان هەبوو... هەروەكو ئەنفال وابوو. ئێمە هەر یەكسەر هەڵهاتین. ئێمە زۆر ئەترسین."

گوندی هێلوەی موسڵمان لە سەردەشتی دیارە. هێلوە چۆڵكرا هەر كە مەخفەردەرەوەی توركیا لەسەر چیاكە لەسەریەوە جێگیركرا.

یەكماڵە گوندێكی موسڵمانە. هەموو دانیشتوانەكەی چۆڵیانكردوە لەسەر حسابی بۆمباران، و تۆپ باران لە بنكەی توركی نزیك لەو ناوە. یەك جوتیار هەموو 10-15 ڕۆژ جارێك دەگەڕێتەوە بۆ بژاركردنی باخەكەی و پاككردنەوەی دارەكانی میوەی خۆی. لە كۆی 150 خێزانی پێشتر لەو گوندە دەژیان، 20-30 كەس ناوبەناو دەگەڕێنەوە ئیش لە زەویەكانیان دەكەن.

گوندی مێركەجیای مەسیحی تەنیشت یەكماڵەیە. كاك عەلی بە ڕێكخراوی ووت: "ئەم گوندە سێجار هێرشی كراوەتە سەر لە 1994 بۆ 1996. سوپای توركی هاتنە ئێرە بۆ سەر ماڵەكەی ئێمە لە 1994، براكەمیان برد و ئازاریاندا. قۆڵیان شكاند و كیسەیەكی نایلۆنیان كرد بەسەریدا بۆ ئەوەی بیخنكێنن... دواتر ڕایكرد بەڵام لەو كاتەوە ناساغە."

دوای 1996، خەڵك دوبارە گوندەكەیان دروستكردەوە و 200 خێزان هاتنەوە ماڵەكانی خۆیا هەتاكو زستانی 2007، كاتێك توركیا هێرشەكانی دەستپێكردەوە. هەر 200 خێزانەكە ماڵەكانیان چۆڵ كردەوە و سیانزە پیاو ماونەتەوە ئاگایان لە موڵكەكان بێت.
لە تروانیش، ڕێكخراوی تەنها چاوی كەوت بە وێرانە. كاك داراوە، ڕێبەرێكی خۆجێیی، ووتی كە گوندەكە لە 1998 بە سەختی هێرشی كراوەتەسەر. دەستیشی ڕاكێشا بۆ مەخفەرە سەربازەیەكەی توركی لەو نزیكانە و ووتی مەخفەرەكە چاودێری جموجمۆڵی مرۆڤەكان دەكات.

لە 25ی نیسانی 2009، ڕێكخراوی سەردانی ئەم ناوچەیەی كردەوە. گوندشینەكان هێشتا بێزاربون لە بونی بنكەی توركی لە كانی ماسی. ئێستا، بەبێ تێبینی، سەربازەكانی توركی لە شەودا خاڵەكانی پشكنین لێدەدەن. لە بۆنەیەكدا لە زستانی 2006-2007، خێزانێك لە خاڵی پشكنینەكە ڕاگیرا بوو لە كاتێكدا خەریكی هێنانی ئەندام خێزانێكی ناساغ بون بیبەن بۆ خەستەخانە لە كانی ماسی. خێزانەكە زۆری بۆ هێنرا بوو پەیوەندی بە ئاسایشەوە، جیهازی ئاسایشی كوردی، بكات بۆ ئەوەی بەردەوام بێت لە چونەكەی بۆ خەستەخانە. لە بۆنەیەكی دیكەدا،تەقەمەنی دانرابوو لەسەر ڕێگەكەی دەچێت بۆ ناو گوندەكە. ئاسایش بانگ كران بەڵام نەیانتوانی بزانن كێ كەرەسەی تەقینەوەكەی داناوە. زنجیرەی ڕوداوەكە هەستێكی پڕ لە ترسی چاند لە نێو گوندنشینەكان، پێیانوابوو كە لەلایەن هێزەكەی توركیاوە چێنراوە.
قایمقامی كانی ماسی بۆچونێكی پێچەوانەی دەربڕی، ئەو پێیوابوو كە هێزەكانی توركی لە ناوچەكە كێشەیان نەناوەتەوە، هەروەها كە توركەكان تەنسیقی ئیشەكانی خۆیان لەگەڵا هێزی پێشمەرگە دەكەن و هەماهەنگن لەگەڵا حكومەتی هەرێمی كوردستان.

