1000 ID
Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1
2 Awat Newspaper: Setting Precedent
Whenever a new news-
paper is established, the world
is made richer by the wealth of
knowledge that newspaper dis-
seminates. Awat, the new youth-
established and -directed news-
paper, plans to make the Kurdish
society richer by working to set
Newroz in precedent for independent news
Sulaimany sources and by giving the youth
3
opportunity to be heard.
Awat staff had observed
that in our society very few, if any,
truly independent news sources
exist. This fact is what makes it
hard to trust anything today’s me-
dia delivers to us; many people
have come to realize that almost
every bit of news embraced is ei-
ther far from the truth or tinted
to exalt or disgrace an intended
individual or group. The com-
mon response is to lay down the
newspaper or turn off the TV and
never to submit to them again.
The staff at Awat had also
noticed that our society lacks
Deadly Earthquake media outlets for the youth. Our
4 5
Devastates Japan youths have next to no chance to
The Question of Architectural
7
Heritage
6
Benefits of
Classical Music
express themselves; their willing-
ness to participate in publications
and their fiery passions are slain
by this privation.
Awat realizes that these
two shortcomings – the lack of
independent news sources and
the incapability of the youth to
participate in the media – are
slowly destroying the Kurdish
media. This newspaper wishes to
see change for the better in the
Kurdish society so that those two
deficiencies may be overcome, but
it knows that change should start
from within. Therefore, Awat, in
order to set precedent for true,
unbiased Kurdish media, give a
voice to the Kurdish youth, and
lift up a higher standard of Kurd-
ish journalism, declares itself to
be an independent, youth-gov-
erned newspaper that emphasizes
matters concerning the youth.
Awat appreciates all the
tireless efforts of those who be-
lieved in its dreams and worked
to achieve them while they were
still mere dreams.
The purpose of this newspaper
in acting as an independent news
source is to give back hope to the
Kurdish people. Awat staff real-
izes that hope will always prevail
Qandil
Snowboarding
Football in two
centuries
and wants to make all its readers
realize this as well. For this rea-
son we call our publication Awat,
which is Kurdish for “hope.”
Awat equally regards all
political parties, nationalities,
ethnicities, religions, and cul-
tures so that everyone, heedless of
background and personal affili-
ation, can participate with Awat
and contribute to its pages as long
as the necessary English skills are
demonstrated and the Awat Code
of Ethics is respected. To uphold
the standards of true independ-
ence, the Awat Code of Ethics
guards against moral mistakes,
especially disparagement against
any particular group or individu-
al in the pages of Awat. However,
structured criticism pointed at
the government as a whole is al-
lowed because the government is
every citizen’s own.
Since English is the inter-
national language, Awat utilizes it
in print and in all of its commu-
nications and documentations.
Even though this newspaper does
not chiefly use the Kurdish lan-
guage, it still intends to portray
the Kurdish cause: English is used
primarily to attract more global
attention towards Awat activities
and goals. English also makes
it possible for our brothers and
sisters who are either not Kurd-
ish or cannot communicate well
in Kurdish to participate in this
newspaper.
Awat is still a work in pro-
gress; it apologizes beforehand
for any inadequacies and aims at
perfection with the help of its staff
and faithful friends. For that rea-
son, Awat staff invites all diligent
volunteers to work together for
the realization of its goals. Awat
can be contacted easily by phone
and email, and it has made itself
available on Facebook and Twit-
ter. The complete contact infor-
mation can be found in the cred-
its box of every issue.
This newspaper started
in the city of Sulaimany because
it knows that in order to suc-
ceed it has to think big but start
small. Hopefully, with the help of
loyal contributors, it will be able
to reach out farther throughout
Kurdistan and Iraq.
Awat wants to set prec-
edent, Awat wishes to give back
hope, Awat works to see change:
a newspaper is out, and it is deliv-
ered to you in order to make the
Kurdish society richer.
1
 Local News International News
Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1 Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1

Human Rights Watch in Kurdistan and Iraq

Awat Newspaper
Established on December 1, 2010
Friday, April 1, 2011
NO: 1
Owner on Behalf
Human Rights Watch
Amed Latif Omar
(HRW) has released several re-
Editor in chief ports regarding the situation in
Iraq and the human rights viola-
Meer Ako Ali Rashid
tions that have been committed
Columnists against the protestors. Human
Arez Taha Sadiq Rights Watch is an independent,
international organization that is
Bery Majeed
concerned with safeguarding hu-
Joshua Andrew Stacey man rights around the world. In
Meriwan Zana one of the reports released so far,
Muhammed Abdulsattar Faraj HRW criticizes the government’s
response to the demonstrations
Layout Designer
which occurred throughout Iraq,
Marwan Muhammed Hazim
mentioning the incident which
occurred on February 17th in Su-
Graphics Designer
laimany that resulted in the death
Arsh Latif Omar of one person and the wounding
of more than 33 others. HRW calls
Marketing Manager in Sulaimany
for an immediate, transparent in-
Lazo Rizgar vestigation into the shootings that
Erbil Development Manager occurred on February 17th, stat-
ing that “the Iraqi forces and their
Zana Jaff
commanders have a lot of explain-
ing to do to justify the use of live
Public relations contact information: Publication Type: Monthly Peri-
odical. E-mail: awatnews@gmail.com. For advertisements, contact us ammunition on demonstrators.”
