ERBIL // Dara had dreams of being a popular oud player in his native Syria.
The Kurd, who escaped Qameshli, a town about 720 kilometres away from Damascus and enrolled in a music school before the almost three-year uprising that sought to unseat the president Bashar Al Assad.
Today, he is serving nargila pipes to customers at a cafe in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region.
“This isn’t my plan, to work in a cafe,” said Dara. “I’m a foreigner here, but what can I do? I have to work,” he said. “My wish is to play my oud at one of the restaurants here.”
Dara is one of the thousands of Syrian Kurds who have paid to be smuggled out of their war-torn homeland and who now work in the services sector.
Erbil is experiencing a burgeoning of Lebanese restaurants that have introduced Levantine cuisine – shawarma, falafel, hummus. Many Kurds have taken up jobs as chefs and waiters, introducing a touch of Syrian flavour and hospitality. They have also sought work at many of the new cafes and hair salons, while others have bought cars and work as cab drivers night and day.
With the region’s economic growth expected to have reached 8 per cent last year, and bolstered by an estimated 45 billion barrels of oil reserves, Erbil is enjoying an economic boom.
The surge is trickling down to the hospitality sector – as many as 250 hotels opened last year. The growth has spearheaded numerous job opportunities in the sector.
For Syrian Kurds, their talent is scarce: with a strong fluency in Arabic, they are at an advantage over their Iraqi counterparts in catering to the growing number of Lebanese and Arabian Gulf businessmen and professionals who fly into or reside in the city.
Many Iraqi Kurds, and especially the young, are not fluent in Arabic. That is a result of the region’s Kurdisation policies, which date to the early 1990s when a US-enforced no-fly zone loosened the Arab dictator Saddam Hussein’s grip on the region.
“Iraqi Kurds are not interested in working in services. They are mostly interested in business and trade, oil and gas or real estate,” said Mohannad Madi, a Lebanese national who owns the popular Al Afandi restaurant in Erbil. “There’s no calibre or human capital investment for catering to hospitality. I don’t blame them because there’s no schools for tourism.”
The Syrian Kurds are attractive as cheap labour. But this is not their home, and their Iraqi hosts seem to have ambivalent feelings towards their Syrian guests.
As the uprising evolved into a full-scale war in Syria, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq launched refugee tents in the village of Domiz to host Kurds who came in droves seeking a safe haven.
They were given residency permits, so long as they remained in the camps. Those who leave the camps to find work are defying the rules by so doing.
In July of 2012, KRG’s president, Massoud Barzani, said Kurds fleeing Syria should return home to defend their homeland. Many are still being offered training by the Kurdish rebel forces, the Peshmerga, near the Iraqi village of Duhok.
And according to several Syrian Kurds interviewed, in June 2013 the Erbil government stopped renewing the refugees’ residency permits.
“They’ve stopped giving residency permits here,” says Lana, who works, illegally, as an interpreter at a Turkish company. “There’s people who have been living here and their permits have expired for two years but there’s no enforcement of the law.”
For Lana, like Dara, Iraq’s Kurdish region is a haven, but one with limits that have made their lives as working people difficult.
It is a partial freedom that did not come easily.
Lana paid a smuggler US$600 to escape Syria’s Qameshli for the Iraqi Domiz camp.
She then paid an additional $100 each at a combined value of $400 for her, her husband and two children, for a taxi to smuggle her out of the numerous checkpoints from Domiz to Erbil. By contrast, the price for an ordinary cab ride for the same journey costs 30,000 Iraqi dinar, a little under $30.
“Because of this,” Lana said, “we cannot leave the capital to Domiz for fear that we won’t be allowed to get back into Erbil. The guys at the checkpoints tell us: You want a permit? Go to the camps.”
halsayegh@thenational.ae
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The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
UAE%20ILT20
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