لە كوێ پەیمان هەبێت، مەرگەساتی لێ یە

From Kani Mase area

Border Lives: Kani Mase

2010-03-13T23:58:00.000-08:00


From Turkish Military Base,Kani Mase area

“We don't want anyone here watching everything we do. We want to be able to go to any village freely, without fear. Now, if an animal wanders off from the others, farmers don't feel free to go and look for them. If they do, the Turkish military might shoot at them.”

In Kani Mase, Mr. Nadir told CPT: “The Turks established bases nearby the town in 1996. Turkey has now regularly bombed and shelled four local villages – two Christian and two Muslim."

Turkey has bombed and shelled the Christian village of Sardashti during the period of December 3-10, 2008. Only nine families remain in the village, though a further fifty returned for harvesting in the summer.

The village of Kara, on the other side of the mountain from Sardashti, was rebuilt in 1997, but abandoned in 2000 on account of Turkish bombing. The mother of a family told CPT: “We used to have wheat, barley, sheep, cows, trees, everything . . . It was like the Anfal. We just fled. We are very afraid.”
The Muslim village of Helwa is visible from Sardashti. Helwa is abandoned because a Turkish outpost is positioned above it on top of the mountain.

Yakmala is a Muslim village. It was abandoned by all of its inhabitants because of bombing and shelling from a nearby Turkish base. One farmer returns every 10-15 days to cultivate his gardens and tend the fruit trees. Out of the 150 families formerly living in the village, 20-30 people return occasionally to work their land.

The Christian village of Merkagiya is next to Yakmala. Mr. Ali told CPT: “This village was attacked three times during 1994 to 1996. The Turkish army came here into our house in 1994, took and tortured my brother. They broke his arm and put a plastic bag over his head to suffocate him…later he escaped but he has been ill since then.”

After 1996, people rebuilt the village and it became home to 200 families until the winter of 2007, when Turkey resumed its attacks. The two hundred families left home and thirteen men stayed to take care of the property.

At Trwanish, CPT saw only ruins. Mr. Darwa, a local guide, said that the village was attacked heavily in 1998. He also pointed to a Turkish military outpost nearby and said the outpost monitors human movement.

On April 25, 2009, CPT revisited the Kani Mase area. Villagers remain upset by the presence of the Turkish base. Currently, without notice, Turkish soldiers erect checkpoints at night. On one occasion during the winter of 2006-2007, a family was stopped at the checkpoint while trying to bring a sick family member to the hospital in Kani Mase. The family was forced to call the Asaish, the Kurdish security police, in order to continue to the hospital. On another occasion, TNT was placed on the road leading to the village. The Asaish were called, but were unable to determine who planted the explosives. The episode instilled a great sense of fear in the villagers, who believed that it was planted by the Turkish military.

A contrary view was expressed by the Mayor of Kani Mase, who believes that the Turkish military in the region are not causing problems, that the Turks coordinate their activities with the Peshmerga and are on good terms with the KRG.

~CPT (2010) "Where there is a promise, there is a tragedy", p.20.
* download the English report at: www.cpt.org or docs.google.com

From Kani Mase area

ژیانی كوندەكانی كوردستانی عێراق: بامەڕنی

2010-03-13T23:34:00.000-08:00

From Turkish Base,barmane area

قەزای ئامێدی: شارۆچكەی بامەڕنی

بامەڕنی نزیكەی 24 كم (15میل) لە سنوری توركیاوە دورە. 29 گوندی لەسەرە بە 1.715 خێزان لە دەوروبەری بامەڕنی.

