Reports
“Smuggling rings lure and enlist them, how do Iraqis turn
In November 2023, Ali Qais, 23, from the Al-Kifah district in central Baghdad, took a surprising step by traveling to Russia after receiving an invitation to study the Russian language — a requirement for admission to Russian institutes. Months earlier, Ali, who held only a middle school certificate, had contacted an Iraqi resident in Russia involved in smuggling, known as “Aboud, the Son of Iraq.” Aboud persuaded him to travel for study or immigration, saying the study invitation cost $2,300, plus $700 for the flight ticket, and promised to handle all registration, residency, and accommodation arrangements. Two other young men,…
Toxic Air, Silent Funds: Where’s the Environmental Support in Kurdistan
Rebin Fattah On a rough road stretching from the Degala district to the villages southwest of Koya district (70 km east of Erbil), hundreds of vehicles, including oil trucks, pass daily. These trucks carry oil extracted from the Taq Taq field in eastern Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Along both sides of the road, there are a few scattered trees and some houses. The residents suffer from clouds of smoke emitted by the oil fields, which pollute the air, soil, and even the water. The region encompassing the Taq Taq oil field—the first investment project contracted by the Kurdistan Regional Government…
Marginalization policies and lack of justice… The Yezidis of Sheikhan
After spending nearly four decades in Sheikhan, Hadi Dubbani (57 years old) left the country with his family, leaving the Yezidi town located north of Mosul to settle in Germany, as did dozens of his relatives. He says in a choked voice: "ISIS destroyed everything for us, it turned our lives upside down. I even left the land I never imagined I would leave. Many things pushed us to this decision: security, fear for the future, discrimination, and the absence of justice." Dubbani, who held the position of director of the Yezidi Endowment in Duhok Governorate in the Kurdistan Region…
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Children of the Yazidi captivity years…Survivors with no care and
Myasar Al-Adani and NIRIJ team – Translated by Walaa Rayya: “My mom used to wake me up every morning by playing with my hair to go to school. I always had this dream and then I woke up to Abu Omar’s screaming to find myself at the Caliphate Cubs camp…
Digital Illiteracy… Isolated Iraqi Women From The Outside World
Fatimah Neamah Oleiwi Without any obvious plan from the government to deal with digital literacy: The majority of Iraqi women lag behind the world in catching up with technological developments and thousands of women do not have enough skills to use digital tools due to digital illiteracy… “I was totally…
“They Stole our Properties, O Supreme Pontiff”
Nawzat ShamdeenL/Iraqi Journalist March 2021: As Pope Francis travels through Iraq, Mosul’s Christians hope his visit will draw attention to their precarious situation, which includes the dossier of some 6,000 stolen properties. Unlike most of his family members who remain in exile, 43-year-old Salam Boutros decided to return to Mosul,…
Iraq: They Were Killed Only Because They Were Yazidis
Saman Dawood/Iraqi Journalist February 2021: Finding the remains of the victims and reburying them is a positive step, yet “just the beginning.” There are dozens of mass graves in Sinjar. The village of Kocho near Mount Sinjar, located some 80 kilometer west of Mosul, had prepared the coffins to welcome…
?Iraq: But What to Do with the Children
Maisar Aladani April 14, 2021: The Yazidi Women Survivors Law is a victory, yet many question marks remain. Will the law be implemented or remain ink on paper? How will the land be distributed? And what to do with the children born as a result of rape? On August 10,…
Nineveh, Iraq: What Has ‘Coronavirus’ Done to Us?
Suicide, unemployment, domestic violence and the abandonment of children
Mosul: Home Prisons and Metal Chains Afflict the Mentally Disturbed
Abdel-Muhaimen Bassil/ Iraqi Journalist July 2020: Marwan has been living with the chains under the strict censorship of his parents for nearly three years. He is imprisoned in a narrow basement under the house in the center of Mosul (405 Km north of Baghdad). Sometimes he cries, sometimes he laughs.…
Sinjar: From a Homeland of Coexistence to the land of
Nawzat Shamdeen “After 70 Genocides, which we resisted and survived, we are closer today than ever to being broken and lost,” says Khadr Ali, trying to prevent himself from crying while looking at the ruins of the destroyed ancient city. Near the entrance to the displaced persons camp in Sharya…
