KARZAN VO: KIRKUK IS MY HOMETOWN. AS A TEENAGER, I HAD TO ESCAPE SADDAM HUSSEIN’S TERROR, AND EVER SINCE LIVED IN EXILE IN EUORPE. I HAD BEEN IMPROSONED BY SADDAM’S SECRET POLICE, AND BADLY TORTURED WHEN I WAS JUST FOURTEEN. MY ONLY CRIME WAS BEING KURDISH. I WAS LUCKY, I ESCAPED, BUT I AM STILL STRUGGLING WITH MY OWN NIGHTMARE.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 25 YEARS I AM NOW BACK TRYING TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE VIOLENT PAST OF MY COUNTRY, AND THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE WHICH LAYS AHEAD FOR MY PEOPLE, THE KURDS.WE ARE FORCED TO LIVE IN IRAQ, A COUNTRY THAT IS TORN BY RELIGIOUS HOSTILITIES BETWEEN THE SUNNI AND SHI’ITE ARABS.
I AM WORRIED THAT DESPITE MY PEOPLE’S ENDLESS CRY FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY, WE WILL BE DRAGGED INTO THEIR BLOODY CIVIL WAR.
Karzan sot: “nine, …
Karzan: ten. I am coming, you are hiding. Where can they be?”
Taro: “charge”
KARZAN VO: MY NAME IS KARZAN SHERABAYANI. I AM MARRIED TO JOSIE AND WE HAVE THREE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN. AFTER MANY YEARS LIVING HERE IN BRITAIN, I AM NOW GOING BACK TO KIRKUK TO VOTE IN THE FIRST EVER DEMOCRATIC ELECTION IN IRAQ.
Josie: “Of course I am worried about the possible dangers of the journey. But I also feel strongly positive about it and I want to focus on that, because I know there’s a lot of things that need to be said, and it’s very important that certain things are brought to light.”
Karzan sot: “It is actually not Iraq for me. It is Kurdistan. And Kirkuk belongs to Kurdistan for me and for many other Kurds.
KARZAN VO: WHEN I LEFT KURDISTAN IN 1980, I MADE TWO PROMISSES TO MYSELF:ONE, NEVER GO TO ENGLAND, AND THE OTHER, NEVER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH AN ENGLISH WOMAN.
Karzan: “I love you sweetheart. Bye… bye Leon, bye, Taro, bye, Tashan.”
KARZAN VOTHIS WAS BECAUSE I GREW UP WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT BRITIAN WAS THE CAUSE OF MY PEOPLE’S PAIN AND SUFFERING.IN 1921 BRITIAN CREATED THE STATE OF IRAQ, DIVIDED KURDISTAN, AND CRUSHED THE KURDISH RESISTANCE.KURDISTAN, MY COUNTRY, WAS WIPED OFF THE MAP.
Karzan sot: “At the moment I am travelling from Dyarbakir down to the border between Iraq and Turkey.Hopefully by midnight I should be going across the border, down to Mosul, tomorrow. And then from there to Hawler and drive all the way to Kirkuk, my home town.”
Karzan: “Is this area known as South-East Turkey?”
Driver: “Yes, it’s known as South-East Turkey. But for us it is North Kurdistan.”
KARZAN VO: Concerned about Turkish Government reprisals, my Kurdish driver asked to remain anonymous.
Driver: “I’m registered as a Turk but I speak Kurdish and I’m of Kurdish origin. I want to keep my Kurdish identity.”
KARZAN VO: DEPRIVED OF THEIR TRUE IDENTITY, MY PEOPLE, THE KURDS IN TURKEY, SYRIA AND IRAN, ARE CLOSELY WATCHING THE DEVELOPING SITUATION IN IRAQ.
Karzan: “This is it. ‘Welcome to Kurdistan of Iraq’. And all we have to do one day is to hide this so that we will just read ‘Welcome to Kurdistan.’”
KARZAN VOHERE I AM BACK IN SOUTHERN KURDISTAN, ONLY A FEW HUNDRED KILOMETERS FROM MY HOMETOWN.I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE MY BROTHER ABO, AND MY NEPHEW CHALAK, PICKING ME UP AT THE BORDER.
Nephew: “Saddam’s men killed fourteen Kurds with this gun.
Karzan: ‘-Is it loaded?”
Nephew: “-Yes.”Brother: “Everyone is armed. We all keep guns at home for security.”
Karzan: “Are you happy Saddam’s gone?”Brother: “Of course. The British and the Americans have saved us.”
Nephew: “In Iraq, the Kurdish people support the Coalition Forces most. We welcomed them with roses. But I don’t understand the British and the Americans…why they are so ambivalent about Kurdish independence?”
KARZAN VO: IT IS BELIEVED THAT NEBUCHANEZZAR FOUNDED KIRKUK AROUND SIX HUNDRED B.C. MY PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT KIRKUK IS THE SOUL OF KURDISTAN. DURING SADDAM’S REGIME KIRKUK BECAME A MICROCOSM OF IRAQ’S ETHNIC CONFLICT. ALTHOUGH MOSTLY KURDISH, IT IS ALSO HOME TO CHRISTIANS, TURKMAN, SUNNI AND SHI’ITE ARABS.WITH AS MANY AS ONE MILLION INHABITANTS, KIRKUK IS THE LARGEST CITY IN SOUTHERN KURDISTAN. IT SHOULD BE ONE OF THE WEALTHEST CITIES IN THE WORLD.BUT THIS SEA OF BLACK GOLD HAS BEEN KIRKUK’S CURSE FOR OVER A CENTURY.
Kirkuk sits on 10 billion barrels of oil, worth over 700 billion US dollars . This is more than twice the oil reserves of Texas.
Karzan: “This is amazing…Look at these little ones. I used to be just like them, playing around In the street.”
Karzan: “Is this a real gun? Has it got any bullets in it? Take it back. It’s OK. Just joking. He just reminds me of myself.This is where I grow up, this is where it all started. I have my family waiting for me here. Would I recognize anybody in this place? I cannot believe it, I am back. I am back”.
KARZAN VO: I AM A MEMBER OF A TYPICALLY LARGE KURDISH FAMILY: NINE BROTHERS, ONE SISTER, AND MANY NEPHEWS AND NIECES.
Karzan: “One thing is very unfortunate that my father is not here, anymore and my mum. I just wish I could hug them for one second here.”
KARZAN VO: I COULDN’T COME BACK TO PAY MY RESPECTS WHEN MY PARENTS PASSED AWAY BECAUSE I WAS ON SADDAM’S BLACKLIST. FINALLY NOW I CAN PUT A GRAVESTONE ON MY PARENTS’ UNMARKED GRAVES.
KARZAN VO: SEEING MY KURDISH FAMILY SO HAPPY MAKES ME HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE.
KARZAN VO: I NEED TO VISIT THE PLACES OF MY YOUTH. FIRST IT HAS TO BE MY CINEMA, MY MAGIC WORLD WHERE I SO HAPPILY WATCHED HERCULES, TARZAN, ROBIN HOOD AND MANY OTHER FILMS.
What a shock to see my cinema as a car park.
Karzan: “So many beautiful memories in this cinema, and to come back and see it like this it really breaks my heart.
KARZAN VO: WHEN I WAS ABOUT FOURTEEN, I WAS COMING OUT OF THIS CINEMA, AFTER WATCHING A SUPERMAN FILM.
Karzan sot: “On the way coming home I decided to come to Chaykhana…this place - my local teahouse. And when I sat down here and I called for a drink, Pepsi. Suddenly, my hand was grabbed. I looked up. He was an Arab, he was a ‘Mukhabrat’: Saddam’s man. And I started to shakebecause I knew this was real bad news.”
KARZAN VO: SADDAM’S SECRET POLICE USED TO COME TO MY DISTRICT IN A WHITE PEUGEOT FOUR O FOUR. THEY ALWAYS TOOK AWAY TWO OR THREE PEOPLE – WHO WERE NEVER SEEN AGAIN.THE RIDE IN THAT CAR WAS THE FINAL RIDE.
Guard: “Excuse me, where do you think you’re going?”
Karzan: “Don’t worry, we have special permission from to visit the oil fields.
Guard: “show me your permission.”
Karzan: “Yes, of course it’s in the car.”
Guard: “I need to see it. We Kurds had enough trouble because of this place. They destroyed Shoraw because of the oil.”
KARZAN VO: SHORAW, MY FAMILY’S HOME VILLAGE, LAY ON TOP OF KIRKUK’S MAIN OILFIELDS. IT WAS THE FIRST KURDISH VILLAGE TO BE DESTROYED BY THE IRAQI ARMY.MY BROTHER ABO AND I ARE THE FIRST MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY TO RETURN TO SHORAW, IN 43 YEARS.
Brother: “We were very rich because father was working for the oil company. But then the government sacked all the Kurdish employees, including father.”Karzan: “who took over their jobs?”
Brother: “the Arabs.”
Karzan: “Arab?’
Brother: “ Yes, it was early in 1963 when the Iraqi Ba’ath Government troops arrived here. They arrested all the men. They were lined up by the graveyard to be executed. Then they were taken to Musaib, tortured and imprisoned for eight months. The army gave us 24 hours to get out of the village. There was total panic, 505 families desperate to get out in time. To save ourselves we abandoned our belongings. We lost everything.”
Karzan: “The thing about oil here, the reason why I call it black curse. Because what is most precious to human beings in life is freedom. And we’ve lost it. We’ve lost it because of this. In a way, I wish we never had it. Because it just happens to be in our land. We’ve never benefited it. The only thing this brought to us is disaster.”
