Kurdistan - a land in waiting to be built

Why is the unemployment rate so high? And especially for our youth? Where are all the jobs? Why are jobs filled with workers from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka?

The goverment pay salaries to their own people for doing nothing more than occupy a chair and through corruption add more to their personal wealth. The government teach their people to be lazy instead of start building up our country. In every city - how many people lojal to the party are collecting salaries without doing any work at all? It is actually several thousand persons. And of all these - who do you think have the highest salaries? Those who sold themselves to Saddam and murdered Kurds...

It is time to start building this country. This is a country that need electricity, water, roads, schools, hospitals. We have thousands of villages that need to be rebuilt and farmers that need help to start farming again. We have the money, the jobs are there and the people ready to work. Kurdistan is a land waiting to be built. The Kurds are a people waiting for the chance to do that. When do we start?

A house on frail ice - our future?

Kurdistan is becoming a house on frail ice. The children, the young Kurds, are the future of our people. We do not have a future unless we take care of our youth. But the ruling parties are not seeing to that the young get an education.

The children up til 8th grade - they cannot even write a letter. But if you have rich parents you do not need to worry. You will get good grades and an exam anyway. It will just cost your parents some bribes to the teacher.

They say our school system is the same as in Sweden. Do you really believe that is so? Our teachers do not care about their pupils and the pupils do not have respect for the teachers.The regulations of how the teachers should teach and what the children are supposed to learn are just words on a paper.

Also 90% of the schools are not worthy to be called schools. The buildings are cold in the winter and there are too many pupils in each classroom. There are no materials, broken furniture, holes in the walls. And still there are at least a thousand schools missing today in Kurdistan.

The ruling party leaders, if they know this and are not doing anything about it, it is a catastrophe. If they do not know what is happening with the future of Kurdistan, it is even worse.

The land with ancient stone walls is becoming a house on frail ice

The strong people of Kurdistan standing up to their enemies and oppressors for centuries have become weak under its own ruling. Day by day since 1991 the ruling parties, KDP and PUK, have been destroying our country. If anyone would say that what I am saying is unfair or untrue, I would tell them to judge for themselves after hearing me out.

When the Kurds did not have enemies to fight after 1991 when our lands came under the protection of the UN, the ruling parties started to fight each other for the power and the money. They became obsessed in fighting each other and did nothing for the people. During those years between 1991 and 2003, what did they do for the people and the country?

In the year of 2003 when the US rid Iraq from Saddam Hussein, the Kurdish people were the strongest of all the Iraqis. We were strong because we had our own land areas under our own control and we had our armed peshmerga who under the protection of the UN had built up a solid organization. Then, when we were strongest, we had all the possibilities to set the terms after our own demands. But what did we demand, what have we gained? Not one square mile of our occupied land, the disputed areas such as Kirkuk or Mosel. Then when we were strongest we did nothing – so what can we do now?

The ruling parties, what have they done for Kurdistan? They have taught the people how to sell themselves and become thieves. They gave their own people, party members, posts with government salaries. They bought people by offering them such posts, many only to hinder them from going over to the other party. They did not mind who they were. Many of these with high posts and salaries are people who sold their souls to Saddam (jeshek). But the strange thing is not that they have the jobs, it is that they all are filthy rich. How? They all line their own pockets through corruption. With the salary they have it is impossible to acquire such wealth. Why does not anyone ask where the money comes from? Because they are all members of the Club of thieves.

I among others saw the elections a year ago as progress in Kurdistan becoming a democracy. But the elections were just a show for the ruling parties. These elections were just the ruling parties giving the people a lesson in how to maintain power by cheating. I saw with my own eyes the cheating, bribing, threatening, harassing, that occurred during not only the Kurdish elections but also again during the Iraqi elections. They did it openly for all to see. They did it to once and for all show the people that no matter what they do, vote or not, protest or be quiet, they will keep the power to rule. The people lost their belief in democracy, lost their hopes for the future and lost their faith in themselves.

The proud people of Kurdistan, who through centuries were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country – who are they now? Are they willing to once again defend this land, sacrifice their lives, for the two thieving families that rule Kurdistan? This new Kurdistan is becoming a house built on frail ice. Why? Because we have a government that does not care for our future. They are focusing on getting rich instead of building the country.

The dream of a land called Kurdistan is fading

My last entry on this blog was exactly a year ago. I wrote during the elections last summer and was planning to continue writing. My health forced me to take a break from everything and I wasn't sure I would be back here on the blog.

Now, I feel the need to share my thoughts on what I feel is happening to my home country. I fear the dream of a Kurdistan is just that, a dream. And even the dream of a Kurdistan is fading.

Disillusioned people in kurdish elections

We in the Change List want to plead to the people not to loose their hope. During our campaigning here in the Behdinan areas we notice the bitterness and disillusion of the people. It seems as some of them have lost all hope for the future. Many see the Kurdistan Regional Government as just a new form of dictatorship. People tell us at the Change List that it is useless to try to work for a change. Also people express that they are afraid to voice their opinions and that they are not willing to put their family at risk. They are afraid of consequences like loosing their jobs.

But we in the Change List know that our people in their hearts are brave and proud. We know that our people have come through all our hardships with our souls intact and kurdish spirit unchanged. The Change List would like to address the people with this humble plea: Please use your vote.Which list is to get your vote is just between you and God.

The Change List aim at going through our campaign and the election without violence and dirty tricks. We strive for mutual respect and dialogue with our opponents. Let us show the world that the kurdish people are able to hold an election which is open, transparent and democratic.

Political platform for the Change List

For those who are interested - the political platform of the Change List can be found here: http://www.gorran.org/Content.aspx?LinkID=9&Action=3

Obstacles in campaigning for the Change List

The Change List are really experiencing how the Kurdistani List parties (KDP/PUK) in every way are trying to hinder our election campaign. For example, when the Change List are trying to open up a campaign office the owner of the facilities receives threats and we are forced out. A couple of weeks ago we moved into a buliding. But as soon as we put our flags and posters up we were asked to move out again. The owner and his family had received death threats and were too afraid to let us stay.

So we searched for another place. And again when we had moved in and put our flags up the owner told us about threats he had received. The threats were not directed to him directly but to his relatives who then pleaded him to not let the Change List use his buildning. We in the Change List will not let any threats stop us but we cannot let people who are afraid take any consequences. So now on our third try we were about to move in to our new campaign office yesterday. But again the owner came to us and told us about how his family and relatives had received threats and that he is too afraid to let us have our office in his building.

The Kurdistani List does not have these problems. They use municipal buildings for their campaign although this is not allowed. Also, all posters that the Change List are putting up are within half an hour torn down. Usually children are used for this task...

Children were also used yesterday in attacking us. We planned a drive through Zakho in our cars plastered with Gorran posters and flags. But we heard that children with tomatoes were placed on the streets waiting for us. So instead of driving through the main streets in the city we took other roads. The caravan of cars managed to avoid the tomatoes but were attacked by stones. The children were deliberately brought along in their cars to execute their dirty work.The police were just standing by - watching.

Kurdish elections and the Change list

We are starting this blog to give you reports on the kurdish elections from Zakho. We are writing to give you small reports on what is going on the streets and what people are talking about. We will also report on what the Change List is having on their agenda for the day and on the obstacles they accounter.