دوو بنكەی توركی لە دەرەوەی بامەڕنین: بنكەیەكی پچوك دانراوە لەسەر گردێك، هەر لە باشوری خۆرهەڵاتی شارۆچكەكە و بنكەیەكی بەرین دانراوە لەسەر ڕێگایەك بە دووری كەمتر لە نیوكیلۆمەتر لە باشوری خۆرهەڵاتی شارۆچكەكە. هەموو جموجۆڵێكی هاتووچون بۆ ناو و دەرەوەی بامەڕنی لەلایەن ئەم دوو بنكەیەوە چاودێری دەكرێت. هەردوو بنكەكە لە ساڵی 1996 دروستكران، لە ماوەی شەڕی ناوخۆ لە نێوان هەردوو حیزبە سەرەكیەكەی كوردی، بە ڕێگەی ڕیكەوتنێك لەگەڵا پارتی دیموكراتی كوردستان. گوندنشینێك ڕایگەیاند، "ڕێكەوتنەكە بەسەرچووە، بەڵام هێزە سەربازیەكەی توركیا پەسەندی ناكات چۆڵی بكات." سەرچاوەیەك ڕایدەگەینێت كە هێزەكەی توركیا موچەیەكی یەكجاری بە بڕی 300$ داوە بە هەریەك لە خاوەن موڵكەكان بۆ كرێ. ئەوان پەیمانیان دابوو هەموو ساڵێك 300$ بدەن، بەڵام هیچ موچەیەكی كرێ ی زۆرتر نەدراوە.

بنكەكانی سەربازی كاریگەریان هەبووە لەسەر خەڵكی ئاسایی لە بامەڕنی. هەراسان كردنیش بریتی بوون لە:
ساڵی دوو جار، هاوین و پایز پێش دورینەوە، سەربازەكانی توركی كێڵگەكانی چواردەوری بنكەكە بە ئاگری تانكەكان دەسوتێنن. تازەترین ڕوداو ڕویدابێت لە ماوەی چوار هەفتەی مانگی تشرینی یەكەمی 2009 بوو. نزیكەی 100 داری سێو و هەڵوژە لەلایەن هێزەكەی توركیاوە سوتێنرا.

سەربازەكانی توركیا تەقە لە جوتیاران دەكەن لەبەرئەوەی ماڵاتەكانیان دەهێننەوە زۆر نزیك دەبنەوە لە بنكەكە. كۆمەڵێك سەگی سەر بە هێزی توركیا بە ناوچەكەدا دەسوڕێنەوە. سەگەكان پەلاماری ئاژەڵەكانی جوتیارەكان دەدەن. لە ساڵی 2008، سەگەكان 10 سەر مەڕیان كوشت. سەگەكان زۆرجار بە درێژایی ئەو ڕێگەیە دەسوڕێنەوە منداڵانی پێدا تێپەڕ دەبن بۆ خوێندنگە.
هەموو ڕۆژێك هێزەكەی توركیا تانكەكان لێدەخوڕێ لە بنكەكەی خواروی شارۆچكەكە، بە درێژایی ڕێگە سەرەكیەكە بۆ ناو بنكەی چاودێری لەسەر گردەكە، خەڵكی دەتۆقێنن.