KARZAN VO: KIRKUK IS A CITY IN LIMBO. ALTHOUGH PART OF A MOSTLY ARAB IRAQ, KIRKUK’S DOMINANT KURDISH POPULATION MEANS, THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO INVESTEMENT FROM BAGHDAD IN REBUILDING THE CITY.BAGHDAD’S STRATEGY TO HOLD BACK KURDISH POLITICAL AMBITIONS BY STRANGLING KIRKUK SEEMS TO BE WORKING.
Angry Man #1: “Kirkuk was like this under Saddam, and nothing has changed.”
Angry Man #2: “We live on top of a sea of oil! But there are too many thieves. From the Governors to the Prime Minister.”
Angry Man #3: “No jobs, no employment, nothing.”
KARZAN VO: THIS LACK OF INFRUSTRUCUTRE CAN’T BE FOR ECONOMIC REASONS. THIS IS YET ANOTHER ATTEMPTS TO CAUSE FRICTION AND TENSION BETWEEN DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS IN KIRKUK.
Karzan: “It takes very little for them to explode.Well, excuse me guys, before this argument gets out of control, I have to go.”
Old woman: “We have been without gas for half of the winter. They are destroying us.” Upset man: “Before the American’s came we had everything: gas, paraffin and petrol.With the arrival of the Americans we thought it would increase, not disappear. If they can’t make it better can we have it back like it was?”
Karzan: “Do you want Saddam back?”
Upset man: “No, no. We don’t want Saddam. We want petrol and gas to be available. What’s the difference? When people suffer it’s as if Saddam was still in power.”
Gas Manager: “We had 560 Canisters. All distributed. There’s no more. It’s finished.”
Karzan: “You are looking a bit desolate.”
Old tired man: “What can I do? I’ve waited all this time. The gas finished before my turn. We live in the land of gas and oil and don’t have enough to keep us warm.”
Karzan sot: “Kirkuk, one of the richest oil cities in the world…and one of the real bizarre situations you can see people queuing up for about 7 to 8 hours to get petrol. This queue goes back for at least 7 kilometers.
KARZAN VO: THE MEN IN THE MARKET PLACE WERE RIGHT - THE CORRUPTION IS TERRIBLE. HERE, IN THE GOVERNMENT RUN STATION, ONE LITRE OF PETROL COSTS TWENTY US CENTS. BUT JUST ACROSS THE ROAD, ON THE BLACK MARKET, ONE LITRE COSTS TEN TIMES AS MUCH.
Karzan: “I must say that somebody on the top must be making pretty good money.”
Karzan: “It’s 2:30 p.m. and this gentleman has been queuing from 7 a.m. this morning.”
Karzan: “The reason why they are fighting - this guy is corrupted the police here, paid some money to the police and he jumped the queue.”
Karzan: “- Does that make you angry?”
Angry man: “- Yes, I have been queuing since 7 a.m.
Karzan sot: “I can’t believe it. The director of this petrol station is a childhood friend. And I just love this and I am so pleased to have found this man.”
Friend: “My Friend.”
Karzan: “And he said I can jump the queue. It’s very naughty to do so. But come on. He is doing me a favour. And favours here is very important.”
Karzan: “ why this shortage of petrol?”Friend: “Terrorists are blowing up the gas and petrol pipelines so that the people suffer.”
Karzan: “I am going to ask him a question and I want him to answer me as a friend from his heart.”
Karzan: “You are a Kurd and the manager of this petrol station. Do you discriminate against the Arab, Turkman and the Christians?”
Friend: “Not at all. I have Turkman and Arab employees. I don’t favour anyone. I consider them all brothers.”
KARZAN VO: MY FRIEND, RAHAMAN, NOT ONLY LET ME JUMP THE QUEUE BUT WOULDN’T LET ME PAY.
Karzan sot: “Are you sure you want to give it to me?”
Friend: “- I can’t answer in English.”
Karzan: “- OK say it in Kurdish.”
Friend: “In Europe, people give flowers to their friends as gifts. Here we give petrol.” Old man: “Thank you, thank you.”
KARZAN VO: MY OLDER BROTHER MAHDI AND HIS FAMILY LIVE IN HAWLER, AN HOUR NORTH OF KIRKUK. SADDAM DEPORTED THEM FROM KIRKUK IN 1997. ALTHOUGH THE CITY IS NOW LIBERATED FROM SADDAM, THEY REMAIN HERE AS REFUGEES.
Karzan “My brother.”
Karzan sot: “Mahdi was my inspiration to go to Europe.When he was young, he wanted to go to Europe himself. But because he didn’t belong to the Iraqi government, he was not given this chance. And so he invested in me and I must greatly thank him for ever for that!”
Karzan: “Wouldn’t you like to go back and live in Kirkuk?”
Mahdi: “Of course I would. Kirkuk is my hometown and the city of my ancestors…but the refugees that have gone back to Kirkuk live in terrible conditions. They live worse than animals.”
KARZAN VO: KIRKUK WAS NOT ONLY DESTROYED ECONOMICALLY. IT WAS ALSO SUBJECT TO ETHNIC CLEANSING.
Saddam deported 200.000 Kurds. He brought in 250.000 Arab settlers to try to turn Kirkuk into an Arab city. This program continued until his final days in power.
DESPITE HAVING TO LIVE IN TERRIBLE CONDITIONS, THOUSANDS OF KURDISH REFUGEES ARE STILL RETURNING TO KIRKUK, AFTER LIVING IN EXILE, IN THE SAFE HAVEN FOR MANY YEARS.IRAQ’S NEW ARAB DOMINANT GOVERNMENT HAS AGREED TO RELOCATE THE ARAB SETTLERS. BUT IN REALITY THE SETTLERS ARE STILL IN THE CITY AND THE KURDISH REFUGEES HAVE TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES. THE ARABISATION OF KIRKUK GOES ON.
Refugee Man: “Our houses are gone, and we’ve not been compensated, not one dinar.”
Karzan: “What about the Arabs brought in by Saddam to settle in Kirkuk?”
R. Man: “Saddam gave them bonuses and 400 sq. meters of land. They live in houses…and we live in these terrible conditions. You can see for yourself…we try to cover mud with plastic sheets. Two more days of rain and everything will collapse. We will be out in the rain.”
KARZAN VO: I AM NOW STARTING TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE INSURGENTS’ ATTACKS IN KIRKUK ARE INCREASING. THE SUNNI & SHI’IATE ARABS ARE TERRIFIED THAT KIRKUK WILL BECOME THE FUTURE CAPITAL OF AN AUTONOMOUS KURDISTAN REGION. THEY WORRY THAT ECONOMIC AND ETHNIC CLEANSING IS NOT ENOUGH. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS; MY FAMILY, FINALLY FREED FROM SADDAM, NOW HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS NEW THREAT.INSURGENTS HAVE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THE POLICE FORCE’S NEW RECRUITS. DESPITE THE DANGERS, MY 19 YEAR OLD NIECE, AVIN, IS TRAINING TO BECOME A POLICE OFFICER.
Karzan: “Do you really think it’s worth it, to take this big risk?”
Avin: “It’s worth the risk to save children or women…everyday, Many people, innocent people are dying.”
Karzan “How important is Kirkuk for you?”
Avin: “Kirkuk is my city, I was born there “
Karzan: “So do you think Kirkuk should be included in federal state of Kurdistan within Iraq?”
Avin: “I hope, we can have it because Kirkuk belongs to us.”
KARZAN VO: UNLIKE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, THE KURDS HAVE AN UNUSUALLY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF POLICE WOMEN.I CANNOT HIDE MY PRIDE AT THIS STATEMENT ABOUT THE FREEDOM OF ISLAMIC WOMEN BY THE KURDISH REGIONAL GOVERNEMENT.
KARZAN VO: JUST AS I AM STARTING TO FEEL HOPEFUL, I RECEIVE THE NEWS THAT A ROCKET HAD HIT MY OTHER NIECE NAZANIN’S HOUSE.
Karzan: “She is still here, she is a live. I can’t believe it.”
KARZAN VO: FORTUNATELY NOBODY WAS HURT.
Karzan: “This is where the rocket hit the roof. Look at that. That’s pure concrete.”
Niece: “ The explosion was huge - we thought the house had collapsed.”
Karzan sot: “Just blindly shooting a rocket like this into this district because there are Kurds living here.”
Niece: “We will not have peace as long as the Arabs settlers remain in Kirkuk. They have to go back to where they came from. They can’t stay here.”
Karzan: “- So why don’t you throw them out?”
Niece: “- How? Who’s going to do it?”
Husband: “We don’t want to use violence. We will use the law.”
KARZAN VO: THE ATTACKS ARE BELIVED TO BE COMING FROM THE ARUBA DISTRICT. THIS IS ONE OF SADDAM’S MANY ARAB SETTLEMENTS, WHICH IS HOME TO MOST OF KIRKUK’S INSURGENTS. IF THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS SUCCEEDS, THESE ARAB SETTLERS WILL FINALLY HAVE TO LEAVE KIRKUK.IT SEEMS THAT THEY HAVE STARTED THEIR VIOLENT CAMPAIGN LEADING UP TO THE ELECTIONS.
Security Police: “This morning a Kurd living in this area complained to us that Arabs from here…had threatened to blow up all their houses if they went to vote.”
KARZAN VO: THE SETTLERS WERE VERY SURPRISED TO HAVE ME, A KURD WALKING THEIR STREETS AND INTERESTED IN THEIR VIEWS.
Karzan: “- Are you all Arabs?’
Group: “- Yes, we are.”
Karzan “- Are you going to vote?”Group: “- No we’re not.”
Arab#1: “We are Sunnis here. Our Clerics have decided we should boycott the elections.This is out of solidarity with our brothers in Falluja.”
Arab#3: “Anyone who votes is a coward and dishonest.”