by phone: 07702295975, or by email: awat.advertisement@gmail.com. In another report released
“Like” Awat Newspaper on Facebook. Follow Awat_Newspaper on
Twitter on March 7th, HRW harshly criti-
cizes the KRG and accuses its
Disclaimer: All the ideas expressed in this newspaper are the ideas of
the individuals and not that of the Awat Newspaper. The Awat News-
paper does not take responsibility for what is articulated by distinct
writers.
forces of standing by and watch-
ing as dozens of masked assailants
Awat abides by the rules of press ethics. attacked protestors in Sulaimany
and set their tents ablaze. “Secu-
rity forces of the Kurdistan Re-
gional Government can’t hide be-
hind thugs to do their dirty work,”
said a HRW representative. “It is
shameful that after decades of re-
pression, Kurds today still don’t
have the rights and freedoms
promised by the KRG, including
the right to peaceful protest.” In
the report, it is also said that more
than 15 demonstrators were taken
away by the masked assailants.
HRW claims that security forces
have killed five and injured more
than 150 protestors in Sulaimany
alone.
Attacks on demonstra-
tors have occurred in other parts
of Iraq as well. HRW claims that
more than 17 protestors have been
killed and at least 250 injured
throughout Iraq. In Baghdad, just
like in Sulaimany, security forces
stood by while masked assailants
beat and stabbed several demon-
strators. Dozens of journalists and
media workers have been arrested
or beaten. In the report, the Iraqi
government is urged to open an
investigation into the killing of the
protestors.
In another report unrelat-
ed to the recent demonstrations,
HRW says regarding the 2003 war
that “the women and girls of Iraq
have borne the biggest brunt of
this conflict and resulting insecu-
rity.” Since the 2003 US invasion,
the situation for women in Iraq
has been worsening. Iraqi women
have repeatedly fallen victims of
religious extremism, family hon-
or, and trafficking. HRW has also
released several reports on female
genital mutilation (FGM) in Iraqi
Kurdistan and calls for an end to
this practice.
A Tornado of Revolutions
Mohammad Bouazizi set
himself on fire on December 17,
2010 in Tunisia because of the
humiliation and harassments in-
flicted on him by a Tunisian mu-
nicipal official. People triggered
by Bouazizi’s tragic death began
protesting against the corrupt Tu-
nisian government. This protest
carried on and became known as
the Tunisian Revolution. On Jan-
uary 14, 2011, people succeeded
in ousting the then-President of
Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Bin Ali.
This successful revolution gener-
ated another revolution in Egypt,
which also proved victorious and
caused Hosni Mubarak to resign.
This tornado of revolutions has
since carried on to other Arabic
countries such as Libya, Algeria,
Jordan, Yemen, and Bahrain.
Ali ruled Tunisia for 23
years during which he construct-
Japan Devastated by Deadly Earthquake and Tsunamis
“More than 15,000 were killed, Millions have been affected by the earthquake and the number is expected to rise.”
ed a corrupt government; high
rate of unemployment and poor
living conditions were rampant
all over the country. Bin Ali re-
stricted political freedom. Mo-
hammad Bouazizi, a 26-year-old,
came from a poor family and
worked as a street vendor selling
produce. On December 17, 2010 a
Tunisian municipal official is said
to have insulted Bouazizi in pub-
lic and had her guards beat him.
Feeling his pride was hurt and not
being able to tolerate the harass-
ment anymore, Bouazizi went on
to self-immolate. It is said that
about 5,000 people attended his
funeral and promised to avenge
his death. He triggered a revolu-
tion that united most, if not all,
people of Tunisia to throw off the
23-year-lasting regime of Zine El
Abidine Bin Ali. On January 14,
2011, as the protesters took con-
trol of much of the country, Bin
Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. Moham-
mad Bouazizi sacrificed himself
for the freedom of his people and
his death started one of the great-
est series of revolutions of the
modern era.
Motivated by the suc-
cess of the Tunisian Revolution,
Egypt started protesting. Slow-
ly and gradually people began
to gather and protest (starting
from Tuesday, January 25, 2011)
against their corrupt government.
They began to rally at Maidan
Al-Tahrir (Freedom Square) in
Cairo and also in other cities. On
Friday, January 28, 2011, a huge
amount of Egyptian citizens as-
sembled at Freedom Square; the
day became known as “Friday of
Rage.” This revolution carried on
into February and each day more
people joined the protestors. The
government attempted to stop the
protests by offering the chance
of peaceful negotiations along
with a rejuvenation of the gov-
ernment system. These offerings
proved useless as the protestors
continued gathering at Freedom
Square. The government started
of the world’s earthquakes hap-
using military threats to scare its
people. These threats were not
successful: the people had a lot of
ambition for and hope in remov-
ing their government, and the
military refused to fight against
its own people. Finally, on Febru-
ary 11, 2011, Hosni Mubarak re-
signed from office. Power is now
in the hands of the military for at
least the next six months until an
election for presidency is held.
Overwhelmed by two un-
precedented, successful revolu-
tions in Tunisia and Egypt, other
Arabic countries began protest-
ing and rioting. Bahrain, Algeria,
Yemen, and Libya moved into ac-
tion and emulated the Tunisian
and Egyptian revolutions. The
most significant of these current
revolutions that gets the majority
of media coverage is the one tak-
ing place in Libya. The govern-
ment threatened to begin fighting
its own people if they rebel. It is
thought to be the most violent of
all the current rebellions because
the government has started to at-
tack its people with weaponry,
bombarding parts of the country.
