Thursday, December 12, 2013

Who lives here?

At almost every level, the Slemani Province outperforms all of Iraq. Life expectancy for men is the highest at 71 years, while the next door Kerkuk Province is the lowest at 62. Only 2% of people here live below the poverty line, literacy is the highest and more women work here than anywhere else. In a recent survey, Kurdistan takes better care of Syrian refugees, than any other country.

That said there are many very poor people here. In the building under construction next door, the workmen also live in the site, even though it is just concrete block with no windows and doors. At least it dry.

Who lives here?
Earlier this week I noticed an elderly Kurdish man coming of a hut in the street behind the motel. I had seen him many just sweeping the street and now I realise that he keeps the neighbourhood clean and local business and people must keep him fed and a bit looked after. He is always friendly and pleasant.

The 'hut' though was a bit of a shock - it is only 2 x 2 metres and certainly not high enough to stand up in. Along one side was a tidy bed and then just a few stacked boxes. There didn't seem to be any form of heating, but later I noticed him feeding a fire in a medal bucket.

It get cold here - this last week the weather has changed dramatically and temperatures are in single digits during the day and below zero at night. Moreover it has been raining heavily over the last week and snow is predicted tonight.



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