Karzan: “-Do you mind if I go inside?”Woman “-Of course you can.”
Karzan: “This is where I was kept by the Iraqi secret police. She says she’s a refugee and she’s living here.”
Karzan sot: “I was imprisoned here in the basement.I was only fourteen at the time.”
Karzan: “Do you live here?”
Karzan: “- In this dreadful place?”Woman: “- We are refugees, we have no choice.”
Karzan: “Look at this, one thing that I have never managed to get out of my mind the image of these graphics written by so many… young Kurds brought in here and tortured to death.
This says ‘I entered this cell with my family and I am only thirteen years old.”
Karzan: “God I have only you, please god… I did the same. I begged god to come out. I begged but I, I lost all my faith in god after what I experienced here.”
Karzan sot: “I cannot believe it, that I am here,back in this spot, in this place, thirty years later.”
KARZAN VO: IN THE MIDDEST OF MY TORTURE, I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT WHEN THEY BROUGHT IN MY ACCUSER, SABIR, A LOCAL KURDISH BOY, THE SAME AGE AS ME.I AM STILL VERY BITTER REMEBERING SABIR SIDING WITH THE SECRET POLICE AND FALSLY ACCUSING ME.
Karzan sot: “They pulled me up, upside down with my head down. And one, with a cable… started to hit the bottom of my feet. Then they throw me on the floor, drag me outside in the main hall and then they would say ‘run…’ with feet swollen, feet covered in blood and they seemed to enjoy it. That’s what was so sick about it.”
Karzan: “You confess they were saying. We give you our word. The word of honour. You confess, you name two people we are going to bring two people in and you can go free.”
KARZAN VO: BECAUSE I REFUSED TO NAME ANYONE, I KNEW I’D BE SHOT OR HANGED. BUT I WAS EXTREMELY LUCKY. MY ELDEST BROTHER, FAZEL, INTERVENED. HE BOUGHT MY FREEDOM AND SAVED ME FROM SADDAM’S MONSTERS.
KARZAN VO: OVER THE YEARS, SO MANY PEOPLE GOT KILLED OR HAD DISAPPEARED THAT I CAN HARDLY RECOGNISE ANY FACES IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD.I WONDER WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO SABIR, WHO HAD BETRAYED ME TO SADDAM’S SECRET POLICE. AND WHAT OF ADNAN, ONE OF MY BEST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WHO USED TO LIVE OVER THE ROAD?
Over 4 million Iraqis had to escape the country during Saddam’s reign. They now live around the world as refugees.
Karzan: “This is, oh, she is just like my mum. I so much hoped to come here and find this woman still a live for one question which is very dear to me. Because she too suffered at the hand of Saddam Hussein a lot. An I would like to know how does she feel about Saddam being behind bars now?
Friend’s Mother: “Oh thank god for that! Would anybody think that’s bad? Only now are we just starting to feel we have a life.”
Karzan: “Look at that beautiful smile on her face.”
Friend’s Mother: “President Bush is a sacred person. I would prefer that 6 of us die, than one American soldier hurt.”
Friend’s son: “We should make golden statues of Mr Bush & Mr Blair, and put them in every city. Especially in Kurdistan. They gave us this freedom.”
Karzan: “The American & British people are now calling for their armies to withdraw. They want their soldiers out of Iraq and Kurdistan.”
Friend’s son: “I hope they won’t leave us.”
Friend’s Mother: “If they leave, what will happen to us? It would mean disaster for us Kurds. I would rather give them have half our oil to stay with us… Actually, they can have all of it.”
KARZAN VO: THE KURDS ARE THE US & BRITAIN’S ONLY HOPE TO MAKE THE POLITICAL PROCESS A SUCCESS AND TO BRING DEMOCRACY TO IRAQ.BUT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THE AMERICANS’ TRUE INTENTIONS IN MY COUNTRY.
Karzan: “I was told there was a press conference here with Colonel Miles, the top American guy. I am trying to go to those guys but they just immediately point their gun out. They are very tense because it’s only three days to go before the general election.
Karzan: “How long you been around?”Soldier: “In Iraq?”
Karzan: “yeah.”
Soldier: “13 months.”
Karzan: “Thirteen months. How do you feel about it?”
Soldier: “It sucks.”
Karzan: “It sucks? You guys keep up with it. We want peace. And you are doing a good job. Many people around the world are talking about the Americans are here only for the oil. That might be true. You can take half but don’t take it all. Ok? Great.”
Col. Miles sot: “It is your election, this is your city and this is your country.”
KARZAN VO: I WANTED TO FIND OUT: IF THE NEW FEDERAL IRAQ COLLAPSED, AND THE KURDS PROCLAIMED AN INDEPENDENT STATE, WOULD THE AMERICANS ONCE AGAIN ABANDON US, AS THEY DID IN 1975 AND 1991?
C. Miles: “We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Kurdish political parties and the Kurdish people. And they have welcomed us as their own brothers in this province. But the question you ask as far as what would we do if, in fact, the Kurds declared independence from the rest of this country, obviously is one that won’t be answered , that can’t be answered at my level. I think if I knew the answer to the question like that I would probably be a general, like general Geihardt.But I will say, that we have to take these issues one step at a time. And the first task before us is the elections on the 30th of January. It is this election that will choose the representatives that will help draft the constitution for this country. And I am confident that the rights of the Kurds will also be protected in the constitution.”
KARZAN VO: I WAS STILL LEFT WITH DOUBTS. BUT WITH THE ELECTION DRAWING NEAR, I NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS GENUINE. THAT MY VOTE WOULD COUNT. THAT IT WAS NOT JUST AN AMERICAN AND BRITISH STATE SHOW. I PUT MY QUESTION TO KIRKUK’S DIRECTOR OF THE INDIPENDENT ELECTROL COMMISSION FOR IRAQ, FARHAD TALABANI.
Farhad: “No-one is interfering in the running of this election, In my meetings with the American and British consuls they insist on the transparency of these elections.”
Karzan: “I’m not optimistic. I believe we can’t live in peace with Sunni and Shi’ite Arabs.”
Farhad: “I am actually more pessimistic than you, and have absolutely no trust in them. Most of the Arabs in Kirkuk complained about me to the government in Baghdad, not about me personally, they just said ‘We refuse him as Director of IECI, because he is a kurd.’
KARZAN VO: Two days after this meeting, Farhad’s offices were raided by gunmen and two of his men were killed.
KARZAN VO: DESPITE ALL MY RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS COUNTRY, THE ELECTION, THE FIRST EVER DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IN IRAQ, WAS AN AMAZING EVENT. I NEVER BELIEVED THIS WOULD HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME. AND I WAS THERE TO WITNESS IT.
Karzan: “This is a parade of the Kurds and it is actually like a carnival. Not a Notting Hill Carnival, but this is Kirkuk’s election Carnival. And it’s very nice to see that on one side the Turkman, on the other side the Assyrians, here the Kurds, they are all parading and they excited about the election.”
KARZAN VO: EVEN IN A JOYES MOMENT LIKE THAT THE DARKNESS OF KIRKUK’S ETHNIC DIVISION WAS EVER PRSENT.
Angry Turkman: “George Bush is a liar, Kofi Annan is a liar.”
Karzan: “There is a hostility to this guy the way he speaks, and I would prefer to get onto that car and make a move…”
Angry Turkman: “The Kurds by siding with them, make us Turkman their enemy.”
KARZAN VO: UNDER SADDAM ONE ETHNIC GROUP, THE SUNNI ARABS HAD ALL THE POWER. BECAUSE THEY ONLY REPRESENTED A SMALL MINORITY OF THE POPULATION IN KIRKUK, THE ELECTIONS MEAN THE END OF THEIR DOMINANT ROLE.
Sheik: “We are totally convinced that the elections will not satisfy the Iraqis’ demands.Therefore, we believe that the election is doomed to failure.”
KARZAN VO: THIS IS AN ALARMING REMARK. I AM NOW EVEN MORE CONVINCED THAT IF THE SUNNI AND SHI’ITE ARABS HAD THEIR CHOICE, THEY WOULD GOVERN IRAQ WITHOUT US KURDS. I WAS TORN BETWEEN A DISIRE TO TAKE PART IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, HOPING THAT IT WOULD ULTIMATELY LEAD TO AN INDEPENDET KURDISTAN, AND FEAR OF THE REPERCUSIONS COULD BE, IF THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS FAILED AND IT LED TO BLOODY CIVIL WAR.
Karzan: “I am on my way to a press conference led by Hoshyar Zebari. He’s Iraqi’s foreign minister, a Kurd. The first Kurd to become a foreign minister in Iraq’s new interim government.”
HZ sot: “We are working in partnership.
HZ: “The old Iraq, Saddam’s Iraq is gone. There will be a new Iraq.”
Karzan: “Do you truly believe that a federal system within Iraq will work, with the Sunni’s, trying to sabotage the democracy, and the historical differences between the Kurds and the Shi’iates. Or, don’t you think it that you, as a Kurd, should be lobbying for an independent, free, Southern Kurdistan?”
HZ: “I’ll be very honest with you, I am lobbying for the goals and objectives set by my leadership. Which is I am working for a democratic, pluralistic federal and united Iraq.”
KARZAN VO: It felt that the leadership’s call for a United Democratic Federal Iraq was out of touch with the reality on the ground.
Hat man: “Ask your British friends to help us get back what they took away during the 1920’s.”
Biz man: “We are suffering at the hands of the Turks, the Persians and the Arabs. They believe they have the god-given right to everything, including Islam. They want freedom and statehood for Arab countries but reject these ideas for us Kurds.