Revolutions in these countries are
still going on and it is believed
that, as each day passes by, ten-
sions will increase.
All these rebelling Arabic
countries have a series of things
in common. The most important
of them is that in each country a
single regime has been ruling for
the last 20 to 40 years. Looking at
their living conditions, we can see
that these countries have not ad-
vanced much under their current
(or recently-ousted) regimes. The
living conditions of these peo-
ple are very low compared to the
Gross Domestic Product of their
counties. On the other hand, the
rulers and their families, because
of nepotism, have huge amounts
of money (billions of dollars) in
their investments.
Dozens of countries have pro-

Newroz in Sulaimany pen along this stretch.

An 8.9 magnitude earth-
quake hit the North-East coast
of Japan at 2:46 pm local time
On the 20th of March, on March 11th. It is the larg-
people walked around Salim est earthquake to hit Japan and
Street and Sara Square with their the 5th largest earthquake in re-
Kurdish clothes on to celebrate corded history. More than 10,000
Newroz, the Kurdish holiday. have been killed and the number
Countless numbers of Kurds is expected to rise. Millions of
crowded both Salim Street and people have been affected by the
Sara Square; Arabs, Persians, earthquake and nearly 450,000
and other ethnicities also joined. now live in shelters. The earth-
Walking was difficult because of quake also triggered a series of
the large number of people gath- devastating tsunamis and af-
ered there. tershocks in its aftermath. The
The bonfires were light- tsunamis swept away entire ar-
eas and destroyed thousands of
ened at around four to five o’clock;
homes. In fact, the earthquake
a sign of the beginning of a new
year or a new day as the word
After the recent Japanese
earthquake, about 20 countries
issued tsunami warnings and
large numbers of evacuations
were carried out. More than 4.4
million houses were left without
electricity. At least three nuclear
reactor facilities were hit by ex-
plosions and a total of eleven re-
actors were shut down to avoid
damage and radiation leaks. Ja-
pan, for the first time ever, de-
clared a nuclear emergency. The
Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Kyodo International Atomic Energy
A child and his father are looking at destroyed houses in Sendai, Japan. Agency has described the situa-
was so powerful it moved the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is tion as “extremely serious.” Large
main island of Japan by 2.4 me- an area where the earth’s tectonic amounts of radiation could get
spilled into the environment in
ters and shifted earth 10 centim- plates meet and therefore has
case of a nuclear meltdown.
eters on its axis. the highest rate of volcanic and The incident received sig-
Japan lies on the Pacific earthquake activity. Almost 90% nificant international response.
claimed their support for the
Japanese government and sev-
eral of them began sending sup-
port in the form of financial aid,
manpower, and equipment. The
United States launched Opera-
tion Tomodachi: a military effort
to support the post-earthquake
Japan. (“Tomodachi” is a Japa-
nese word that means “friend”).
The earthquake also had
an immediate impact on the fi-
nancial market, especially the
stock market. Markets around
the world suffered losses. Even
though Japan’s economy suffered
in short term, economic analysts
predict that the earthquake will
eventually boost Japan’s econ-
omy due to increased job avail-
ability.

Obama Visits Latin America

“Newroz” literally means. People
crowded around the fire and felt
the coming of a new year; a new
year with the hope of a brighter
future for Kurdistan.
In the evening, people
set off fire balloons to spot and
lighten up the sky on Salim Street;
this worked out beautifully. The
fire balloons were accompanied
with a barrage of fireworks and
creative activities. The activities
consisted of both music and art.
Middle Eastern music as well as
Western music (rap music being
an example) was played. There
was also a lot of Kurdish dancing,
A bonfire in Sara Square welcomes the Kurdish New Year.
or Halparke, with fast-beat music.
In the art section, a dove figure
was shaped from sand.
The people enjoyed the
activities performed as the even-
ing slowly ticked away. When
the people went home from the
streets, they prepared for the pic-
nics of the next day. On the 21st
of March, the people went on the
picnics they usually have on the
first day of the Kurdish New Year.
The picnics consisted of a lot of
Halparke and barbecuing. De-
spite the bliss most of the Kurd-
ish families enjoyed, some fami-
lies experienced tragic losses. For
example, an eighteen year old guy
drowned in the lake of Dukan
while several others died in heavy
car accidents. Similar events oc-
cur every year during Newroz
celebrations.
One important thing
to notice is that people threw
less trash on the ground during
their picnics this year than they
had done in the previous years,
though there still was a consider-
able amount of trash thrown on
the ground.
In this Newroz, as was the
case in the previous ones, many
tourists visited Iraqi Kurdistan
to celebrate Newroz, Persians be-
ing the most prominent example.
This tourist-attracting aspect of
the holiday is beneficial for Iraqi
Kurdistan both economically and
Photo by Erik Aulie
socially.
This Newroz was cele-
brated by many different ethnici-
ties in the city of Sulaimany. On
the 20th of March, the revelers
walked on Salim Street and Sara
Square to see the celebration of
Newroz. And on the 21st, people
went on picnics to enjoy the sec-
ond day of Newroz celebrations
and the first day of the Kurdish
New Year.
