CPTnet
15 November 2005
IRAQ REFLECTION: What do human rights look like?
by Michele Naar-Obed
In Suleimaniya, the absence of explosions and gunshots is striking for those
of us who worked in Baghdad. Instead, one hears the sounds of children
going to school. Markets are bustling with people. Buses run regularly. We
see a lot of new construction, as well as the logo of the German engineering
company, Siemens, which appears to have invested heavily in Kurdistan.
Families picnic in the large city park. The Muslim call to prayer
reverberates from Mosques. Christians attend the Chaldean Church and the
sound of Mass spoken in Kurdish and Arabic is fascinating. Our hotel
workers sometimes sing and music plays.
Basic human rights are here: the right to live without fear of violence, the
right to food, shelter, health care, education, the right to practice one's
religion and the right to recreation. On the surface life seems to move in
a good direction. But when one digs further, one finds the human rights
situation operating short of optimal.
With improved security, the Kurds can function above basic survival
instincts. But a reshuffling of the population presents challenges to their
society. Arabs flock in droves into the Kurdish region. Kurdistan's basic
infrastructure cannot support this influx. Internally displaced persons,
Kurdish and Arab, compete for diminishing resources. The Kurds seem
reluctantly willing to accommodate the influx but make it clear that Arabs
are not welcome to stay. Arabs are not allowed to buy homes or land in
Kurdistan.
Underlying these attitudes are deep-seated feelings of resentment that many
Kurds harbor towards Arabs because of the genocide Saddam Hussein and his
henchmen committed against them. Their human rights were tragically
violated and they felt the world was silent during the slaughter. This
underlying trauma taints their interactions as they now find themselves in
positions of deciding to grant or deny basic human rights to Arabs--a
vicious cycle that some good folks in Kurdistan are trying to break.
Upon arrival in Suleimaniya, we met Khalid Alber at the Ministry of Awqaf
(religious trust fund) and Religious Affairs who told us of his visit with
religious leaders in South Africa to learn about the reconciliation process
following Apartheid. Khalid sees this process as a viable model for
Kurdistan. Human rights workers tell us that desire for nonviolence
training exists in the region, but they broach the topic of reconciliation
with trepidation. Still, they sense a willingness to move forward.
The potential to break the chains of violence teeters precariously as the
threats of war hover over the region. Turkey threatens attacks inside the
Kurdish borders. The U.S. threatens Iran. Syria sides with Turkey. Turkey
sides with Iran. The U.S. backs Israel. Any of these alliances and
enmities tips the balance towards injustice. A push of a button could sweep
away any chance for human rights to be fully realized.
But, the universal torchlight still burns within the human spirit, and the
darkness has not overcome the Light. Not yet.
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