Displaced and refugee families in Suleimaniya ... - Kurdish Globe

Last pageNo. 314, Saturday, July 23, 2011Dear Diary…MemoirsBy Sazan M. MandalawiThis time I am with a groupof high school girls, all fromaffluent areas in Erbil. Myaim and curiosity was tosee what is on the mind ofa typical Kurdish girl, whohas not necessarily had mybackground, experiences andlest we forget, the privilegesthat I and many others likemyself have had as we werebrought up as Kurdish girls.Throughoutourconversations, I realize manyof these girls keep diaries.I can imagine a few of themhave a small notebook undertheir pillows every night,speaking out inner thoughtsand emotions. They writeof their humble wishes anddreams in their world ofimagination.As for the parents of thesegirls — a few have fathers whoare government employees,the others are self employed,either selling goods at thestore around the corner, orworking as taxi drivers. In thisgathering, all but one of theirmothers are housewives.In the group of 22 girls,after group activities andan exchange of ideas, we sitcross-legged in a large circle,as a group of friends would.I ask questions, and theydebate the answers. As theyspeak, I remain silent, jottingdown key words and closelyobserving facial expressions.From what they say, andhow they react to questions, Ican probably write the nightlyentries to the diaries of someof these Kurdish girls.I learn, just as a typical 15-or 16-year-old girl in manyparts of the world, these girlshave the same thoughts. Theyare self-conscious — thoughthey don't admit it — of theirimage, they are influenced bywhat they see, and they arein a process of discoveringthemselves. However thedifference is their boundaries,and on the other side ofthe coin is the schools theybelong to. I always had adream (and still do) for thedaughter of the wealthy andthe poor to be able to haveaccess to the same educationquality. In this circle, sittingon the floor, I know thesegirls aren't receiving thequality of education as theircounterparts in other areas ofthe Region.“What do you want to do,that you can't do?” I ask thegirls in the circle. Immediatelyloud side-discussions emergeas one by one, all 22, expresswhat it is that they want to do,but they feel they can't. Thisis when I know the differencebetween my life and theirs."I want to go out with myfriends… I want my mother toTheseare thechains ofsocietybe a friend… I want my fatherto listen to me… I want towork… I want to do sports…I want to have time to draw…I want to play on the piano… Iwant to be a policewoman…"are just few desires.I can imagine a mother offive children and how shewould raise a teenage daughterlike the ones in this circle.The mother's actions anddiscipline don't from booksand academic discourse,her conduct is not learnedfrom educational seminars,but rather she governsher daughter in methodsembedded within the culture.In tactics picked up from herown mother, almost half acentury back. The beliefs ofthe way of raising a daughterare entrenched in her socialand traditional tutoring. As aresult, her concern is alwayswhat the neighbor perceivesto be right or wrong, and notnecessarily what is best forher own daughter.The lives of some of theseyoung girls are constrained bythe words ayba (shameful) andnabet (not possible). These arethe chains of society that arestill intact in some areas, thechains that allows a young girlto only dream and wish of theaspects of life that a portionof others have as privileges.I know we are at the start ofa journey, but let's not turn ablind eye on the young girlswhose diaries are filled with"if only I could…" becausethere is no reason why theycan't.Tourist attractions need more attentionKurdistan's natural beauty surprises touristsFacebook was the first wordI exchanged with Rai’d. He isfrom Baghdad and enjoys histime in Bekhal, one of Kurdistctan's most famous attractions.He also enjoys dancing with hisfriends.As the safety and security ofthe Region become apparent,millions of tourists pour in tovisit both its natural and religcgious sites. Kurdistan Region,the most secure and stable placein Iraq with a large number oftourist attractions, is the maindestination for foreign tourists,especially those from neighboricing countries.The natural beauty and stabilicity of the Region encouragedRai’d and some of his friendsand relatives to make a tour tothe lone stable part of Iraq. Surpcprisingly, we are citizens of thesame country but did not underscstand each other, so we spoke inEnglish. Loud Arabic music undcder a shade structure in Bekhalmade everybody upbeat andthis was obvious by Rai’d’s softsmile.He kept dancing with one ofhis friends and when I took theirphotograph he said: “Is this forFacebook?”I asked them why they choseKurdistan Region and why theywanted to come. “Safety andsecurity is better here. Besides,the nature of Kurdistan is diffcferent than other parts of Iraq,also the consistency of Kurdicistan's weather surprises us,”Rai’d said.Many Arabs were visitingBekhal and Gali Ali Bag, aKurdistan attraction that is depcpicted on the Iraqi 5,000-dinarnote. The tourists were takingpictures of the stunning landscscapes.The rocks beside the roadshave carvings and graffiti,which seem to be written byArab tourists as a reminder oftheir visit.Several travel companies regucularly send buses to Kurdistan.Abu Salman, an Arab tourist,came on a seven-day bus tourwith his family.Salman was happy to be inKurdistan but also had somecriticisms. “The roads are narrcrow and along the roads wewere afraid for our lives. Apartfrom this, the lack of hotels andmotels forced us to stay underthe shade structures with fewservices. We need to go all theway into the cities, Rwandizand Soran, to buy necessities,”Salman said. It seems they onlyknew of Gali Ali Bag, Jundian,Bekhal and Solav, tourism sitesthey had visited during the Saddcdam Hussein era.Once you pass Shaqlawa, atourist attraction that is an inscspiration for Kurdish poets andsingers, and Soran, these areashave few services, especiallySoran.A’mil Kareem Qassim, a restctaurant owner in Rwandiz, confcfirmed this and said that thereason is because of investor’s“fear.” He criticized KurdistanRegional Government becauseit doesn't do enough to attractinvestment to the tourism areceas.Qassim told the Globe thatthe investors' fear is because ofstability and security situationof the Region; even though itis the most secure area in Iraq.Qassim feels the success of anytourism project is dependent onthe government’s ability to provcvide basic services like electricicity, roads and water.To solve the lack of hotels andmotels, the Directorate Generalof Tourism of Soran has builtsome shade structures and bathrcrooms for tourists to use. Mostof them are in disrepair. Directctor General of Tourism of SoranBurhan Mustafa said this is dueto lack of awareness of citizenswho ruined the tourism sites.Some sites have been vandalicized or looted.He advised investors to puttheir money in Kurdistan’s touricist attractions. He says tourismwill be one of the most importctant revenue sources for Kurdicistan in future.One hotel in Soran began conscstruction a month ago and thedirectorate says five more willbe built soon.Mustafa says there's also aproblem with environment protctection. “The process of cleanicing up the tourism sites wasgiven to a private company, butwe have concerns about theirwork. We could manage it bettcter than them,” said Mustafa.In the first six months of thisyear, around 109,000 touristsvisited Soran and Rwandiz, acccording to the latest estimatesby the directorate.Lack of services, hotels andthe cost of goods are the realproblems tourists face whenthey visit the resorts.KRG needs to urge investorsinto the tourism sector. Thegovernment should also designcnate areas as resorts or touristattractions and promote them toIraqi and international touriststhrough the media.By Kawa Jam