پیاوێكی مەسیحی ڕایگەیاند كە لە ماوەی بەهار یان هاوینی 2008، ژمارەیەك بۆمب تەقیونەتەوە لە نزیك ئانیشكی (گوندێكە لە نێوان بامەڕنی و ئامێدی)، و كە نزیكترین دانە لە دووری نزیكەی 200 مەتر لە گوندەكەوە كەوتوە. كاتێك تەقینەوەكە ڕویداوە هاوسەرەكەی لە ترسا بوراوەتەوە و ئەویش بردویەتی بۆ خەستەخانە

لە كوێ پەیمان هەبێت، مەرگەساتی لێ یە

From barmane area

Border lives: Bamarne

2010-03-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

From Turkish Base,barmane area

Amedi District: Bamarne

Bamarne is approximately 24km (15mile) from the Turkish border. There are 29 villages with 1,715 families around Bamarne.

Two Turkish bases stand outside Bamarne: a small base stands on a hill, just southwest of the town and a large base is located on a road less than half a kilometer southeast of the town. All traffic moving into and out of Bamarne is observed by these two bases. Both bases were established in 1996, during the civil war between the two main Kurdish parties, through an agreement with the KDP. A villager reported , “The agreement has expired, but the Turkish military refuses to leave." One source reports that the Turkish military gave the landlords a one-time payment of $300 each for rent. They promised to pay $300 every year, but no further rent payments have been forthcoming.

The Military bases have affected ordinary people in Bamarne. Harassments have included:

• Twice a year, summer and autumn before the harvest, Turkish soldiers burn the fields around the base using tank-fire. The most recent incident occurred during the fourth week of October 2009. About 100 apple and almond trees were incinerated by Turkish military.

• Turkish soldiers shoot at farmers retrieving animals near the base.

• Packs of dogs belonging to the Turkish military roam the area. The dogs attack animals belonging to farmers. In 2008, ten sheep were killed by the dogs. The dogs often roam along the way where the children walk to school.

• Every day the Turkish military drive tanks from the base below the town, along the main road to the observation base on the hill, frightening the people.

• A Christian man reported that during the spring or summer of 2008, a number of bombs exploded near Inishky (a village between Bamarne and Amedi), and that the closest one landed about 60 meters away from the village. His wife fainted out of fear when the explosion happened and he took her to the hospital.

~CPT (2010) "Where there is a promise, there is a tragedy", p.21.
* download the English report at: www.cpt.org or docs.google.com

From barmane area

ژیانی كوندەكانی كوردستانی عێراق: كانی سپی

2010-03-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

From Kanispi

چۆمان سنوری لەگەڵا ئێراندایە. سنوریشی لەگەڵا ناحیەكانی سەنگەسەر و ژاراوەش هەیە لە پارێزگای سولەیمانی. چیاكانی قەندیل لە مێژەوە شوێنی مانەوەی جوتیارەكانی كورد و داڵدەی چەكدارەكانی كورد بووە.

قەزای چۆمان 116 گوندی تێدایە. دانیشتوان نزیكە 28.000 دەبن. لێرە، تۆپ بارانی توركی لە كانونی یەكەمی 2007، كاریكردۆتەسەر 450 لە خێزانەكان.

لە 14ی شوباتی 2008، ڕێكخراوی CPTچاوی كەوت بە كاك ئیدریس لە شارۆچكەی چۆمان. ئەویش كەسێكی ئاوارەی ناوخۆیە لە گوندی كانی سپی و ئێستا دانیشتوی شارۆچكەیە. كاك ئیدریس ووتی كە كانی سپی كەتۆتە سەر زەویەكی بەراو لە ناو ووڵاتێكی شاخاوی نزیك لە سنوری ئێران. لە 2007 و 2008، موشەكەكانی ئێرانی ئامانجیان لە گوندەكە گرتبوو، ڕەشەووڵاخێكی زۆریان كوشت، ئاگریان بەردایە بەروبومەكان و منداڵانیان تۆقاند، بۆیە خێزانەكان ئێستا لە دوری 14كم لە چۆمانەوە گوزەران بەسەر دەبەن.

