Society
Iraqi Street, Society
FOREIGN LABOUR IN BASRA: Uncertainty and lack of statistics give rise to local concern
By Saad Nazim in Basra // In mid-August this year, security forces in the Faw district arrested 23 Pakistani nationals after they allegedly arrived aboard an unidentified boat and disembarked near the Grand Faw Port, south of the city of Basra. The incident is part of a bigger problem in the southern part of Iraq:…
Iraqi Street, Society
HOT TEA, HUMOUR, GARDEN HOSE: How Baghdad locals adapt to 50-degree-Celsius summers in the city
This summer, as temperatures in Baghdad approach 50 degrees Celsius yet again, life in the Iraqi capital begins to follow a different rhythm. Streets that are usually crowded grow quieter during the hot afternoons, family visits are postponed until after dark, appointments are rescheduled, and residents search for ways to endure the long, increasingly heated…
Iraqi Street, Society
HISTORY IN SONG: Visiting the largest private archive of Kurdish music
By Salam Hanadani in Hawraman, Iraqi Kurdistan // The moment the door opens, sound pours out. Melodies drift, notes are carried from a distant era, and shelves are crowded with cassette tapes and aging recorders, a vast musical memory that preserves decades of Kurdish artistic heritage. At the centre of this musical world is Ibrahim…
Iraqi Street, Society
TROUBLED WATERS: Al Faw’s fishing industry, caught between borders and war
By Saad Nadhim in Basra // Before dawn breaks over Iraq’s southern coastline, fisherman Ahmed al-Janoubi is already preparing for another journey into the Gulf. At 53, the father of five has spent most of his life at sea, in a profession his family has undertaken for generations. But these days, every fishing trip carries…