Karzan: “You mean they regard us as infidels?”Biz man: “The Arabs have 22 countries and there’s nothing wrong with that….but consider our minimum demand for federalism to be a blasphemy. “
Karzan: “So, do you think it’s time that Kurds put nationalism before Islam?”
Hat man: “I agree. The Arabs use Islam to their advantage. For example… they interpret Koran to say there are three reasons for repeating a prayer: if a donkey, or a dog, or a non-Arab (i.e. a Kurd) crosses in front of you. Arabs don’t consider us Muslim, so our national identity should come before Islam.”
Karzan: “Couldn’t we live in peace with the Arabs provided we respect each others’ lives?”
Hat man: “We’d love to. But they always treat us like third or fourth class citizensWe’d settle for second class, but they won’t even give us that.”
Karzan: “I remember that the security police would ask me ‘what are you?’ And I would say ‘I am a Kurd.’ They would say ‘there are no Kurds in Iraq’I’d say okay, I am not a Kurd, I am Iraqi. They would say ‘no you can’t be you bastard. You are a Kurd’”.
Hat man: “There’s only one true solution to our problems in this world: that is, separation and independence.Therefore we say to the world, ‘all we want is a free and independent country.’Everything else is a waste of time and is paid with our blood.”
ARZAN VO: HEARING THIS, I JUST COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY THE KURDISH LEADERSHIP DID NOT, ONCE AND FOR ALL STAND ON THEIR FEET, FACE THE OUTSIDE WORLD, AND CALL FOR AN INDIPENDENT KURDISTAN?
Fatah: “Neighboring countries and our geography don’t allow the creation of a Kurdish state.But there is no Kurd who does not dream of an independent Kurdistan.But a dream is one thing and reality is another.”
KARZAN VO: GEOGRAPHIC REALITIES, THAT IS THE MANTRA WHICH IS COMMUNLY REPEATED BY EVERY POLITICIANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE WEST. BUT WHY ARE THESE REALITIES ALWAYS IN FAVOUR OF IRAN, IRAQ, TURKEY AND SYRIA? MOST OF THESE STATES ARE SOWRN ENEMISE OF THE WEST.KURDISTAN IS THE TRUE GEOGRAPHIC REALITY, AND UNTIL THIS PROBLEM IS FACED THERE WILL BE NO TRUE PEACE IN THIS PART OF THE MIDDLE EAST.MY FEAR IS IF THIS MANTRA GOES ON, WE KURDS COULD END UP LOSING KIRKUK AS WELL.
Karzan: “What if Iraq’s Federal government won’t include Kirkuk within the Kurdistan region?”Fatah: “I don’t think Iraq’s new government will make that terrible mistake.”
KARZAN VO: It was the night BEFORE the election...
Karzan: “Excuse me wait a minute…”
KARZAN VO:Tensions were running high and the Americans were worried. A. Soldier: “You must turn the camera off.”
A. Soldier: “Shut your camera off”
Karzan sot: “I need to shut the camera off?”
A. Soldier: “ Yes you do.”
Karzan sot: “I am most scared on this trip, but I am also coming to…very close to the end off it. So let’s hope it is going to go well.”
KARZAN VO: 30TH JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND 5 WAS A TURNING POINT IN IRAQ’S HISTORY. IT WAS THE FIRST EVER, TOTALLY FREE, DEMOCRATIC ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE COUNTRY. THIS WAS WHAT GEORGE BUSH AND TONY BLAIR CLAIMED THE WAR WAS ALL ABOUT.
Karzan: “This city has never been so empty. I am in the centre of Kirkuk. It’s like a ghost town. Of course it is the morning of the election and people are not allowed to drive.”
Karzan: “- Where are you going?”
Man: “- to vote.”
Karzan: “- Have you walked far?”
Man: “- yes many kilometers. Our hope for a free life depends on this election.”
Karzan: “- Aren’t you worried about the threats?”Man: “- we are going to vote no matter what.”
Young Woman Voter: “In the past we couldn’t vote. We didn’t have the freedom to express ourselves. Now we are free to do it and vote for whoever we want.”
Young Man Voter: “Our ultimate dream is to have our own border and be separated from Iraq.”
KARZAN VO: IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS I CAME ACROSS SHAMAL, MY ONLY TRUE CHILDHOOD FRIEND LEFT IN KIRKUK.IT WAS A JOY TO SEE HIM.HE WAS THE LAST LINK I HAD WITH THE KIRKUK OF MY YOUTH.
Karzan: “Do you think I should vote?
Shamal: “Of course.”
Karzan “I have to make up my mind now because I need to decide whether I am going to vote or not.
KARZAN VO: EVERY MEMBER OF MY FAMILY IN KIRKUK, EVERY KURD I MET ON THE ROAD, TOLD ME I SHOULD VOTE. THEY BELIEVED THIS ELECTION WAS AN ESSENTAIL STEP TOWARDS GAINING AN INDIPENDENT KURDISTAN, WITHOUT BLOODSHED.
To prevent voting fraud all voters HAD TO dip their index finger into indelible ink.
Karzan: “This is for new Iraq and a democratic new Iraqi government. And I hope they will recognize the right of the Kurds as well.”
KARZAN VO: THE ELECTION DAY WAS A SUCCESS. FOR A SHORT TIME, I BELIEVED THAT THE THREE GROUPS, SHIITE, SUNNI ARABS AND KURDS COULD PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES FOR THE SAKE OF A UNITED IRAQ. BUT THEN I WAS BROUGHT BACK TO REALITY.
Karzan sot: “It was twenty to seven this morning when the rocket hit the refugees inside the stadium.”
Karzan sot: “This is where the rocket hit. You can also see the tree, all cut because of this rocket.”
Karzan: “He says my son just walked out and then suddenly there was this massive noise and shrapnel’s flying all over our heads and his older brother’s screaming “my brother is killed.”
KARZAN VO: AS THEY TOLD ME THEIR SON YOUSIF WAS ONLY FIFTEEN, I WONDERED IF HE WAS ONE OF THE REFUGEE BOYS, I HAD PLAYED FOOTBALL WITH, ONLY TWO DAYS BEFORE.
Older Brother: “Despite all we will vote to increase the Kurdish voice in the Iraqi parliament.
Mother: “We ask president George Bush to finally recognise our rights. How much longer must we live with this bloodshed? We’ve had enough!”
KARZAN VO: I AM NOW CONVINCED, MORE THAN EVER, THAT THIS COUNTRY COULD END UP LIKE THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA - A MASSACRE BEFORE DIVISION. THE WEST MUST END ITS CALL FOR A UNITED IRAQ AND ACCEPT THAT IRAQ MUST DIVIDE.MYSELF, MY PEOPLE AND OUR LEADERSHIP HAVE COMPROMISED AND ACTIVELY TAKEN PART IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE AND DEMOCRACY. AND YET OUR FUTURE IS STILL NOT IN OUR HANDS.IT IS HEARTBRAKING FOR ME TO SEE MY HOMETOWN AS A RUIN. KIRKUK, WITH ITS OILFIELDS AND THE SPIRIT OF ITS PEOPLE, SHOULD BE A SHINING CITY, AND THE CAPITOL OF AN INDIPENDENT KURDISTAN.A COUNTRY, WHICH WOULD BE A BASTIAN OF TOLERANCE AND DEMOCRACY IN THIS PART OF THE MIDDLE EAST, THIS IS THE UKLTIMATE DREAM OF MY PEOPLE AND COULD ONLY BENEFIT THE CIVILISED WORLD.WE KURDS ONLY NEED ON CHANCE.
KARZAN VO: IN ONE OF LIFE’S STRANGEST COINCIDENCES, SABIR, WHO BETRAYED ME TO SADDAM’S IRAQI SECRET POLICE, TURNS OUT TO BE THE MAN WHO I AM PAYING TO PREPAR MY MOTHER & FATHER’S GRAVESTONES. I HAVE TO CONFRONT HIM.
Karzan: “Yes, it’s him.”
Karzan: “Do you recognize me?”
Sabir: “Yes, I do.”
Karzan: “Wait, before you greet me, I have a question. Do you remember when you gave me up to the Secret Police?”
Sabir: “There’s a misunderstanding. We can also ask Hama, he’s still alive.”
Karzan: “Did you, or did you not, give my name to the Secret Police and accused me?”
Sabir: “The Secret Police already had your name, my name and Hama’s name.”
Karzan: “I know, but you falsely accused me and confirmed my name.”
Sabir: “Yes I did, I did, I even accused Hama.”
Karzan: “Why did you do it?”
Sabir: “They turned me up side down and beat me.Then they forced me to run, and when I fell, they kicked and punched me.They told me I must accuse you. When I refused, they tortured me even more.They told me, ‘We know he’s innocent...but if you refuse to accuse him you will be hanged.I had no choice, I had to accuse you.Anyone undergoing that torture would have accused even their own father.”
Karzan: “I was tortured in the same way.”
Sabir: “I’m sorry for what I did, you were innocent and it was wrong of me to accuse you.I apologize, but I did it under torture.”
Karzan: “Okay, I will greet you.”
Karzan: “It’s been thirty years…”
KARZAN VO:I NOW FEEL MY NIGHTMARES ARE OVER, BUT NOT FOR KIRKUK.
End Credits:Producer & Director Karzan Sherabayani
Filmed by Claudio von Planta
David Niblock
Karzan arrives home back in England and hugs his family.