2 3
Amid being embroiled
in current crises in Libya and
Japan, the American president,
Barack Obama, has taken time
to visit Latin America for five-
days in order to reinforce Amer-
ican economic ties with the re-
gion. Latin American countries
have been vital trading partners
with the US since the signing
of the North American Free
Trade Agreement in the 1990’s
— which expanded free-trade
from Canada and America to
Mexico. Since then, America
has signed various FTAs (Free
Trade Agreements) with several
other Latin American countries.
Underscoring Latin America’s
unique importance, President
Obama admitted that, at times,
the US had taken its relation-
ship with the region for granted.
Now, however, Obama asserts
that, “the future is being forged
by the countries and peoples of
Latin America […] The world
must now recognize Latin
America for the dynamic and
growing region that it truly is.”
Also recognized in the Ameri-
can president’s speech was the
democratic nature of most Latin
American countries. Many of
them, including Chile — where
the president gave his speech —
made political transitions from
military dictatorship to democ-
racy peacefully. In the 1970’s,
most Latin American countries
were military dictatorships.
Now, by contrast, almost all are
democracies. At a time when
violent revolutions may sub-
sume the Middle East, Obama
extolled the region’s example
political transition.
Obama’s trip to South
America comes at an impor-
tant time since now, more than
ever, the South American econ-
omies are integrated into the
world economy. Other coun-
tries, especially China, have also
been aggressively seeking trade
agreements with it. China is
already Brazil and Chile’s main
trading partner. Both China
and the US continue to seek sta-
ble trading partners in energy
resources. Currently, the US im-
ports a third of its oil from Latin
America, which is more than it
imports from the Middle East.
Increased global competition
as well as potential continued
instability in oil-rich countries
makes the United States’ need
for stable trading partners in
Latin America all the more rel-
evant in the coming years.

Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1
Overcoming the Single Story
region.
However, overcoming the single
stories and stereotypes we have of
others doesn’t require leaving fam-
ily and friends behind. Reconcili-
ation can begin with something as
In the Middle East, peace- simple as a discussion and sharing
making can begin over a plate of a meal.
fattoush. Last week I had lunch with Here in Beirut, these three
three young Iranian friends from Iranian friends can be found play-
opposite ends of the political and ing football, watching movies, stud-
ideological spectrum. Had these ying in the library, and eating bowls
young men met in Iran they would of fattoush with young Americans.
probably not have become friends. The very small Iranian community
They would have remained within at AUB has made these unlikely
their like-minded communities friends realize that, in spite of their
who share their basic beliefs about differences, they enjoy spending
politics, life, and religion. time together and can even learn
Amo, 22, an engineering from one another.
major, has very conservative po- Elif Shafak, a Turkish au-
litical and religious views; Ali, 20, thor, says, “If you want to destroy
spends more time learning crass something in this life, be it an ache,
American slang and rap lyrics than a blemish, or the human soul, all
thinking about God or politics; and
you need to do is to surround it with
Sevak, 19, an Armenian Christian,
thick walls. It will dry up inside.
plays a very active role in his church
We’re born into a certain family,
communities in both Beirut and nation, class. But if we have no con-
Tehran. nection whatsoever with the worlds
Nigerian novelist Chimam- beyond the one we take for granted,
anda Adichie describes the danger then we too run the risk of drying
of only listening to the “single sto-
up inside. Our imagination might
ry” of the other. Had I only listened shrink. Our hearts might dwindle.
to the single story of the Middle And our humanness might wither if
East I once knew, I would not have we stay for too long inside our cul-
ventured to teach in Kurdistan in tural cocoons.”
2004, I wouldn’t currently be living As Amo, Ali, Sevak, and
in Beirut, Lebanon, and I wouldn’t I ate our salads and chicken esca-
have met many of my closest friends lopes, we talked about how connect-
from different corners of the entire ing “with the worlds beyond the one
The Question of Architectural Heritage
“Preservation, Adaptive Re-Use, and Demolition in relation to the Market”
On the other hand, we can
consider our buildings to be carri-
ers of meaning and significance for
the people who utilize them, and
who have attached memories and
Buildings comprise a sig-
emotions to the otherwise “mean-
nificant portion of the environ-
ingless” brick and stone. If we ap-
ments in which we live. Whether
proach our “old” buildings with
homes, schools, restaurants, li-
that mindset, it suddenly becomes
braries, mosques, churches, shops,
important to find creative solu-
or cafés – a considerable amount
tions to preserve those memories
of our lives’ activities take place
and meanings – and the destruc-
within architecture. tion of such a building becomes
Much more than mere
synonymous with the destruction
physical structures, buildings are
of its significance.
capable of carrying enormous In Kurdistan, as is the case
amounts of meaning; we infuse across the region, the market is
them with memory, emotion, and perhaps the strongest force dictat-
significance. These qualities are as ing the production and practice of
much a part of our architecture as architecture. Architectural herit-
the stone, cement, marble, wood, age is disappearing rapidly as am-
and steel that we use to build the bitious (and perhaps greedy) de-
physical dimensions of our build- velopers eagerly pursue the easiest
ings. However, they are often not way to make the most profit. It is
as obvious; they can’t be felt or almost always cheaper to demol-
seen hiding between the cracks in ish old buildings and replace them
the ceiling.
