In search of a pair of shoes

My essay is about visiting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in March 2023 after an absence of over a decade, exploring the difficulty of shopping for a pair of shoes, visiting my childhood home, and pondering on the question of history and childhood adversities. Within the story, I show the evolving dynamics of my relationship with my family, some aspects of market economics in the region, snippets of the Kurdish exodus in 1991, and attachment to homeland. Continue reading “In search of a pair of shoes” →

Why the United States should stop supporting the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga

The United States has planned to unify the Kurdish forces of Peshmerga, providing more financial aid and weaponizing them in order to defeat IS and other extremist groups. But the senior military men and politicians keep aside the weapons and aid for themselves and do not give them to the Peshmerga forces who are on the front lines fighting IS. Instead, they use weapons to repress the Kurdish protestors who ask for their basic rights and freedom of expression. Continue reading “Why the United States should stop supporting the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga” →

Fake degrees and bogus universities: a growing problem in the Middle East

Fraudulent qualifications are a problem in many parts of the world, and especially in the Middle East. Unrecognised universities consisting of little more than a website offer tempting short cuts to a degree certificate. Often based in western countries but run by Arab expatriates targeting clients in their homeland, they not only create unfairness in the jobs market but can lead to unqualified people putting others in danger. Continue reading “Fake degrees and bogus universities: a growing problem in the Middle East” →

Tracing unhealed scars: a look inside the misery of today’s Iraq

Since October 2019, flocks of Iraqis have been taking to the streets in frequent mass demonstrations against the sometimes-lethal failure of post-invasion political elites. But their demands transcend decrying a chronic lack in the provision of public services. The ruling class and their entourage are getting richer, while the rest are embattled by poverty and terror, a gap that is apparent on the streets of Baghdad. In this context, some of those who advocated for the destruction of Iraq are given a platform by international media, giving a false image of Iraq, while independent local journalists are cancelled, not given similar opportunity to convey what’s taking place on the ground to the rest of the world. Continue reading “Tracing unhealed scars: a look inside the misery of today’s Iraq” →

A world born from mass murder: 9/11 as a turning point in global history

This article is more than 6 months old

People either remember 9/11 or have grown up in its shadow. In this essay, 9/11 shall be considered as a turning point in world history, and it shall be shown that even two decades on we still live in what could rightly be termed the post-9/11 era. Continue reading “A world born from mass murder: 9/11 as a turning point in global history” →

Coronavirus in the Middle East: a testing time for relations between regimes and their citizens

As Covid-19 continues to spread in the Middle East, Arab governments increasingly blame the public for failing to comply with preventive measures. The roots of this problem lie in the uneasy relationship between autocratic regimes and the people they govern – a relationship that is likely to come under further strain as the economic costs of the pandemic become more apparent. Continue reading “Coronavirus in the Middle East: a testing time for relations between regimes and their citizens” →