Written by Mark Tierney
K D Carpenter
Karzan Sherabayani
Editor
Mark Tierney
Sound Mix
Mikkel Erikson
Online Editor
Jonathan Miles
Composer
Barrie Bignold
Executive Producer
Elizabeth Block
Additional Direction & Producer
Claudio Von Planta
Additional Camera
Bjorn Hellem
Audrey Swindells
Additional editing
Don Fairservice
Additional Graphics
Rob Irving
Production Assistant
Helen Liston
Archive
Mike Lewis
Graphics Zap
Lipson
Song
‘Ev Ci Jina’
Written & Performed by
Sivan Perwer
Joka Films 2006
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 25 YEARS I AM NOW BACK TRYING TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE VIOLENT PAST OF MY COUNTRY, AND THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE WHICH LAYS AHEAD FOR MY PEOPLE, THE KURDS.WE ARE FORCED TO LIVE IN IRAQ, A COUNTRY THAT IS TORN BY RELIGIOUS HOSTILITIES BETWEEN THE SUNNI AND SHI’ITE ARABS.
I AM WORRIED THAT DESPITE MY PEOPLE’S ENDLESS CRY FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY, WE WILL BE DRAGGED INTO THEIR BLOODY CIVIL WAR.
Karzan sot: “nine, …
Karzan: ten. I am coming, you are hiding. Where can they be?”
Taro: “charge”
KARZAN VO: MY NAME IS KARZAN SHERABAYANI. I AM MARRIED TO JOSIE AND WE HAVE THREE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN. AFTER MANY YEARS LIVING HERE IN BRITAIN, I AM NOW GOING BACK TO KIRKUK TO VOTE IN THE FIRST EVER DEMOCRATIC ELECTION IN IRAQ.
Josie: “Of course I am worried about the possible dangers of the journey. But I also feel strongly positive about it and I want to focus on that, because I know there’s a lot of things that need to be said, and it’s very important that certain things are brought to light.”
Karzan sot: “It is actually not Iraq for me. It is Kurdistan. And Kirkuk belongs to Kurdistan for me and for many other Kurds.
KARZAN VO: WHEN I LEFT KURDISTAN IN 1980, I MADE TWO PROMISSES TO MYSELF:ONE, NEVER GO TO ENGLAND, AND THE OTHER, NEVER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH AN ENGLISH WOMAN.
Karzan: “I love you sweetheart. Bye… bye Leon, bye, Taro, bye, Tashan.”
KARZAN VOTHIS WAS BECAUSE I GREW UP WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT BRITIAN WAS THE CAUSE OF MY PEOPLE’S PAIN AND SUFFERING.IN 1921 BRITIAN CREATED THE STATE OF IRAQ, DIVIDED KURDISTAN, AND CRUSHED THE KURDISH RESISTANCE.KURDISTAN, MY COUNTRY, WAS WIPED OFF THE MAP.
Karzan sot: “At the moment I am travelling from Dyarbakir down to the border between Iraq and Turkey.Hopefully by midnight I should be going across the border, down to Mosul, tomorrow. And then from there to Hawler and drive all the way to Kirkuk, my home town.”
Karzan: “Is this area known as South-East Turkey?”
Driver: “Yes, it’s known as South-East Turkey. But for us it is North Kurdistan.”
KARZAN VO: Concerned about Turkish Government reprisals, my Kurdish driver asked to remain anonymous.
Driver: “I’m registered as a Turk but I speak Kurdish and I’m of Kurdish origin. I want to keep my Kurdish identity.”
KARZAN VO: DEPRIVED OF THEIR TRUE IDENTITY, MY PEOPLE, THE KURDS IN TURKEY, SYRIA AND IRAN, ARE CLOSELY WATCHING THE DEVELOPING SITUATION IN IRAQ.
Karzan: “This is it. ‘Welcome to Kurdistan of Iraq’. And all we have to do one day is to hide this so that we will just read ‘Welcome to Kurdistan.’”
KARZAN VOHERE I AM BACK IN SOUTHERN KURDISTAN, ONLY A FEW HUNDRED KILOMETERS FROM MY HOMETOWN.I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE MY BROTHER ABO, AND MY NEPHEW CHALAK, PICKING ME UP AT THE BORDER.
Nephew: “Saddam’s men killed fourteen Kurds with this gun.
Karzan: ‘-Is it loaded?”
Nephew: “-Yes.”Brother: “Everyone is armed. We all keep guns at home for security.”
Karzan: “Are you happy Saddam’s gone?”Brother: “Of course. The British and the Americans have saved us.”
Nephew: “In Iraq, the Kurdish people support the Coalition Forces most. We welcomed them with roses. But I don’t understand the British and the Americans…why they are so ambivalent about Kurdish independence?”
KARZAN VO: IT IS BELIEVED THAT NEBUCHANEZZAR FOUNDED KIRKUK AROUND SIX HUNDRED B.C. MY PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT KIRKUK IS THE SOUL OF KURDISTAN. DURING SADDAM’S REGIME KIRKUK BECAME A MICROCOSM OF IRAQ’S ETHNIC CONFLICT. ALTHOUGH MOSTLY KURDISH, IT IS ALSO HOME TO CHRISTIANS, TURKMAN, SUNNI AND SHI’ITE ARABS.WITH AS MANY AS ONE MILLION INHABITANTS, KIRKUK IS THE LARGEST CITY IN SOUTHERN KURDISTAN. IT SHOULD BE ONE OF THE WEALTHEST CITIES IN THE WORLD.BUT THIS SEA OF BLACK GOLD HAS BEEN KIRKUK’S CURSE FOR OVER A CENTURY.
Kirkuk sits on 10 billion barrels of oil, worth over 700 billion US dollars . This is more than twice the oil reserves of Texas.
Karzan: “This is amazing…Look at these little ones. I used to be just like them, playing around In the street.”
Karzan: “Is this a real gun? Has it got any bullets in it? Take it back. It’s OK. Just joking. He just reminds me of myself.This is where I grow up, this is where it all started. I have my family waiting for me here. Would I recognize anybody in this place? I cannot believe it, I am back. I am back”.
KARZAN VO: I AM A MEMBER OF A TYPICALLY LARGE KURDISH FAMILY: NINE BROTHERS, ONE SISTER, AND MANY NEPHEWS AND NIECES.
Karzan: “One thing is very unfortunate that my father is not here, anymore and my mum. I just wish I could hug them for one second here.”
KARZAN VO: I COULDN’T COME BACK TO PAY MY RESPECTS WHEN MY PARENTS PASSED AWAY BECAUSE I WAS ON SADDAM’S BLACKLIST. FINALLY NOW I CAN PUT A GRAVESTONE ON MY PARENTS’ UNMARKED GRAVES.
KARZAN VO: SEEING MY KURDISH FAMILY SO HAPPY MAKES ME HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE.
KARZAN VO: I NEED TO VISIT THE PLACES OF MY YOUTH. FIRST IT HAS TO BE MY CINEMA, MY MAGIC WORLD WHERE I SO HAPPILY WATCHED HERCULES, TARZAN, ROBIN HOOD AND MANY OTHER FILMS.
What a shock to see my cinema as a car park.
Karzan: “So many beautiful memories in this cinema, and to come back and see it like this it really breaks my heart.
KARZAN VO: WHEN I WAS ABOUT FOURTEEN, I WAS COMING OUT OF THIS CINEMA, AFTER WATCHING A SUPERMAN FILM.
Karzan sot: “On the way coming home I decided to come to Chaykhana…this place - my local teahouse. And when I sat down here and I called for a drink, Pepsi. Suddenly, my hand was grabbed. I looked up. He was an Arab, he was a ‘Mukhabrat’: Saddam’s man. And I started to shakebecause I knew this was real bad news.”
KARZAN VO: SADDAM’S SECRET POLICE USED TO COME TO MY DISTRICT IN A WHITE PEUGEOT FOUR O FOUR. THEY ALWAYS TOOK AWAY TWO OR THREE PEOPLE – WHO WERE NEVER SEEN AGAIN.THE RIDE IN THAT CAR WAS THE FINAL RIDE.
Guard: “Excuse me, where do you think you’re going?”
Karzan: “Don’t worry, we have special permission from to visit the oil fields.
Guard: “show me your permission.”
Karzan: “Yes, of course it’s in the car.”
Guard: “I need to see it. We Kurds had enough trouble because of this place. They destroyed Shoraw because of the oil.”
KARZAN VO: SHORAW, MY FAMILY’S HOME VILLAGE, LAY ON TOP OF KIRKUK’S MAIN OILFIELDS. IT WAS THE FIRST KURDISH VILLAGE TO BE DESTROYED BY THE IRAQI ARMY.MY BROTHER ABO AND I ARE THE FIRST MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY TO RETURN TO SHORAW, IN 43 YEARS.
Brother: “We were very rich because father was working for the oil company. But then the government sacked all the Kurdish employees, including father.”Karzan: “who took over their jobs?”
Brother: “the Arabs.”
Karzan: “Arab?’
Brother: “ Yes, it was early in 1963 when the Iraqi Ba’ath Government troops arrived here. They arrested all the men. They were lined up by the graveyard to be executed. Then they were taken to Musaib, tortured and imprisoned for eight months. The army gave us 24 hours to get out of the village. There was total panic, 505 families desperate to get out in time. To save ourselves we abandoned our belongings. We lost everything.”
Karzan: “The thing about oil here, the reason why I call it black curse. Because what is most precious to human beings in life is freedom. And we’ve lost it. We’ve lost it because of this. In a way, I wish we never had it. Because it just happens to be in our land. We’ve never benefited it. The only thing this brought to us is disaster.”
KARZAN VO: KIRKUK IS A CITY IN LIMBO. ALTHOUGH PART OF A MOSTLY ARAB IRAQ, KIRKUK’S DOMINANT KURDISH POPULATION MEANS, THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO INVESTEMENT FROM BAGHDAD IN REBUILDING THE CITY.BAGHDAD’S STRATEGY TO HOLD BACK KURDISH POLITICAL AMBITIONS BY STRANGLING KIRKUK SEEMS TO BE WORKING.