with new, often rather unimagina-
When faced with the ques-
tive, projects than to explore crea-
tion of “old” buildings, we can take
tive ways of preserving them – and
one of two sides. We can adopt the
this is precisely what happens. In
popular paradigm and view our
the absence of enforced govern-
buildings as mere physical objects ment regulations or capable or-
that serve solely functional pur- ganizations, the market rules the
poses. Thus, when buildings age construction sector entirely un-
and can no longer satisfy those censored and unhindered.
purposes sufficiently, there is no However, while the mar-
more reason for them to exist – ket is definitely a force to be reck-
and to destroy and replace them is oned with, it is not one that leaves
the logical and viable solution.
us entirely powerless. It is a phe-
we take for granted” has changed us
and made us better people.
Ali, for instance, came to
Lebanon with a hatred for Arabs
but today considers his roommate,
a Lebanese Palestinian, his best
friend and has a crush on an Arab
classmate. Neither Amo nor Ali
had Armenian Christian friends in
Iran but have since listened to Sevak
share his experience of growing up
as a religious minority in a Shiite
dominated country.
Kurdistan, once fairly iso-
lated from the rest of the world,
has, in the past decade, undergone
radical changes. Cities nearly dou-
bled in size, Kurds from the global
diaspora returned, world-class ho-
tels built, Arabs migrated north,
migrant workers from Ethiopia and
Bangladesh came looking for work.
The young people of this new Kurd-
istan need to walk outside the walls
of their cultural cocoons and find
the other side of the story from their
Arab neighbors, Ethiopian maids,
members of rival political parties,
foreigners, those who have returned
from abroad, and those who never
left.
Kurdistan will be the bet-
ter for it. Her young people need to
learn to do this without the circum-
stances that brought Amo, Ali, and
Sevak together.
Start small, of course, per-
haps with a meal. It is amazing
what a plate of fattoush can do.
nomenon and a process that can
be understood, and thus crea-
tively manipulated. Preservation
and adaptive re-use are very real
and viable alternatives to demoli-
tion. There are a myriad of ways
in which traditional buildings can
be re-designed in order to cater
to the needs of the current mar-
ket. Old hotels can be converted
into student housing; cafés can be
renovated and expanded; new life
can be brought into old buildings
in ways that both preserve the dec-
ades (or even centuries) worth of
memory and meaning, and satisfy
contemporary living standards.
Young people across the
region are beginning to realize the
importance of such an approach
to heritage; and are advocating it
fervently. While they are in favor
of economic and cultural develop-
ment, many are not willing to pay
the price of losing their built his-
tory. Take for example the organi-
zation “Save Beirut Heritage” in
Beirut, Lebanon. They have organ-
ized a number of large campaigns
complete with concerts and dem-
onstration marches in attempts to
save important buildings around
the city; and while such attempts
are not always successful, they at
least raise awareness and commu-
nicate to the market the increasing
interest in the preservation of such
buildings. Architectural schools
as well are beginning to address
Problem with Education
in Kurdistan
Each year thousands of stu-
dents in Kurdistan graduate from
high school without a solid educa-
tional foundation, especially in the
areas of foreign languages and criti-
cal thinking. Who is responsible for
this? Who is to blame?
Many people answer
straightforwardly: “It’s the students’
fault.” They argue that the abun-
dance of modern technology and
freedom have made the current
generation of students unwilling to
study hard in school. Others simply
call the students lazy.
They do make a good point:
modern technology and too much
freedom have had a bad impact
on young students. However, these
Kurdish students are not the only
young people in the world influ-
enced by this; on the contrary, stu-
dents in the developed world face
this problem on a much larger scale.
The logical deduction, according
to this argument, must be that the
students in the developed coun-
tries fare worse than the students of
Kurdistan. Of course, that is not the
case. This argument fails here.
The argument about lazi-
ness does not hold water either
because Kurdistan has many out-
standing, diligent students. Jeremi-
ah Small, an American teacher in
Kurdistan, has taught at the Classi-
cal School of the Medes in Sulaima-
ny for over 4 years and sums up his
experience with this: “I find Kurd-
ish students highly capable and mo-
tivated given the right opportunity
and encouragement.”
I find it strange that while
many Kurdish teachers accuse stu-
dents of laziness this foreign teach-
Save Beirut Heritage on one of its campaigns.
the issue and are encouraging stu-
dents to think about how to deal
with architectural heritage in a
way that is both considerate and
realistic.
Creativity is the key. While
realism is essential in architectural
practice and education, it does not
have to result in mindless compli-
ance or a discouraged, fatalistic
outlook. More than ever, there is
an urgent need for students (archi-
tectural and other) in the region
to engage the tension between the
very real forces of the market and
Editorials
er does not. What is the reason for
this?
For the answer, we have to
look at Jeremiah’s last words in the
quote above: “given the right op-
portunity and encouragement.” Do
students have “the right opportu-
nity and encouragement” here in
Kurdistan? I must sadly say, “No.”
“What is the right opportu-
nity then?” some parents might ask.
“All this freedom and free educa-
tion, is this not enough?” Again, I
believe the answer is “No.”
Changing the current edu-
cation system is the only way to give
the students better opportunities. I
know that this sounds radical. Nev-
ertheless, an education system that
teaches critical thinking is far more
efficient than the current education
system which is preoccupied with
memorization.
