A man in Zakho, Iraq, wearing traditional Kurdish attire. Photos by Sara Monteabaro
Sara Monteabaro writes: During January 2014, I traveled to the Kurdistan region of Iraq along with five other students from New York University’s master’s in global affairs program. The trip was part of the Joint Research Seminar in Peacebuilding run by Professor Thomas Hill in conjunction with the University of Duhok in Iraq. As part of the program, each NYU student paired up with a Duhok counterpart to write a research paper on a topic related to peacebuilding in the Kurdistan region.
My partner, Sami Atroshi, and I conducted a study on the relationship between unemployed university graduates and the Kurdistan Regional Government; we examined the overall impact of that relationship on peace and stability in Duhok. We conducted 10 interviews and three focus groups and found mixed opinions pertaining to the graduates’ attitudes and outlooks on their futures. This photo series is a small taste of life in the Kurdistan region from an outsider’s lens. Overall, the trip was an invaluable experience and I look forward to returning to Duhok in the future – possibly for further research.
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- Downtown Duhok.
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- A view from our Duhok hotel.
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- Interview at the Director of the Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs bureau .
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- Making a new friend on the snowy route to Amedi
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- Group shot in the mountains, (One of Saddam Hussein’s residences still stands atop the mountain in the background.)
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- A man in Zakho, Iraq, wearing traditional Kurdish attire. Photos by Sara Monteabaro
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- Having a staring contest with a goat in Zakho.
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- Young boys taking a break from their soccer game in Zakho
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- A group shot of the research teams and the University of Duhok faculty.
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- A beautiful textiles store in Sulemaniya with authentic Kurdish pieces.
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- The Halabja Memorial was created to commemorate the victims of the March 16, 1988 chemical weapons attack in the city of Halabja.
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- A memorial for victims of the chemical weapons attack executed by the Baath regime on March 16, 1988.
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- The Halabja cemetery is maintained by a “natural” lawnmower.
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- A view of the beautiful landscape outside of Halabja. The peak of the mountains in the distance designates the Iraq/Iran border.
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- One last view of Kurdistan from atop the highest viewpoint in Sulemaniya at sunset.
Tutawaza 