Angry Man #1: “Kirkuk was like this under Saddam, and nothing has changed.”
Angry Man #2: “We live on top of a sea of oil! But there are too many thieves. From the Governors to the Prime Minister.”
Angry Man #3: “No jobs, no employment, nothing.”
KARZAN VO: THIS LACK OF INFRUSTRUCUTRE CAN’T BE FOR ECONOMIC REASONS. THIS IS YET ANOTHER ATTEMPTS TO CAUSE FRICTION AND TENSION BETWEEN DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS IN KIRKUK.
Karzan: “It takes very little for them to explode.Well, excuse me guys, before this argument gets out of control, I have to go.”
Old woman: “We have been without gas for half of the winter. They are destroying us.” Upset man: “Before the American’s came we had everything: gas, paraffin and petrol.With the arrival of the Americans we thought it would increase, not disappear. If they can’t make it better can we have it back like it was?”
Karzan: “Do you want Saddam back?”
Upset man: “No, no. We don’t want Saddam. We want petrol and gas to be available. What’s the difference? When people suffer it’s as if Saddam was still in power.”
Gas Manager: “We had 560 Canisters. All distributed. There’s no more. It’s finished.”
Karzan: “You are looking a bit desolate.”
Old tired man: “What can I do? I’ve waited all this time. The gas finished before my turn. We live in the land of gas and oil and don’t have enough to keep us warm.”
Karzan sot: “Kirkuk, one of the richest oil cities in the world…and one of the real bizarre situations you can see people queuing up for about 7 to 8 hours to get petrol. This queue goes back for at least 7 kilometers.
KARZAN VO: THE MEN IN THE MARKET PLACE WERE RIGHT - THE CORRUPTION IS TERRIBLE. HERE, IN THE GOVERNMENT RUN STATION, ONE LITRE OF PETROL COSTS TWENTY US CENTS. BUT JUST ACROSS THE ROAD, ON THE BLACK MARKET, ONE LITRE COSTS TEN TIMES AS MUCH.
Karzan: “I must say that somebody on the top must be making pretty good money.”
Karzan: “It’s 2:30 p.m. and this gentleman has been queuing from 7 a.m. this morning.”
Karzan: “The reason why they are fighting - this guy is corrupted the police here, paid some money to the police and he jumped the queue.”
Karzan: “- Does that make you angry?”
Angry man: “- Yes, I have been queuing since 7 a.m.
Karzan sot: “I can’t believe it. The director of this petrol station is a childhood friend. And I just love this and I am so pleased to have found this man.”
Friend: “My Friend.”
Karzan: “And he said I can jump the queue. It’s very naughty to do so. But come on. He is doing me a favour. And favours here is very important.”
Karzan: “ why this shortage of petrol?”Friend: “Terrorists are blowing up the gas and petrol pipelines so that the people suffer.”
Karzan: “I am going to ask him a question and I want him to answer me as a friend from his heart.”
Karzan: “You are a Kurd and the manager of this petrol station. Do you discriminate against the Arab, Turkman and the Christians?”
Friend: “Not at all. I have Turkman and Arab employees. I don’t favour anyone. I consider them all brothers.”
KARZAN VO: MY FRIEND, RAHAMAN, NOT ONLY LET ME JUMP THE QUEUE BUT WOULDN’T LET ME PAY.
Karzan sot: “Are you sure you want to give it to me?”
Friend: “- I can’t answer in English.”
Karzan: “- OK say it in Kurdish.”
Friend: “In Europe, people give flowers to their friends as gifts. Here we give petrol.” Old man: “Thank you, thank you.”
KARZAN VO: MY OLDER BROTHER MAHDI AND HIS FAMILY LIVE IN HAWLER, AN HOUR NORTH OF KIRKUK. SADDAM DEPORTED THEM FROM KIRKUK IN 1997. ALTHOUGH THE CITY IS NOW LIBERATED FROM SADDAM, THEY REMAIN HERE AS REFUGEES.
Karzan “My brother.”
Karzan sot: “Mahdi was my inspiration to go to Europe.When he was young, he wanted to go to Europe himself. But because he didn’t belong to the Iraqi government, he was not given this chance. And so he invested in me and I must greatly thank him for ever for that!”
Karzan: “Wouldn’t you like to go back and live in Kirkuk?”
Mahdi: “Of course I would. Kirkuk is my hometown and the city of my ancestors…but the refugees that have gone back to Kirkuk live in terrible conditions. They live worse than animals.”
KARZAN VO: KIRKUK WAS NOT ONLY DESTROYED ECONOMICALLY. IT WAS ALSO SUBJECT TO ETHNIC CLEANSING.
Saddam deported 200.000 Kurds. He brought in 250.000 Arab settlers to try to turn Kirkuk into an Arab city. This program continued until his final days in power.
DESPITE HAVING TO LIVE IN TERRIBLE CONDITIONS, THOUSANDS OF KURDISH REFUGEES ARE STILL RETURNING TO KIRKUK, AFTER LIVING IN EXILE, IN THE SAFE HAVEN FOR MANY YEARS.IRAQ’S NEW ARAB DOMINANT GOVERNMENT HAS AGREED TO RELOCATE THE ARAB SETTLERS. BUT IN REALITY THE SETTLERS ARE STILL IN THE CITY AND THE KURDISH REFUGEES HAVE TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES. THE ARABISATION OF KIRKUK GOES ON.
Refugee Man: “Our houses are gone, and we’ve not been compensated, not one dinar.”
Karzan: “What about the Arabs brought in by Saddam to settle in Kirkuk?”
R. Man: “Saddam gave them bonuses and 400 sq. meters of land. They live in houses…and we live in these terrible conditions. You can see for yourself…we try to cover mud with plastic sheets. Two more days of rain and everything will collapse. We will be out in the rain.”
KARZAN VO: I AM NOW STARTING TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE INSURGENTS’ ATTACKS IN KIRKUK ARE INCREASING. THE SUNNI & SHI’IATE ARABS ARE TERRIFIED THAT KIRKUK WILL BECOME THE FUTURE CAPITAL OF AN AUTONOMOUS KURDISTAN REGION. THEY WORRY THAT ECONOMIC AND ETHNIC CLEANSING IS NOT ENOUGH. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS; MY FAMILY, FINALLY FREED FROM SADDAM, NOW HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS NEW THREAT.INSURGENTS HAVE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THE POLICE FORCE’S NEW RECRUITS. DESPITE THE DANGERS, MY 19 YEAR OLD NIECE, AVIN, IS TRAINING TO BECOME A POLICE OFFICER.
Karzan: “Do you really think it’s worth it, to take this big risk?”
Avin: “It’s worth the risk to save children or women…everyday, Many people, innocent people are dying.”
Karzan “How important is Kirkuk for you?”
Avin: “Kirkuk is my city, I was born there “
Karzan: “So do you think Kirkuk should be included in federal state of Kurdistan within Iraq?”
Avin: “I hope, we can have it because Kirkuk belongs to us.”
KARZAN VO: UNLIKE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, THE KURDS HAVE AN UNUSUALLY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF POLICE WOMEN.I CANNOT HIDE MY PRIDE AT THIS STATEMENT ABOUT THE FREEDOM OF ISLAMIC WOMEN BY THE KURDISH REGIONAL GOVERNEMENT.
KARZAN VO: JUST AS I AM STARTING TO FEEL HOPEFUL, I RECEIVE THE NEWS THAT A ROCKET HAD HIT MY OTHER NIECE NAZANIN’S HOUSE.
Karzan: “She is still here, she is a live. I can’t believe it.”
KARZAN VO: FORTUNATELY NOBODY WAS HURT.
Karzan: “This is where the rocket hit the roof. Look at that. That’s pure concrete.”
Niece: “ The explosion was huge - we thought the house had collapsed.”
Karzan sot: “Just blindly shooting a rocket like this into this district because there are Kurds living here.”
Niece: “We will not have peace as long as the Arabs settlers remain in Kirkuk. They have to go back to where they came from. They can’t stay here.”
Karzan: “- So why don’t you throw them out?”
Niece: “- How? Who’s going to do it?”
Husband: “We don’t want to use violence. We will use the law.”
KARZAN VO: THE ATTACKS ARE BELIVED TO BE COMING FROM THE ARUBA DISTRICT. THIS IS ONE OF SADDAM’S MANY ARAB SETTLEMENTS, WHICH IS HOME TO MOST OF KIRKUK’S INSURGENTS. IF THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS SUCCEEDS, THESE ARAB SETTLERS WILL FINALLY HAVE TO LEAVE KIRKUK.IT SEEMS THAT THEY HAVE STARTED THEIR VIOLENT CAMPAIGN LEADING UP TO THE ELECTIONS.
Security Police: “This morning a Kurd living in this area complained to us that Arabs from here…had threatened to blow up all their houses if they went to vote.”
KARZAN VO: THE SETTLERS WERE VERY SURPRISED TO HAVE ME, A KURD WALKING THEIR STREETS AND INTERESTED IN THEIR VIEWS.
Karzan: “- Are you all Arabs?’
Group: “- Yes, we are.”
Karzan “- Are you going to vote?”Group: “- No we’re not.”
Arab#1: “We are Sunnis here. Our Clerics have decided we should boycott the elections.This is out of solidarity with our brothers in Falluja.”
Arab#3: “Anyone who votes is a coward and dishonest.”
Karzan: “-Do you mind if I go inside?”Woman “-Of course you can.”
Karzan: “This is where I was kept by the Iraqi secret police. She says she’s a refugee and she’s living here.”
Karzan sot: “I was imprisoned here in the basement.I was only fourteen at the time.”
