On July 29, 2024, as I was sitting on a plane headed to Erbil, I reflected on how I had reached this point. My journey had begun the summer before at a Washington, D.C. non-partisan think tank, where I had the incredible opportunity to work with groups focused on the economic, social, and political dynamics in the Middle East.
That summer, I was fortunate to meet and work closely with a Kurdish Yezidi woman, learning about her fascinating journey as a refugee, including her family’s eventual relocation to the United States. Inspired by her experiences, I began reading about the Kurdistan Region – its history within Iraq, from the years of war, conflict, and instability, and its aftermath to the current reality full of reconstruction and development. Having met others of Kurdish descent, I knew that many Kurds had come to the United States and that there were diverse Kurdish communities around the world. Living in a world of seemingly endless global conflicts, I was inspired to learn more about these resilient people.
The forgotten struggles of refugees
What I did not know was that nearly 1 million internally displaced people (IDP) and refugees are currently living in camps or communities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq today. This is one of the highest populations of IDP and refugees globally. Many of those camps house members of the Yezidi community, which faced such extreme destruction, violence, and hardships as a result of the 2014 ISIS attacks on Sinjar. It is a community that has now all but been forgotten by the world – except for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and local organizations such as the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), which continue to support people who cannot return home in a secure and dignified manner.
And yet most of my peers in the United States have no idea where Kurdistan is located on the map, let alone what horrors many of these IDPs and refugees have endured over the last decade. My generation is constantly being bombarded by sound bites and social media posts that rarely highlight the vast array of rich cultures, communities, and traditions that make up the Middle East or other parts of the world. We also do not see stories about the work being done to revitalize the Kurdistan Region or the many stories of Kurdish refugees who have built successful lives in the United States and elsewhere.
Equally important are the 300,000 people still living in camps under varying conditions, about which American youth know little. It is difficult to imagine that children born in these camps know no other life and have few options or opportunities to change their circumstances. While several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charities brought resources and attention to these people in 2014, many have since moved on to the next global crisis, of which there are too many.
Youth around the world would be well served to understand the plight of these communities, as well as the work that the people of Kurdistan have been undertaking to support them after international groups have decamped. If my generation does not learn about the rich history of places like Kurdistan or the impact of global conflicts on children living in war-like conditions, there is little hope for us to be able to change the future through diplomacy and peace.
Meeting people face-to-face
Prior to my visit, I founded an organization called Developing Diplomacy and, under its umbrella, I went to the Kurdistan Region to raise awareness of the challenges faced by communities in post-conflict zones. My hope is that Kurdistan is the first of many such zones that Developing Diplomacy can highlight in order to shed light on the major, ongoing needs facing refugee and IDP communities. The largest NGOs, nonprofits, and charities do amazing work globally but tend to move on to the latest major conflict – often having to leave unfinished the work they started in helping vulnerable populations rebuild. My experience speaking with charities, foundations, and government officials in Erbil reinforced this view, while my camp visits were a reminder of how much the shortage of resources is felt by these communities.
The most enlightening and encouraging aspect of my visit was meeting those in Kurdistan who are still doing the hard work of meeting this shortage. For instance, organizations such as Enabling Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) and the BCF are continuing to devote resources to aiding IDP and refugee communities, including at the two camps that I visited, the Sharia Camp and the Harsham Camp. Through the remarkable local EPIC team and with the support of the BCF on the ground, we delivered over 150 backpacks filled with school supplies, flashcards, and workbooksto children in the camps.
The Sharia Camp, located about two and a half hours away from Erbil, is one of the largest in Kurdistan, at one point housing 20,000 Yezidis. One hour from the Syrian border and one hour from the city of Mosul, its location makes it difficult for organizations to access. Today, there are about 2,000 people living in Sharia.
Meeting the families, I was able to witness their living conditions. Their homes consist of concrete slabs with tents over them. Inside, the homes are clean, and some have multiple small rooms, with kitchens and even wallpaper lining the walls. All the families I met were working very hard to eventually be able to move back into their own homes, though this remains impossible due to the conflict that has displaced them. Many have jobs outside of the camp and cars or shared cars between multiple families.
I expected to find a similar environment at Harsham Camp – located about 30 minutes outside of Erbil – but the two camps were different in many ways. Harsham is much smaller, housing about 250 families, and conditions are not as clean, with homes made from less sturdy tarps. The differences between the two camps are probably due to their origins. The Harsham Camp was built in 2014 and was only meant to house people for six months, which has now stretched into 10 years. Most of the NGOs previously supporting it have pulled out, leaving the BCF to assume responsibility. Moreover, the camp includes communities from Mosul and Sinjar, who are still waiting to be compensated by the Iraqi government to move back to their homeland.
Without a doubt, visiting the children in these camps and seeing their faces light up as we shared supplies with them was the highlight of my trip. It was also an eye-opening experience to see the impact that humanitarian aid and assistance can have on the communities living in these camps. While the conditions are not ideal and the people have gone through unimaginable hardships, their resilience, optimism, and perseverance through challenging circumstances were inspiring. The children were delighted to learn, draw, and play and, despite war and conflict taking away their homes, were excited to meet an American that had come to meet and learn from them.
Shining light on post-conflict environments
The most moving part my trip was being a guest at an event in Erbil commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Yezidi Genocide. I was awestruck by how many people were in attendance, but after hearing the firsthand stories of the survivors, I wished the whole world – and my local school community in particular – could have participated. The accounts of multiple women describing the horror and brutality of ISIS was almost unbearable to hear. The story of one young woman who was tortured, sold into slavery, and bought and sold multiple times over WhatsApp forever cemented an image of how someone can survive such brutality. Everything I had experienced and seen over the week became real and deepened my desire to help people in post-conflict war zones.
On the last day of my trip, I was fortunate to meet with the founders of Edwina American Academy (EAA) and NextGen Foundation. EAA’s mission is to help individuals – including IDPs, refugees, and children of fallen heroes – learn new skills that they can apply to their respective fields. Their multiple programs for skills and vocational training are filling a much-needed gap for those looking to build new lives.
Through the Developing Diplomacy podcast series, I have started interviewing experts on post-conflict environments and the future of Iraq. We will be looking over the next year to interview speakers who can raise awareness around what further resources are needed for the refugee and IDP camps in Kurdistan, as well as redevelopment efforts in areas that have been destroyed by conflict.
Visiting Erbil, I had no idea what to expect. Coming from a U.S. perspective and learning little about the region in school, it was surprising to see the pace of innovation and development efforts that have turned Erbil into a safe, high tech, vibrant, and global city. When I visited the KRG Department of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior, I met with officials whose mission is to foster economic growth, improve living conditions in the camps, and ensure that all Kurds are safe and secure in the region. At the same time, they were eager to help educate foreigners such as myself about Kurdistan.
I hope my trip to Erbil is one of many and that Developing Diplomacy can continue to fundraise, raise awareness of Kurdistan, and garner support in the United States to help the refugees and IDP communities who I was fortunate enough to meet – and who have changed my life forever.
Kaizar Doriwala is a 16 year old student at the Maret School in Washington DC. His focus is on conflict resolution, and promoting peace and diplomacy. He is the founder of Developing Diplomacy(www.developingdiplomacy.org)
