Week end in Halabja

I spent the week-end in Halabja. I try to here pictures from there, but as I have said sometimes earlier, the Iraqi internet system is not the same than the European one....


So I succeeded in putting here two pictures from Halabja monument. I did my best to put more. Don't ask me how much time I used trying to do it. And I am now in Suleymania, not in Halabja. There internet is very, very slow.

Back in Kurdistan and Kalar

I returned to Kurdistan at the end of September. I live now in Kalar and work in the university (Sulaimani University, College of Education, Kalar).

Kalar is most southern town in Iraqi Kurdistan controlled by KRG. Kalar lies about 150 km south from Sulaymania and 40 km north to Khanaqeen. The distance to Baghdad is about 200 km.

Kalar is the center of Guermian. Historically it is part of Kirkuk province. The Ba'ath rgime put Kalar to Diyala province, as part of the Kurdish genocide process. It was an act of statistical genocide: the boarders of provinces were changed to increase the proportion of Arabs in the population. The boarder of the areas controlled by KRG and the Baghdad government lies only a few kilometres from here. On the other side is one of the disputed areas, where people desperatively wait the Referendum as described in Article 140 to be put on action.

I did not write any blogs during the summer, but now I will do my best to keep the readers of Sahmaran informed about the life in Kalar and Guermian. I try to put also pictures if I have access to a good internet connection. Here in Kalar its capacity does not seem to be enough to add pictures here.