Memorizing information
without actually understanding and
thinking is simply not learning; for
this reason, Europe and the US re-
frain from education systems that
revolve around “blind” memoriza-
tion.
Our current education sys-
tem does not allow for much criti-
cal thinking; students, therefore, do
not want to learn. Likewise, teach-
ers tend to not provide adequate
encouragement for their students,
contributing to the students’ lack
of interest in school. As a result, the
students enter college without any
strength in critical thinking or for-
eign languages.
The question of blame for
this problem is complicated and
requires a considerable amount of
further discussion. Nevertheless, as
I pointed out earlier, “it is the sys-
tem of education that is most re-
sponsible.”
Photo by Richard Pilgrim
our hopes and convictions as peo-
ple who value buildings as more
than physical structures. There
exists still a small window of op-
portunity for this generation to
demonstrate to “the market gone
wild” that there is cultural, per-
sonal, and even economic interest
in preserving our most meaning-
ful and historic buildings; to con-
vince the developers and investors
that demolition is not the only
option; that our history is not for
sale. And this opportunity must be
seized.
4 5
Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1
Diet Coke: The Reality Behind the Lie
Calorie; that’s one word
we human beings absolutely hate.
We hate it because we associate it
with the word “fat.” According to
Dictionary.com, the word “fat”
pertains to the richest or best part
of something. It is also defined as
a lipid or a group of organic com-
pounds that make up necessary
parts of the cell such as the plasma
membrane. However, when we
hear the word “fat,” we don’t think
of the richest part of something
or the plasma membranes of our
cells… We think saggy legs, hang-
ing bellies, and high cholesterol. It
is because of the words “calorie”
and “fat” that we find ourselves
consistently watching what we
eat, drinking “fat-free” milk, using
maple syrup instead of sugar, and
replacing our fat-invested kebab
with vegetables. Funny how two
words can alter the lives of human
beings in such a big way, right?
While going back and
forth from University and go-
ing out with friends and family, I
have observed that most people in
Qandil
Snowboarding
For true?! Snowboarding
in Iraq? It’s a ridiculous idea really.
And so I always thought – so my
people back home thought too –
Iraq is all hot and sand and stuff,
isn’t it?
Au contraire, mon frère!
The mental image usually con-
jured of Iraq may be all that, but
consider Kurdistan. Here is some-
thing like a different country all
together. This is what I discov-
ered after beating my way into the
Qandil Mountains south of Raw-
anduz after the last snowfall.
I come from Northwest
America where winter sports are
all the rage – my years in Alaska
had me playing in some of the
best back country snowfields in
the world. When I left the US to
serve the Kurdish people, I figured
all my winter hobbies would be
sacrificed in the move; and apart
from an occasional snowball fight,
the last 5 years have been virtually
free of any winter activity worth
noting.
All that long, cold winter
dreariness melted clean away a
few weeks ago when I and several
friends decided to try our luck and
their mission to consume the least
amount of calories and sabotage
their fear of fat have replaced their
favorite soda drink with its “light”
or “diet” version. Diet coke, an
arguably favorite amongst many,
claims to provide the same satis-
faction to its consumers as the nor-
mal Coca Cola does, but without
all the calories. Incredible! We get
the same sweet, caramel colored
drink depraved of all the things
that increase our jeans size. Is diet
coke all that it is made out to be, or
is it just a far-fetched dream? Is it
a lie that sells, a lie that we want to
believe? Well, I wasn’t going to take
anybody’s word for it, so I set out
on a quest to find out for myself.
Diet Coke consists of car-
bonated water, caramel color, as-
partame (NutraSweet), phosphoric
acid, potassium benzoate, natural
flavors, citric acid, and caffeine.
Let’s start out by defining NutraS-
weet. NutraSweet is a chemical
used in place of sugar; it isn’t actu-
ally sweet, it just tricks your brain
into thinking it tastes something
sweet. In addition, when heated
to a temperature of 86 degrees,
NutraSweet breaks down into a
chemical called fermaldehyde,
which is the same chemical used to
test Kurdistan’s ability to pre-
cipitate and accumulate. I’d seen
movies like Jani Gel and Marooned
in Iraq where the actors trudge
through knee-high snow to cross
rough mountain passes and fig-
ured if they conquered the place in
tragedy and later found the place
for a movie, I could find and re-
deem a place for fun. (Actually,
my faith that we would discover
anything more than a few skiffs of
white among a pile of board-and-
ski-eating rocks was quite low.)
With low expectations and
Hiking uphill through the snow.
preserve dead animals. Yuck, I’m
not too sure I want that running
through my body. Raised to even
higher temperatures, the NutraS-
weet in Diet Coke can cause meth-
anol poisoning. But wait, it gets
even more interesting. NutraSweet
is a brain drug; it stimulates carbo-
hydrate cravings in your brain. In
fact, the average person who regu-
larly drinks Diet Coke, and then
quits, loses around fifteen pounds!
high hopes, we struck out, leaving
Sulaimany before the sun stirred,
met up with a few others and the
gear we hoped to use in Shaqlawa,
and, after tea and a carwash at
Gali Ali Beg, arrived in Rawan-
duz around 10 in the morning. We
were a sight for village eyes: 5 for-
eigners wandering our way off to
we didn’t know where. Honestly,
we didn’t know where. A topo-
graphical map, a hope for south-
side-of-a-mountain snow drift,
and wish to steer clear of mine
fields were all we had.
