Over the last year, I’ve followed many different Kurds on twitter. They all have different styles, tweet about different things; some were good, some not so much. But one thing that united many of them was a Kurdistan-first attitude. A few in particular would constantly go on about how great Kurdistan was. So on one of my last trips to Iraq, I thought I’d go to see what all the fuss was about. I wasn’t disappointed.
I landed in Erbil International Airport, and it was nothing like landing at Baghdad: the sharp modern design, the simple yet effective procedures, the cleanliness. I knew immediately that my experience would be different.
A very good friend had arranged for a driver to come pick me up from the airport. There are similar security procedures getting in to the airport (not every car can get in) and it took a while for him to arrive. He was a built young guy with little hair left on his head. “Shloonich kaka Mousa” were his first words. I smiled. “Zein kaka”.
We drove along smooth roads (much fewer bumps than Baghdad) and construction sites seemed to be erected everywhere. I visited the Erbil International Fair, with hundreds of companies vying to sell their products to the Iraqi market. Most interesting was the number of British universities trying to lure the hundreds of Iraqi students with scholarships to study abroad.
I took a taxi from the fair with a Kurdish driver in traditional attire. He didn’t speak Arabic and for some reason he didn’t seem to understand I couldn’t speak Kurdish. I tried hard, I said it in three different languages, but he kept talking and would even laugh out loud at his own jokes. Maybe he knew I didn’t understand Kurdish and was just entertaining himself. I made out a few words, “Arab”, “Saddam”, and “Bremer”. That last one referred to Iraqi money.
Erbil is a city with a series of ring roads and a wonderful citadel at its epicentre. Visiting it was a great experience, especially looking over most the city and the delightful markets made up of small covered alleyways in every direction. In one of those alleyways I had the best Iraqi kabab I had ever had at a kitchen like place called kabab yaseen (even better than the kabab at Erbil on Edgware road). People would stand over you as you eat waiting to get your seat. I then had classic Iraqi tea at a small café that had been serving tea for over 80 years, and where the owner had been working for over 50 years. I even bought myself a pair of kalash parween (white Kurdish shoes) as part of the quintessential Kurdish experience.
These were all wonderful experiences, but this wasn’t what made Erbil great. Ultimately it was much more basic things that made this city seem different to all the other cities I had been to in Iraq. It was about security, being free to get around wherever you wanted to. It was about organisation and procedures that made it easy to move in and get working immediately. It was about having the structures and mentality that attracted businesses from all over the world. Together it just seemed freer.
There is no doubt that Kurdistan had a head start to the rest of Iraq since 1991. But nothing should be taken away from what the Kurds have made of it. It has been over twenty years since then. Now we can only hope that the rest of Iraq can do better in a shorter time, if not help it get there ourselves.
Mousa Baraka
Ali Latif
Ali Al-Saffar
Hayder al-Khoei
Guest
Very interesting, thanks for that.
I have to admit I feel sad whenever I see strong Kurdish sentiment, as opposed to a collective Iraqi one. I’ve got nothing against a people observing and being proud of their traditions, but when it comes to the point that they demand complete separation, I feel quite uncomfortable.
I often remember going to the polling station in London, walking into the entrance and seeing droves of Kurds dressed in their traditional attire. This insistence on their difference to the rest of Iraq troubles me.
It’s inspiring to see them prospering, as your article clearly shows. But on a more fundamental level, if only their spirit was more encompassing and they accept the reality that Iraq has a centuries-old multi-ethnic identity, and that they should be proud of having been an important part of it.
Really?
So I take it you speak Kurdish, wear Kurdish attire and sing to the Kurdish national anthem, since you’re so proud of Iraq’s “centuries-old multi-ethnic identity”?
Pull the other one mate.
Whenever I think of Kurdistan, I seem to classify it as Iraq’s Dubai,maybe because of the dramatic and effective progression in construction and the booming economy, as many western industries and comoanies are encourgaed and welcomed to start intvestment in Kurdistan.
This clear difference between the capital and the Kurdish region, all goes back to the motivations and dedications of the governments and how they seem to deal with things.
Even though I’m a Kurd, yet I also feel unsatisfied and uncomfortable when the Kurds demand for their own independence. At one point they have the right to do so however I interpret that gaining their own independence will make them very unstable, due to its neighbors and the central government.
Anyways, Its always nice being optimistic about Iraq’s future!
Great article.
Great article, don’t really know why the comments posted have led people to believe you spoke about Kurdish independence. I sense an air of jealousy, but it’s brilliant.
The rest of Iraq should learn from Kurdish traditions and nationalism and incorporate this same feeling into its cultures once again. Kurdistan is on the rise mainly for security reasons, should Baghdad be secure it would surpass any of its surrounding regions by a distance in terms of development.
The comment made about insistence on differences shouldn’t trouble you, it should make you proud that at some part of Iraq there is people whom take care and pride of their country.
Why should Kurds not wear their attire or express their differences? They are different whether you like it or not.
Demands of separation, if any at the moment, are a result of the lack of nationalism and responsibility the remainder of Iraq shows.
Jealousy? Express.
There isn’t a bone of jealousy in me. Like I said, it’s inspiring to see them prospering.
