Hewler, the other Kurdistan?

Sunday 14th of September
What is different about Hewler?

2005: The autumn of 2005 I was attending a course that lasted for some months in Hewler. I did not like Hewler because I found the mentality of the inhabitants (as general and rude as it may seem) as very conservative and traditional. And when I paid a visit to Suleimany, I liked my city of birth much more.

2007: In November 2007 I came back to Hewler for the first time since 2005. I did not have high expectations before reaching the city because of bad experiences from my past. It had changed a lot; the buildings and the physical infrastructure. They were working really hard on improving the roads to the extent it can bear the high increase of cars since 2003 (SUVs, Mercedes, BMWs etc). It was more expensive than Suleimany, and by the first glance of the eye everything seemed to me as a bit improved. On that ground I expected that the mentality of people also had changed a bit since then. I observed that there were less women outside in the city center (in the area of the main bazaar close to the fortress Cita Del (Qala)) compared to the city center of Suleimany. Women were wearing much more covering clothing, and men were literally staring at women passing by much more than in Suleimany. My second judgment; the city looked nicer while the mentality and city culture was still the same as before. Off course these judgments are putting forward a black and white picture of the world though it is not my intention, but I do emphasis the point that these are all mine personal and subjective opinions as a private person.

2008: Last week was my third trip to Hewler, and I have to admit that I was a bit shocked. Even from the three days stay in November 2007, things had changed again. Usually I find places and direction easily (sense of direction), but this city is developing so fast I cannot follow the changes. The city council (or maybe KRG) has spent thousands of dollars on the environmental issues. They have invested in planting trees and other green(ish) plants to first of all improve the looks of the city, make use of the threes as protection against all the sand coming from the south part areas, and thirdly be able to get rid of some of the CO2 discharge. Still I was waiting to meet the same mentality as before. The people I met from Hewler in PDA`s offices, they are all very highly educated, open and social people. In the way I understood them; people who believed in equality between the two sexes, and human beings. And then one evening about 22.00 we went to the city centre (2 male, 4 female and a child) to get some sweets after having dinner (shirini in Kurdish). There were not one single female other than us there; even more children outside with their fathers, brothers, uncles (male leaders), but not a single female figure to find.

The questions are; has it really changed? What are the changes besides the improvement of the buildings?

As I told you, H and I hooked up with some friends from Norway, and we had a great time at B2B restaurant. And somehow together we came to the same conclusion; it is difficult to live in Kurdistan (no matter where in Kurdistan areas) but still not impossible. It really depends on what your “mission” is, what kind of ideologies you base your life on and what are the objectives of your life. To decide on whether these changes are positives or not, if they are nothing more than “building castles in the sky” is difficult to say. I do not believe that all of these changes are factors that will supply to a sustainable development, but at least they have created something that is floating in the air. Somehow it is a mixture of negative peace, strong capitalism and strong opportunism.

If I have to make a final conclusion about the changes and developments in Hewler, it will be the same conclusions about the changes and development in Suleimany. The city of Hewler looks nicer, and it is the capital of the Kurdistan province, therefore a lot of resources are send to that center of happenings. The Dubaization of Hewler is easier than to make it in Suleimany. To live in Hewler or Suleimany is basically the same. Everyone is working hard to make a living, to fill up the basic human needs and to be happy. The lack of electricity and water is the same, the political situation is still unstable, the school system is almost down, and capitalism is steering the mentality of people. The so called collectivism is controlling many social relations, the rationality of the people and the behavior of human interaction in the society, except when it comes to economical matters. The survival of the fittest (the one with most money is the strongest ideological foundation for many in this matter.

For me it does not matter any longer where I will live in Kurdistan, I just know one thing; I need an interesting and somehow a rewarding job to keep me going on here. I hope we, the next generation can contribute to a positive peace building.

Positive C..