لە 23ی ئابی 2009، ئێران دەستیكرد بە تۆپ بارانكردن لە كاتژمێر 6ی پاش نیوەڕۆ هەتاكو نیوەشەوی ڕۆژی دواتر. تۆپ بارانكردنی ناوبەناو بۆ ماوەی 5 ڕۆژی دواتر بەردەوام ببوو. تۆپەكان لە هیچ بینایەكیان نەدابوو، بەڵام هەموو كێڵگەكانی ئەو چواردەورەیان تەنی بوو. لە 22ی تشرینی یەكەمی 2009، ڕێكخراوی CPTسەردانی كانی سپی كرد. كاك ئیدریس و هاوڕێكانی پاشماوەكانی دەرزەنێك موشەكی كۆكراوە لە تۆپ بارانی خەستیان پیشانی ڕێكخراوی CPTدا. ئەوانیش ڕونیان كردەوە كە بەروبومەكانیان فەوتاوە چونكە خۆیان لەوێ نەبون ئاویان بدەن. بەروبومی شیر پیس ببوو، و بە ئاستەنگ لە ئاژەڵەكاندا بوون. كەس ئازاری پێنەگەیشتبوو، بەڵام گوندنشینەكان تۆقاندبوو.

كاربەدەستێكی ناوخۆیی ڕایگەیاند كە زیان تەنها بەر جوتیارەكان نەكەوتووە، بەڵكو بەر تێكڕای كۆمەڵگە كەوتوە. "كاتێك خەڵك پێویستیان بوو ماڵەكان و گوندەكەی خۆیان چۆڵ بكەن، وازیان لە زەوی كشتوكاڵی، و هەنگەكان، و بێستانەكان، و گوێزەكان، و سەوزەواتەكان هێنا – هەموو بەروبومەكانی چەشنی چاك. ئەمە بووە هۆی ئەوەی كۆمەڵگە زۆرتر لەم بەروبومانە هاوردە بكات، كە زیان بە ئابوری دەگەیەنێت. ئەگەر بیانەوێ بگوێزنەوە ناو شار، زۆر جار ئیشیان دەست ناكەوێ و پێویستیان بە یارمەتی حكومەت دەبێ. ڕێژەی ئەو خێزانانەی ئاوارەببون لە ئاكامی تۆپ بارانەكان ساڵانە 15-20.000$ زیانیان لێدەكەوێت. كوردەكان بایی یەك تریلیۆن دۆلار زیانیان پێگەیشتوە لە (تۆپ بارانەكانەوە). تۆپ بارانەكان هەڕەشەش لە حكومەتی هەرێمی كوردستان دەكەن. توركیا و ئێران نایانەوێت (حكومەتی هەرێمی كوردستان) لە دۆخێكی جێگیردابێت، و ئەیانەوێ هێزی خۆیانی پیشان بدەن."

كاربەدەستەكە ووتیشی كە لە ناوچەی قەندیل، ئەو گوندانەی كەوتونەتەبەر تۆپ بارانكردن بریتین لە ئێنزا، و ڕازگەیی، و مارەدوو. ئەوانەی زۆرترین زیانیان بەركەوتووە بریتین لە وێزە، و كانی سپی، و ماران، و ئێنزا، و ماوەتاوا، و كۆدۆ، و لۆلان، هۆرنا، و دەربەند

"لە كوێ پەیمان هەبێت، مەرگەساتی لێ یە"

Border lives: Collective villages of Hardan

2010-03-11T01:27:00.000-08:00

From Hardan IDP village

The collective village of Hardan is close to the border of the Duhok governorate. It is made up of 450 IDP families from thirteen villages. This collective village was formed in December 1995 because of Turkish bombings. During the first two years people lived in tents and then in 1997 each family received six hundred concrete blocks and ten bags of cement with which to build their houses. According to local people, there was a lull in the Turkish attacks from 2003 to 2007. Bridges and roads were rebuilt in 2004, which allowed people to return to their homes to plant and rebuild. In February 2008, Turkey resumed bombing in the village areas and destroyed five bridges. People depended on these bridges to visit other villages as well as to bring their crops and animals to market. Their income came from farming and foraging.

