I have visited Kirkuk almost twenty times since spring 2008.
During these journeys I have taken hundreads of photos. I choose best of them to a photo exhibition in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
The exhibition is open two weeks from Monday, the 16th August, in STOA, a cultural centre of City of Helsinki. Later the photos will be shown in other places and in Kurdish cultural events.
The exhibition consists of seventeen large pictures.
The name of the exhibition is ”Everyday life in Kirkuk in the shadow of war” (in Finnish language the name is much shorter).
Many people have asked what I want to say with my photos.
The news about Kirkuk in international mass media tell about bomb explosions, war and other problems.
I have seen another Kirkuk. Despite fear and tension the brave Kirkuk people try to make best of their every day life and look forward for a better future.
Many people have helped me in Kirkuk to collect information about the town. With this exhibition I want to express my gratitude for them.
Many people in Kirkuk have repeated the same thing: the problems of Kirkuk are organized from outside Kirkuk, from the neighbouring countries. Kirkuk has been centuries a multicultural city. Various ethnic groups have lived there in peace and harmony with each others.
So should be also the future of Kirkuk! With my pictures I want to show Finnish people a glimpse of optimism about Kirkuk.
On Monday the 16th August fifty people participated the opening party of the exhibition. There were Kurdish people residing in Finland and their Finnish friends.
The Kurdish community in Finland has good relationship with Finnish people. They make together both cultural and political activities.