Karzan: “Do you live here?”
Karzan: “- In this dreadful place?”Woman: “- We are refugees, we have no choice.”
Karzan: “Look at this, one thing that I have never managed to get out of my mind the image of these graphics written by so many… young Kurds brought in here and tortured to death.
This says ‘I entered this cell with my family and I am only thirteen years old.”
Karzan: “God I have only you, please god… I did the same. I begged god to come out. I begged but I, I lost all my faith in god after what I experienced here.”
Karzan sot: “I cannot believe it, that I am here,back in this spot, in this place, thirty years later.”
KARZAN VO: IN THE MIDDEST OF MY TORTURE, I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT WHEN THEY BROUGHT IN MY ACCUSER, SABIR, A LOCAL KURDISH BOY, THE SAME AGE AS ME.I AM STILL VERY BITTER REMEBERING SABIR SIDING WITH THE SECRET POLICE AND FALSLY ACCUSING ME.
Karzan sot: “They pulled me up, upside down with my head down. And one, with a cable… started to hit the bottom of my feet. Then they throw me on the floor, drag me outside in the main hall and then they would say ‘run…’ with feet swollen, feet covered in blood and they seemed to enjoy it. That’s what was so sick about it.”
Karzan: “You confess they were saying. We give you our word. The word of honour. You confess, you name two people we are going to bring two people in and you can go free.”
KARZAN VO: BECAUSE I REFUSED TO NAME ANYONE, I KNEW I’D BE SHOT OR HANGED. BUT I WAS EXTREMELY LUCKY. MY ELDEST BROTHER, FAZEL, INTERVENED. HE BOUGHT MY FREEDOM AND SAVED ME FROM SADDAM’S MONSTERS.
KARZAN VO: OVER THE YEARS, SO MANY PEOPLE GOT KILLED OR HAD DISAPPEARED THAT I CAN HARDLY RECOGNISE ANY FACES IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD.I WONDER WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO SABIR, WHO HAD BETRAYED ME TO SADDAM’S SECRET POLICE. AND WHAT OF ADNAN, ONE OF MY BEST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WHO USED TO LIVE OVER THE ROAD?
Over 4 million Iraqis had to escape the country during Saddam’s reign. They now live around the world as refugees.
Karzan: “This is, oh, she is just like my mum. I so much hoped to come here and find this woman still a live for one question which is very dear to me. Because she too suffered at the hand of Saddam Hussein a lot. An I would like to know how does she feel about Saddam being behind bars now?
Friend’s Mother: “Oh thank god for that! Would anybody think that’s bad? Only now are we just starting to feel we have a life.”
Karzan: “Look at that beautiful smile on her face.”
Friend’s Mother: “President Bush is a sacred person. I would prefer that 6 of us die, than one American soldier hurt.”
Friend’s son: “We should make golden statues of Mr Bush & Mr Blair, and put them in every city. Especially in Kurdistan. They gave us this freedom.”
Karzan: “The American & British people are now calling for their armies to withdraw. They want their soldiers out of Iraq and Kurdistan.”
Friend’s son: “I hope they won’t leave us.”
Friend’s Mother: “If they leave, what will happen to us? It would mean disaster for us Kurds. I would rather give them have half our oil to stay with us… Actually, they can have all of it.”
KARZAN VO: THE KURDS ARE THE US & BRITAIN’S ONLY HOPE TO MAKE THE POLITICAL PROCESS A SUCCESS AND TO BRING DEMOCRACY TO IRAQ.BUT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THE AMERICANS’ TRUE INTENTIONS IN MY COUNTRY.
Karzan: “I was told there was a press conference here with Colonel Miles, the top American guy. I am trying to go to those guys but they just immediately point their gun out. They are very tense because it’s only three days to go before the general election.
Karzan: “How long you been around?”Soldier: “In Iraq?”
Karzan: “yeah.”
Soldier: “13 months.”
Karzan: “Thirteen months. How do you feel about it?”
Soldier: “It sucks.”
Karzan: “It sucks? You guys keep up with it. We want peace. And you are doing a good job. Many people around the world are talking about the Americans are here only for the oil. That might be true. You can take half but don’t take it all. Ok? Great.”
Col. Miles sot: “It is your election, this is your city and this is your country.”
KARZAN VO: I WANTED TO FIND OUT: IF THE NEW FEDERAL IRAQ COLLAPSED, AND THE KURDS PROCLAIMED AN INDEPENDENT STATE, WOULD THE AMERICANS ONCE AGAIN ABANDON US, AS THEY DID IN 1975 AND 1991?
C. Miles: “We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Kurdish political parties and the Kurdish people. And they have welcomed us as their own brothers in this province. But the question you ask as far as what would we do if, in fact, the Kurds declared independence from the rest of this country, obviously is one that won’t be answered , that can’t be answered at my level. I think if I knew the answer to the question like that I would probably be a general, like general Geihardt.But I will say, that we have to take these issues one step at a time. And the first task before us is the elections on the 30th of January. It is this election that will choose the representatives that will help draft the constitution for this country. And I am confident that the rights of the Kurds will also be protected in the constitution.”
KARZAN VO: I WAS STILL LEFT WITH DOUBTS. BUT WITH THE ELECTION DRAWING NEAR, I NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS GENUINE. THAT MY VOTE WOULD COUNT. THAT IT WAS NOT JUST AN AMERICAN AND BRITISH STATE SHOW. I PUT MY QUESTION TO KIRKUK’S DIRECTOR OF THE INDIPENDENT ELECTROL COMMISSION FOR IRAQ, FARHAD TALABANI.
Farhad: “No-one is interfering in the running of this election, In my meetings with the American and British consuls they insist on the transparency of these elections.”
Karzan: “I’m not optimistic. I believe we can’t live in peace with Sunni and Shi’ite Arabs.”
Farhad: “I am actually more pessimistic than you, and have absolutely no trust in them. Most of the Arabs in Kirkuk complained about me to the government in Baghdad, not about me personally, they just said ‘We refuse him as Director of IECI, because he is a kurd.’
KARZAN VO: Two days after this meeting, Farhad’s offices were raided by gunmen and two of his men were killed.
KARZAN VO: DESPITE ALL MY RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS COUNTRY, THE ELECTION, THE FIRST EVER DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IN IRAQ, WAS AN AMAZING EVENT. I NEVER BELIEVED THIS WOULD HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME. AND I WAS THERE TO WITNESS IT.
Karzan: “This is a parade of the Kurds and it is actually like a carnival. Not a Notting Hill Carnival, but this is Kirkuk’s election Carnival. And it’s very nice to see that on one side the Turkman, on the other side the Assyrians, here the Kurds, they are all parading and they excited about the election.”
KARZAN VO: EVEN IN A JOYES MOMENT LIKE THAT THE DARKNESS OF KIRKUK’S ETHNIC DIVISION WAS EVER PRSENT.
Angry Turkman: “George Bush is a liar, Kofi Annan is a liar.”
Karzan: “There is a hostility to this guy the way he speaks, and I would prefer to get onto that car and make a move…”
Angry Turkman: “The Kurds by siding with them, make us Turkman their enemy.”
KARZAN VO: UNDER SADDAM ONE ETHNIC GROUP, THE SUNNI ARABS HAD ALL THE POWER. BECAUSE THEY ONLY REPRESENTED A SMALL MINORITY OF THE POPULATION IN KIRKUK, THE ELECTIONS MEAN THE END OF THEIR DOMINANT ROLE.
Sheik: “We are totally convinced that the elections will not satisfy the Iraqis’ demands.Therefore, we believe that the election is doomed to failure.”
KARZAN VO: THIS IS AN ALARMING REMARK. I AM NOW EVEN MORE CONVINCED THAT IF THE SUNNI AND SHI’ITE ARABS HAD THEIR CHOICE, THEY WOULD GOVERN IRAQ WITHOUT US KURDS. I WAS TORN BETWEEN A DISIRE TO TAKE PART IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, HOPING THAT IT WOULD ULTIMATELY LEAD TO AN INDEPENDET KURDISTAN, AND FEAR OF THE REPERCUSIONS COULD BE, IF THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS FAILED AND IT LED TO BLOODY CIVIL WAR.
Karzan: “I am on my way to a press conference led by Hoshyar Zebari. He’s Iraqi’s foreign minister, a Kurd. The first Kurd to become a foreign minister in Iraq’s new interim government.”
HZ sot: “We are working in partnership.
HZ: “The old Iraq, Saddam’s Iraq is gone. There will be a new Iraq.”
Karzan: “Do you truly believe that a federal system within Iraq will work, with the Sunni’s, trying to sabotage the democracy, and the historical differences between the Kurds and the Shi’iates. Or, don’t you think it that you, as a Kurd, should be lobbying for an independent, free, Southern Kurdistan?”
HZ: “I’ll be very honest with you, I am lobbying for the goals and objectives set by my leadership. Which is I am working for a democratic, pluralistic federal and united Iraq.”
KARZAN VO: It felt that the leadership’s call for a United Democratic Federal Iraq was out of touch with the reality on the ground.
Hat man: “Ask your British friends to help us get back what they took away during the 1920’s.”
Biz man: “We are suffering at the hands of the Turks, the Persians and the Arabs. They believe they have the god-given right to everything, including Islam. They want freedom and statehood for Arab countries but reject these ideas for us Kurds.
Karzan: “You mean they regard us as infidels?”Biz man: “The Arabs have 22 countries and there’s nothing wrong with that….but consider our minimum demand for federalism to be a blasphemy. “
Karzan: “So, do you think it’s time that Kurds put nationalism before Islam?”