I have nothing against Kurds or anyone with their own traditions, culture and identity living by it. It wasn’t purely the observation of them wearing their Kurdish clothes that ‘troubled’ me, I was alluding to the point that there seems to be intense focus from the Kurds I’ve encountered on their own identity and how they’re different but are reluctant to express the mutual relationship they’ve had with the rest of Iraq for the last hundreds of years.
Sara, are you delusional or in denial? What are you really taking about here?
“Kurds I’ve encountered on their own identity and how they’re different but are reluctant to express the mutual relationship they’ve had with the rest of Iraq for the last hundreds of years.”
Which mutual relationship? The Kurds have always rebelled against the Baghdad government. When was the last time you saw an Arab wear Kurdish clothing or express the Kurdish identity? Or are they excused from ‘expressing the mutual relationship they’ve had with the rest of Iraq’?
What nonsense from a silly little girl.
When Sara states that: “Even though I’m a Kurd, yet I also feel unsatisfied and uncomfortable when the Kurds demand for their own independence”
it just shows how simplistic her way of thinking is. She admits that independence will leave the Kurds vulnerable but what she doesn’t even bother iterating is the fact that the Kurds have that very right. When you say leaves them vulnerable do you mean vulnerable in the same way the people of Libya, Syria and Egypt are fighting for their rights? Shouldn’t it be up to the Kurds to choose their destinty?
Omar provides a more reasonable contribution – it is the lack of a national Iraqi identify that in the end provokes feelings of separatism, not just in Kurdistan but also in other parts of the country.
Mousa – good article but couldn’t you bother learning a word or two in Kurdish?
“Sara, are you delusional or in denial? What are you really taking about here?
“Kurds I’ve encountered on their own identity and how they’re different but are reluctant to express the mutual relationship they’ve had with the rest of Iraq for the last hundreds of years.”
Which mutual relationship? The Kurds have always rebelled against the Baghdad government. When was the last time you saw an Arab wear Kurdish clothing or express the Kurdish identity? Or are they excused from ‘expressing the mutual relationship they’ve had with the rest of Iraq’?
What nonsense from a silly little girl.”
Mate, calm down. Sara didn’t write that, I did.
Although my comment seems very late, but I always wanted to say this:
I’m originally from Baghdad but live in Kurdistan since three years. I’ve worked and studied there. I regard myself as a Kurd friend. Kurds love me, and I love the tradition, the language, and understand their demands. At some point I was even thinking about marrying a Kurdish girl.
However the problem with Iraq’s Kurdistan is: What is happening currently is that the Kurdish leadership (and not necessarily the people) are making use of the fact that Baghdad is in trouble and therefore too weak and too busy to deal with many issues and violations Kurdistan is committing.
The Kurd simply take and give back little to the rest of Iraq. They take an impressive amount from the Budget, talented Arab workforce, and a big role in the political situation in Baghdad, but never pay back taxes and income from borders, nor do they treat the working Arabs in Kurdistan well (the treatment on the borders of Sulaimaniya and Erbil is close to the treatment of Baathis), this workforce that has contributed big time in what impresses the world today so much about Erbil and Sulaimaniyah, and more importantly try to benefit form the differences in Baghdad for themselves (e.g. keeping Tariq Al-Hashimi and some military officers as guests in Kurdistan although they are wanted in Baghdad.just to have some bargaining power).
I say this: if the Kurd want to separate, they are free to do so. It is their historical and natural right. Nobody is holding them back. However they don’t intend to seperate, because they know it is unwise now. They are too weak, the region is unstable, and they won’t get support to do so from anybody, not even the US. So what they do instead is in reality BLACKMAILING Baghdad and making use of the fact that it is busy with too many things. Taking as much as they can and viewing Saddam’s crimes as crimes committed by Arabs against Kurds, not distinguishing between a former Baathi and a Baath victim from the south (it seems actually that in today’s Kurdistan former Baathis are getting better treatments than the rest of Iraqis). Based on that view they revenge from Baghdad whoever is ruling there, even if they are part of it, for the sake of weakening Baghdad so that it is not strong enough to make them accountable of what they are doing now. (They learned something from the Jews I guess.)
Worse: much of what is taken doesn’t support the cause of an Independent Kurdistan. It serves much more those who have demanded for it for so many years but only give the cause as much as it gives back to them. By that I mean the two ruling Kurdish (little) dictatorships who share Kurdistan between each other and never allow anything to be built in Suli or Erbil if there is not a share for them in it.
I love Kurdistan, their culture, their tradition, but Kurds: we were both victims! Don’t treat us as oppressors for the sake of taking what is not yours. If you want to be part of Iraq you are more than welcome. We actually need you. But if you don’t intend to stay don’t do it on the expense of the rest of Iraq. Go, may Allah be with you. Take your country, and be responsible for rebuilding and defending it. Don’t oppress the Arabs and the rest of minorities, and don’t take any land that doesn’t belong to you. And remember: we will be your closest neighbors and you will need us a lot, especially at the beginning. So treat as well and no need to be arrogant!
Sorry for the long comment. But I had to say this. And all respect to the Kurdish people (not necessarily the Kurdish politicians thought!)
Shloonich kaka Mousa? It is sad that you had to start your article with a cheap stereotype about how Kurds speak Arabic. “Hey, here’s an inta/inti wisecrack for the cheap seats!”
I smiled at the ignorance of the bald Kurd who tried to make me feel welcome by welcoming me in a foreign language and said to him, “Zein kaka.”