~CPT (2010) "Where there is a promise, there is a tragedy", p.16.
* download the English report at: www.cpt.org or docs.google.com

From Hardan IDP village

Border Lives: Village Kani Spi

2010-03-11T01:17:00.000-08:00

From Kanispi

On February 14, 2008, CPT met Mr. Idris in the town of Choman. He is an IDP from the village of Kani Spi now living in town. Mr. Idris reported that Kani Spi is on fertile land in mountainous country close to the Iranian border. Iranian rockets targeted the village in 2007 and 2008, killing many cattle, setting fire to the crops and terrifying the children, so the families now live 14 km away in Choman.

On August 23, 2009, Iran started shelling from 6 p.m. until noon of the next day. Sporadic shelling continued for the next five days. The shelling hit no buildings, but it covered all of the surrounding fields. CPT visited Kani Spi on October 22, 2009. Mr. Idris and his friends showed CPT the remnants of a dozen rockets collected from the heavy shelling. They explained that their crops were lost because they weren’t there to water them. Milk products spoiled, and it was difficult on the animals. No one was hurt, but it was terrifying for the villagers.

A local official reported that loss was not only to the farmers, but also to the whole of society. “When people had to leave their homes and villages, they left agricultural land, bees, orchards, nuts, vegetables—all good quality products. This results in the society having to import more of these goods, which hurts the economy. If they need to move into town, they often find no work and need aid from the government. The average family displaced from the bombings loses $15—20,000 a year. The Kurds have lost a trillion dollars from [the bombings]. The bombings also threaten the KRG government. Turkey and Iran don't want [the KRG] to be stable, and want to show their power.”

The official also reported that in this Qandil area, the villages suffering the most bombing are Enza, Zargaly, Razgai, and Marado. Those with the most damage are Weza, Kani Spi, Maran, Enza, Mawatawa, Kodo, Lolan, Horna, and Darband.

~CPT (2010) "Where there is a promise, there is a tragedy", p.18.
* download the English report at: www.cpt.org or docs.google.com

From Kanispi

ژیانی كوندەكانی كوردستانی عێراق:داراو

2010-03-06T03:53:00.000-08:00

From Daraw in Sidakan

مەودای دوری گوندی داراو لە سنورەكانی توركیا و ئێرانەوە دوو بۆ سێ كاتژمێرە. ئەم ناوچەیە بەجێهێڵراوە بۆ گوندشینەكان، و پكك، و توركیا و ئێران. هیچ پارێزگاری كردنی نی یە لەلایەن حكومەتی هەرێمی كوردستانەوە.

چواردە خێزانی لێ یە لە گوندەكە ژیان دەبەنەسەر. گوندنشینەكان ڕایانگەیاند كە توركیا دەمێكە لە 1998 بۆمبارانی ماڵەكانی دەكات. یەك كەسی خەڵكی گوندەكە كوژراوە و چەندی دیكەش بریندار بون. بۆمباران كردنی گوندی داراو لە 15ی كانونی دووەمی 2008 دەستی پێكرد و خەڵكەكەشی ڕایانكردە ناو شارۆچكەی سیدیكان لەو ناوە. بەڵام دوای هەشت مانگ خێزانەكان گەڕانەوە ناو گوندی داراو چونكە سەرچاوەكانی دەرامەتیان گەیشتە كۆتایی و توانای كرێ دانیان نەبوو.

خەڵكانی ئەم گوندانە ڕوبەڕوی هەڕەشەكانی توركیا و ئێران دەبنەوە. بەپێ ی ووتەی مامۆستایەكی ناوخۆیی، كاك ئارارات، توركیا تۆپ بۆ ئێران دابین دەكات، كە ئەویش لەلای بەری ئێرانەوە دەیانتەقێنێت، "هەندێكیان چەشنی بۆمبی توركی بوون، نەك ئێرانی."

