“My generation was born into a troubled political time.  Under the Ba'athist party,” he told CPTers.  “Many Kurds were murdered, hurt, arrested and disappeared…Because I am the oldest, I was responsible for my brothers and sisters especially since my father became ill while I was still young.  I tried to educate them and I left school to make money for my family by selling cigarettes.  I loved to read even though there were few books written in Kurdish but there were books written in Arabic and many Arabic newspapers and I read as much as I could."