Passing through Raw-
anduz, we caught sight of a little
white and, having seen nothing
else promising, decided we may
as well enjoy the drive and pur-
sue the end of the road. For a long
while we followed the upper edge
of a gorgeous canyon tainted only
Photo by Andres
Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org
Even though Diet Coke doesn’t
technically contain any calories, it
causes us to crave and take in more
from elsewhere. Wow. If that’s not
a wakeup call, then I don’t know
what is.
The idea that we can drink
something delicious without gain-
ing weight is appealing to every-
body; it is an idea that sells. But
if we are not careful, it is also an
idea that can be detrimental to our
by the absurdity of a garbage truck
emptying its tons of waste over the
cliff-side into the river below. The
preposterous affront to the beauty
around us had to be mocked, so we
paused our trip for a photo shoot
and a few groans over the ruin and
contempt of pristine majesty. But
it’s your land, right? So destroy it if
you want to, I thought as we drove
on.
Around a few more bends
and we found we were shifting
into four-wheel-drive and cutting
a track through the first inches of a
snow which would stop us entirely
a couple kilometers on and force
us to carry on by foot. Pulling the
boots, boards, and skis from the
car, we strapped everything to our
backs and started the long march
in search of a slope. An hour it
took us slogging through the first
5 inches, then 8, then 10 in a win-
ter playground of crystalline snow
and rivulets of ice snaking over
ragged escarpments. As we gaped
in awe, we tried to imagine snow-
mobiles and ski-lifts dotting the
hillsides. Would these be a kind of
destruction too? I wondered.
We stopped for lunch –
kebab and, well, just kebab – then
the real work began. At the pass
where our snow-covered road
bent to wander its way down to-
ward Qaladize, we turned to plow
our way up toward a cliff face sev-
eral hundred meters away and up.
The weather was perfect and the
sun-sharpened ridges contrasted
against an azure sky seemed to
burst in a spray of light clouds
fanned out to the horizon. The view
Features
health. The words “fat” and “calo-
rie” strike fear into the hearts of all
humans alike, and because of those
two words we often find ourselves
chasing products like Diet Coke.
Consuming too many calories may
have its negative effects, but the
fear of getting fat should not blind
people to other things that cause
them harm, such as the NutraS-
weet in Diet Coke.
was breath-taking, but as minutes
walking turned into hours hik-
ing, inches of light snow into feet
of thick powder, and a plodding
traverse turned crawling scram-
ble, I couldn’t help but think that
all the work was hardly going to
pay in equal dividends. We’d spent
an hour walking to the lunch stop,
and it would be two hours before
we reached the point we’d scoped
out as a starting point for carving a
line. Where was a helicopter when
you needed one? I kept thinking,
and nearly gave up the climb mid-
way. Still stomping and cutting,
stomping and cutting, we created a
stairway through snow 5 feet deep.
We finally met the top; shaking and
sore, I strapped on my board and
took a look around. Ridge strung
out after ridge, each peaked with
snow – these were the mountains
that held so much pain and sor-
row and turned it all to so much
beauty and rugged salvation; this
too was an allegory; here a story
without words impressed itself on
the soul. I tried to do what can’t be
done and pulled out my camera to
capture the moment then turned
to the steep in front of me. This
was my early morning, my long
hours in the car, my aching legs – I
dove forward and 2 minutes later
and half a kilometer away all the
strain and hardship were washed
out of mind as I replayed the S-
curves and the snow-spray at the
turns. A dream had just been re-
alized; the mountains of Iraq were
a play land; Kurdistan had winter
sports – I had just proved it.

Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1
Benefits of Classical Music
Classical music was pro-
duced in the western world be-
tween 1750 and 1820. This kind
of music included opera, cham-
ber music, choral pieces, and mu-
sic requiring a full orchestra. To
most, however, classical music
refers to all of the above types of
music within most time periods
before the 20th century – that is
what I will be referring to when
I use the term “Classical Music.”
Despite the fact that many young
people in this generation con-
sider classical music as “boring,”
many scientific researchers have
found that listening to this genre
has a plethora of benefits on the
individual. For example, there is a
causal link between classical mu-
sic and spatial intelligence, which
is the ability to perceive the world
accurately and to form mental pic-
tures of things. This kind of intel-
ligence is necessary for many eve-
ryday experiences, starting from
solving advanced mathemati-
cal problems to knowing where
It’s not right or wrong, it’s just different!
I love experiencing cul-
tures; they are interesting and
broad and have many values. In
any culture, we learn the basics,
and try to survive based on what
we have on our hands. This can be
very challenging. There are usual-
ly happy, frustrating, and exciting
moments; but in the end, we will
enjoy it no matter how things go.
It’s true that we have too
many cultures around the world.
Some of them are fairly close to
one another, and others can lie
on the opposite ends of the field.
However, it would be wrong to
consider one culture as better
than another. Many of us have
experienced other cultures. I
personally have gotten bicultural
and I am thankful for it. We don’t
necessarily need to go outside of
our country to experience differ-
ent cultures though. The different
ethnicities we have in our country
make cultural experience easy.