لە 18ی تەمموزی 2009، بۆمبارانی ئێرانی كاك عوسمانی گوندی ژیلیەی بریندار كرد. گەنجێكە لە بیستەكانی تەمەنیدایە و خوێندكارە. لە كاتێكدا خەریكی مانەوە بوو لە چیاكەی نزیك داراو تۆپ بارانەكە كاتژمێر 9ی پاش نیوەڕۆ دەستی پێكرد، لە كاتێكدا خەریكی بردنی ئاژەڵەكانی بوو دەیبردنە ئەوێ لە وەرزی هاویندا بۆ لەوەڕاندن. كاك عوسمان لە ملی و شانیدا بریندار بوو. برینەكانی بەردەوام ئازاری ئەدەن و بونەتە هۆی ڕاوەستاندنی لە خوێندن. باپیری عوسمان ڕایگەیاند كە جوتیارەكان وەرزی زاوزێ ی ئاژەڵەكانیان لە دەستچووە ئەمەش زیانێكی گەورە بوو بۆ جوتیارەكان. ئەو ووتی كە بایی 8000$ زیانی لێكەوتوە. ساڵی پار، سەرتاسەری خێزانەكان 240 سەر ئاژەڵیان هەبووە. ئەم ساڵ تەنها 200 سەریان هەیە، لە دەستدانی زۆرتر لە 40 سەر ئاژەڵا، كاتێك جەڵەبەكە بەشێوەیەكی ئاسایی پەروەردە دەبن، وەك لەوەی لە قەبارەیەكی هەمیشەییدا بمێننەوە، زاوزێ تازە بكەن.

ئامادە بون بۆ ڕاكردن بەشێكە لە ژیانی ئەوان. خاتوو هێرۆ ووتی كە خەڵكی ئێرە هەموو دەمێك ئامادەن ڕابكەن، "هەنگوینی باشم نەبوو بۆ كۆرپە نەخۆشەكەم، چونكە ئێمە شتەكانمان لە شوێنەكەی دیكە هەڵگرتوە، نەك لە ناو دێ، لە حاڵەتێكدا پێویستی كرد ڕۆژێك ڕابكەین." منداڵەكانیش هەمان بیركردنەوەیان هەیە. كاك ئارارات ووتی، "كاتێك گوێیان لە فڕۆكەیەك دەبێت، گرانە ئارامیان بكەیتەوە، منداڵەكان یەكسەر ڕادەكەنە دەرەوەی خوێندنگەكە و بەرەو ماڵەوە بێ گوێدانە مەترسیەكان. ئەوانیش ئەیانەوێت لەگەڵا خێزانەكانیان بمێننەوە

" لە كوێ پەیمان هەبێت، مەرگەساتی لێ یە"

Border lives: Daraw

2010-03-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

From Daraw in Sidakan

Soran District: Village Daraw

CPT visited the village of Daraw on November 15, 2008 and December 5, 2009. The distance from Daraw to the Turkish and Iranian borders is two to three hours. This area is left to the villagers, PKK, Turkey, and Iran. The KRG offers no protection to villagers here.

Fourteen families live in the village. Villagers reported that Turkey bombed their homes as long ago as 1998. One villager was killed and others were injured. The bombing in Daraw began again on January 15, 2008 and the villagers fled to the nearby town of Sidikan. But after eight months the families returned to Daraw because their resources had run out and they could not continue to pay rent.
People in these villages face threats from Turkey and Iran. According to local teacher, Mr. Arrarat, Turkey provides bombs to Iran, which shells them from the Iranian side, “Some were Turkish bombs, not Iranian types.”