Hat man: “I agree. The Arabs use Islam to their advantage. For example… they interpret Koran to say there are three reasons for repeating a prayer: if a donkey, or a dog, or a non-Arab (i.e. a Kurd) crosses in front of you. Arabs don’t consider us Muslim, so our national identity should come before Islam.”
Karzan: “Couldn’t we live in peace with the Arabs provided we respect each others’ lives?”
Hat man: “We’d love to. But they always treat us like third or fourth class citizensWe’d settle for second class, but they won’t even give us that.”
Karzan: “I remember that the security police would ask me ‘what are you?’ And I would say ‘I am a Kurd.’ They would say ‘there are no Kurds in Iraq’I’d say okay, I am not a Kurd, I am Iraqi. They would say ‘no you can’t be you bastard. You are a Kurd’”.
Hat man: “There’s only one true solution to our problems in this world: that is, separation and independence.Therefore we say to the world, ‘all we want is a free and independent country.’Everything else is a waste of time and is paid with our blood.”
ARZAN VO: HEARING THIS, I JUST COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY THE KURDISH LEADERSHIP DID NOT, ONCE AND FOR ALL STAND ON THEIR FEET, FACE THE OUTSIDE WORLD, AND CALL FOR AN INDIPENDENT KURDISTAN?
Fatah: “Neighboring countries and our geography don’t allow the creation of a Kurdish state.But there is no Kurd who does not dream of an independent Kurdistan.But a dream is one thing and reality is another.”
KARZAN VO: GEOGRAPHIC REALITIES, THAT IS THE MANTRA WHICH IS COMMUNLY REPEATED BY EVERY POLITICIANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE WEST. BUT WHY ARE THESE REALITIES ALWAYS IN FAVOUR OF IRAN, IRAQ, TURKEY AND SYRIA? MOST OF THESE STATES ARE SOWRN ENEMISE OF THE WEST.KURDISTAN IS THE TRUE GEOGRAPHIC REALITY, AND UNTIL THIS PROBLEM IS FACED THERE WILL BE NO TRUE PEACE IN THIS PART OF THE MIDDLE EAST.MY FEAR IS IF THIS MANTRA GOES ON, WE KURDS COULD END UP LOSING KIRKUK AS WELL.
Karzan: “What if Iraq’s Federal government won’t include Kirkuk within the Kurdistan region?”Fatah: “I don’t think Iraq’s new government will make that terrible mistake.”
KARZAN VO: It was the night BEFORE the election...
Karzan: “Excuse me wait a minute…”
KARZAN VO:Tensions were running high and the Americans were worried. A. Soldier: “You must turn the camera off.”
A. Soldier: “Shut your camera off”
Karzan sot: “I need to shut the camera off?”
A. Soldier: “ Yes you do.”
Karzan sot: “I am most scared on this trip, but I am also coming to…very close to the end off it. So let’s hope it is going to go well.”
KARZAN VO: 30TH JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND 5 WAS A TURNING POINT IN IRAQ’S HISTORY. IT WAS THE FIRST EVER, TOTALLY FREE, DEMOCRATIC ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE COUNTRY. THIS WAS WHAT GEORGE BUSH AND TONY BLAIR CLAIMED THE WAR WAS ALL ABOUT.
Karzan: “This city has never been so empty. I am in the centre of Kirkuk. It’s like a ghost town. Of course it is the morning of the election and people are not allowed to drive.”
Karzan: “- Where are you going?”
Man: “- to vote.”
Karzan: “- Have you walked far?”
Man: “- yes many kilometers. Our hope for a free life depends on this election.”
Karzan: “- Aren’t you worried about the threats?”Man: “- we are going to vote no matter what.”
Young Woman Voter: “In the past we couldn’t vote. We didn’t have the freedom to express ourselves. Now we are free to do it and vote for whoever we want.”
Young Man Voter: “Our ultimate dream is to have our own border and be separated from Iraq.”
KARZAN VO: IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS I CAME ACROSS SHAMAL, MY ONLY TRUE CHILDHOOD FRIEND LEFT IN KIRKUK.IT WAS A JOY TO SEE HIM.HE WAS THE LAST LINK I HAD WITH THE KIRKUK OF MY YOUTH.
Karzan: “Do you think I should vote?
Shamal: “Of course.”
Karzan “I have to make up my mind now because I need to decide whether I am going to vote or not.
KARZAN VO: EVERY MEMBER OF MY FAMILY IN KIRKUK, EVERY KURD I MET ON THE ROAD, TOLD ME I SHOULD VOTE. THEY BELIEVED THIS ELECTION WAS AN ESSENTAIL STEP TOWARDS GAINING AN INDIPENDENT KURDISTAN, WITHOUT BLOODSHED.
To prevent voting fraud all voters HAD TO dip their index finger into indelible ink.
Karzan: “This is for new Iraq and a democratic new Iraqi government. And I hope they will recognize the right of the Kurds as well.”
KARZAN VO: THE ELECTION DAY WAS A SUCCESS. FOR A SHORT TIME, I BELIEVED THAT THE THREE GROUPS, SHIITE, SUNNI ARABS AND KURDS COULD PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES FOR THE SAKE OF A UNITED IRAQ. BUT THEN I WAS BROUGHT BACK TO REALITY.
Karzan sot: “It was twenty to seven this morning when the rocket hit the refugees inside the stadium.”
Karzan sot: “This is where the rocket hit. You can also see the tree, all cut because of this rocket.”
Karzan: “He says my son just walked out and then suddenly there was this massive noise and shrapnel’s flying all over our heads and his older brother’s screaming “my brother is killed.”
KARZAN VO: AS THEY TOLD ME THEIR SON YOUSIF WAS ONLY FIFTEEN, I WONDERED IF HE WAS ONE OF THE REFUGEE BOYS, I HAD PLAYED FOOTBALL WITH, ONLY TWO DAYS BEFORE.
Older Brother: “Despite all we will vote to increase the Kurdish voice in the Iraqi parliament.
Mother: “We ask president George Bush to finally recognise our rights. How much longer must we live with this bloodshed? We’ve had enough!”
KARZAN VO: I AM NOW CONVINCED, MORE THAN EVER, THAT THIS COUNTRY COULD END UP LIKE THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA - A MASSACRE BEFORE DIVISION. THE WEST MUST END ITS CALL FOR A UNITED IRAQ AND ACCEPT THAT IRAQ MUST DIVIDE.MYSELF, MY PEOPLE AND OUR LEADERSHIP HAVE COMPROMISED AND ACTIVELY TAKEN PART IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE AND DEMOCRACY. AND YET OUR FUTURE IS STILL NOT IN OUR HANDS.IT IS HEARTBRAKING FOR ME TO SEE MY HOMETOWN AS A RUIN. KIRKUK, WITH ITS OILFIELDS AND THE SPIRIT OF ITS PEOPLE, SHOULD BE A SHINING CITY, AND THE CAPITOL OF AN INDIPENDENT KURDISTAN.A COUNTRY, WHICH WOULD BE A BASTIAN OF TOLERANCE AND DEMOCRACY IN THIS PART OF THE MIDDLE EAST, THIS IS THE UKLTIMATE DREAM OF MY PEOPLE AND COULD ONLY BENEFIT THE CIVILISED WORLD.WE KURDS ONLY NEED ON CHANCE.
KARZAN VO: IN ONE OF LIFE’S STRANGEST COINCIDENCES, SABIR, WHO BETRAYED ME TO SADDAM’S IRAQI SECRET POLICE, TURNS OUT TO BE THE MAN WHO I AM PAYING TO PREPAR MY MOTHER & FATHER’S GRAVESTONES. I HAVE TO CONFRONT HIM.
Karzan: “Yes, it’s him.”
Karzan: “Do you recognize me?”
Sabir: “Yes, I do.”
Karzan: “Wait, before you greet me, I have a question. Do you remember when you gave me up to the Secret Police?”
Sabir: “There’s a misunderstanding. We can also ask Hama, he’s still alive.”
Karzan: “Did you, or did you not, give my name to the Secret Police and accused me?”
Sabir: “The Secret Police already had your name, my name and Hama’s name.”
Karzan: “I know, but you falsely accused me and confirmed my name.”
Sabir: “Yes I did, I did, I even accused Hama.”
Karzan: “Why did you do it?”
Sabir: “They turned me up side down and beat me.Then they forced me to run, and when I fell, they kicked and punched me.They told me I must accuse you. When I refused, they tortured me even more.They told me, ‘We know he’s innocent...but if you refuse to accuse him you will be hanged.I had no choice, I had to accuse you.Anyone undergoing that torture would have accused even their own father.”
Karzan: “I was tortured in the same way.”
Sabir: “I’m sorry for what I did, you were innocent and it was wrong of me to accuse you.I apologize, but I did it under torture.”
Karzan: “Okay, I will greet you.”
Karzan: “It’s been thirty years…”
KARZAN VO:I NOW FEEL MY NIGHTMARES ARE OVER, BUT NOT FOR KIRKUK.
End Credits:Producer & Director Karzan Sherabayani
Filmed by Claudio von Planta
David Niblock
Karzan arrives home back in England and hugs his family.
Written by Mark Tierney
K D Carpenter
Karzan Sherabayani
Editor
Mark Tierney
Sound Mix
Mikkel Erikson
Online Editor
Jonathan Miles
Composer
Barrie Bignold
Executive Producer
Elizabeth Block
Additional Direction & Producer
Claudio Von Planta
Additional Camera
Bjorn Hellem
Audrey Swindells
Additional editing
Don Fairservice
Additional Graphics
Rob Irving
Production Assistant
Helen Liston
Archive
Mike Lewis
Graphics Zap
Lipson
Song
‘Ev Ci Jina’
Written & Performed by
Sivan Perwer
Joka Films 2006