Neighbors aid refugees from Hawr Rajab

Thursday, 1 May 2008

Alive in Baghdad: Shi'a neighbors show solidarity with Sunni families

Monday April 28th, 2008

We show this segment courtesy of www.aliveinbaghdad.org. Alive in Baghdad employs Iraqi journalists to produce video packages each week about a variety of topics on daily life in Iraq.

Baghdad, Iraq - The Faili Kurds are one of the most oppressed groups of Kurds. Like other Kurds, they were abused during Saddam Hussein's regime. Statistics from the United Nations show that more than 450 thousand Faili Kurds were deported to Iran in the 1980s and nearly 10 thousand Faili Kurds between the ages of 13 and 30 years old are still missing until the current moment. A large number of this Kurdish minority fled out of Iraq to a number of other countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. They were fleeing the bad circumstances they endured under several governments that ruled Iraq. Now, despite the fall of Saddam Hussein and the work of many citizens toward establishing a democratic Iraq, the Faili Kurds still face several difficulties. Among others, until now, they did not receive the same rights as other Iraqis.

The Charitable Liberated Faili Kurds Organization works in Baghdad to attempt to redress these wrongs. They work in particular to support displaced Faili Kurds to enable them to return to their homes in Baghdad and elsewhere. They also advocate for the approval of full citizenship for Failis. Due to the inadequate social services available to Failis and other poor Iraqis, they also run a medical clinic on Palestine St. in Baghdad which is available to all needy Iraqis.

For more information about Faili Kurds, please see this site ostensibly run by Faili Kurds, or you can read a range of research on Wikipedia. Global Security also has a breakdown of differences between Kurdish groups, or you can read a discussion of Kurdish identity and the place of Faili Kurds. Lastly another Faili Kurd describes the meaning of being Faili. . . .