On July 18, 2009, Iranian shelling injured Mr. Osman from the village of Zhelea. He is a young man of twenty and a student. The shelling occurred at 9 p.m. while he was camping on a mountain close to Daraw. He had taken his herds there for summer grazing. His neck and shoulder were injured. The injuries continue to cause great pain and he has stopped his studies. Osman's grandfather reported that the farmers had missed the foaling season and this was a big loss for farmers. He reported his own loss as $8,000. Last year, the entire extended family had 240 animals. This year they have only 200 animals, a loss of more than 40 animals, because the flock ordinarily would have grown with new births.

Being prepared to flee is part of their lives. Mrs. Hiro reported that people here are prepared to run at any time, “I didn’t have good honey for a sick baby here, because we keep things at the other place, not in the village, in case we have to run away someday.” The children also have the same mentality. Mr. Arrarat said, “When they hear a plane, it is hard to quiet them. The children leave school and just run home without considering the dangers. They want to stay with their families.”

~CPT (2010) "Where there is a promise, there is a tragedy", p.16.
* download the English report at: www.cpt.org or docs.google.com

Taban, Arke Saru

2010-02-14T01:04:00.000-08:00

We met Ms. Taban on a sunny summer day in 2008. We sat together beside a small stream in a valley. Along the stream, many tents were located, home for 120 displaced families. It was their fourth month in the camp. The distance between the camp and the nearest village was less than 1 hour, but they could not go home.

Taban, a nurse, is a young woman.

During our visit, people came in and out her tent for treatment. A lot of people got diarrhea because of unclean water. Taban’s skills are very important in this cruel environment.

Taban said after her graduation she made up her mind to come back to the village. In every country, always there are people who love the mountains and long to live close to them. Taban is such a person.

“In 1991, I came home by foot from Zharawa town. A lot of people joined this march. We walked half a day and reached our home, which was destroyed by Saddam in 1980s. ⋯There was no water, no electricity, and no roof. We rebuilt it with hands, tears and joy.”

Ms. Taban has been displaced again since March of 2008, when the obligated protectors: the United States, the Iraqi government, and the Kurdistan Regional Government, renewed efforts to help Turkey and Iran use bombs and rockets to evacuate Taban from the border areas.

In the last year and a half, we have witnessed Taban’s strength in dealing with the violence against her and her people. We watched fatigue stealing her beautiful face as she tried to be whole. But now her dream of going home to the mountains is fading away.

How will we sit down and talk together about the important things: the blue sky, white streams, living nature and sustainable life?

( Photo: July 22 2008)

Hospitality Zharawa IDP Camp Style

2010-01-24T04:54:00.000-08:00

Mothers for Peace

2010-01-21T03:25:00.000-08:00

Women and children are the victims of violence.

Mahmud, Kanispi

2010-01-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

What can you do when you find yourself in a landmine field? This was one lesson in the CPT training. But how many people took the lesson seriously when it was taught in the city of Chicago?

At Iraq and Iran border, there is a landmine field in a beautiful mountainous area, Kanispi.

The beauty of nature and malicious politics form a death trap for the lives of those inheriting the land.

Mr. Mahmud has been fighting to live in a beautiful borderland for decades. Saddam destroyed the nature and lives of farm families. Mr. Mahmud’s family restored it. But the price was the loss of one brother, one son, and one leg. Now Turkey and Iran are using the same methods of destruction. Heavy bombardments force people to give up their way of life.

The United States government is sharing intelligence with Turkey to help Turkey and Iran combat PKK and PJAK. But often those attacks are on civilian villages. Mr. Mahmud wants the three countries to stop their military actions so he can clear the landmines from the field.

According to a local rehabilitation center SACH, there are 6 million to 8 million landmines in Iraq, 19,290 villages are affected and the victims of landmines reached to 9,000.

*Kani Spi means White Spring. It is a Kurdish village at Iraq-Iran border
*PKK: Kurdistan Workers Party, Turkey.
*PJAK: Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, Iran.
*Photos: (1) Matt Barr, CPT 2009 April Delegation. (2-3)Bob Holmes, CPT.