In the Kurdish culture, we
Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org
you have placed your cell phone.
Since classical music
is compiled of high-frequency
sounds, unlike the low-frequency
sounds of most popular music
today, it stimulates health and
as some studies have shown, re-
energizes the cortex of the brain.
On the other hand, the low-fre-
have this habit of offering things
to guests more than a couple of
times. Of course that is to show
respect and hospitality to the
guests. If I am serving tea to visi-
tors, I should be successful in giv-
ing it to them in about three tries.
It’s an odd habit, but it works with
the Kurds most of the time.
In the American culture,
however, you would usually offer
something only once. A Kurd-
ish individual should not expect
to get any tea in the US if they
typically refuse the first offer. This
cultural aspect can be shocking
to most of us, but that’s just their
culture!
I hear people discuss,
compare, and judge cultures.
Some of us will probably think
the Kurdish way is better than the
American, but the truth of the
matter is that both of them are
good enough. We shouldn’t of-
fend nor get offended by people
just because we don’t know about
their culture. It’s always impor-
tant to keep in mind that a culture
is not right or wrong, it’s just dif-
ferent!
Photo courtesy of madamepickwickartblog.com
quency sounds of most modern
music have the opposite effect.
Classical music is also
highly efficient for pregnant
women. Researchers have found
that babies who listen to classical
music while still in the womb are
often calmer at birth, sleep better,
and learn faster as they grow old-
Three Steps Help to Accomplish Lifetime Goals
Herbert Spenser, an Eng-
lish philosopher and sociologist
has observed that a single hu-
man brain contains 150 billion
cells, and it takes 5000 years
for someone to count them. It
has also been deduced that the
speed of human thinking is faster
than the speed of light, which is
299,792,458 meters per second.
The brain controls all the parts of
the body including the nervous
and digestive systems. Through
the phenomenal process of think-
ing, we can plan and achieve our
lifetime goals.
We all have dreams, but
we should always focus on one of
them at a time. There are many
testaments to the truth of this
advice. In one model, Thomas A.
Edison, the American light bulb
inventor, failed 9,999 times, but
lastly invented the bulb in the
10,000th time.
Colonel Sanders, the Ken-
tucky Fried Chicken founder, also
failed in 1007 restaurant projects,
but he successfully established the
KFC brand, now found world-
wide.
With persistence and per-
severance, these men successfully
transformed their dreams to real-
ities. These people knew that they
were born for a purpose, so they
overcame their obstacles and did
not give up until they achieved
their dreams.
Dreams require careful
planning and should be guided
Entertainment & Technology
er. Sometimes, a baby with colic
or other problems can be calmed
enough to sleep by classical music.
Hospital studies have
shown that patients who listen to
classical music need fewer drugs
after surgeries. The music calms
and relaxes them, allowing their
bodies to heal at a faster rate. When
by steps. The first step to take in
attaining your dreams is to own
your vision. Having a vision
means knowing exactly what you
want to do. It then can be divided
into two stages: a long-term and
a short-term one. Your vision can
also be defined as the position
you want to occupy after a limited
amount of time. This is why it is
also necessary to design your own
timeline.
In essence, this vision
needs a purpose. Determining
your purpose is the second step.
The rationale should be some-
thing noble. Purposes may dif-
fer from person to person, or
vary from time to time with the
same person. Your dream will al-
ways stay the same though. For
instance, your dream may be to
get rich in order to help the poor,
provide good education for chil-
dren, provide employment, and
more importantly gain the satis-
faction of God.
the mind and body are calm, our
blood flows better and distributes
oxygen to our brain and body
more evenly; the blood pressure
is lowered and oxygen consump-
tion by the heart is increased.
Seniors who listen to clas-
sical music often have less acci-
dents or injuries, less depression,
fewer doctor visits, better eyesight
and fewer needs for medication.
Another study that was
made in England several years
ago has shown that listening to
classical music can cut crime
rates up to 33%. This might seem
ridiculous when you hear it the
first time, but it is true; clas-
sical music calms aggression,
fury, and rage with its soothing
instruments and tones. This is
of course contrary to the stud-
ies that have shown an increased
crime rate after listening to cer-
tain genres of modern rap music.
Classical music has been
around for several hundred years
and it continues to impact peo-
ple on a great level. This kind of
music can be a very useful tool
to achieve a better society by im-
pacting one individual at a time.
Photo courtesy of streamxy.com
Most importantly, and the
third step toward realizing your
dreams, is that every dream needs
self-conviction. Without this con-
viction, dreams, visions, and pur-
poses are futile. You cannot be a
doctor without believing in your
purpose and the cause.
For analogical reasons,
let us assume that you want to
be the owner of a huge mall in
your hometown. First, you write
your plan. Perhaps your vision is
to reach your dream in ten or fif-
teen years. After that, the purpose
would be to enhance the econo-
my of your city and provide em-
ployment for the jobless youth.
The conviction would be that you
would reach that dream regard-
less of the amount of obstacles
which you might face. Finally,
you will say to yourself, “If some-
one before me became the owner
of this huge mall, then I will be
better than him; and if none have
become, then I will be the first.”
6 7
Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1
An Ancient Sport: Harpastum
Did you know that har-
pastum, a Roman sport devel-
oped over 2000 years ago, is the
forerunner of soccer and rugby?
This interesting sport, also known
as the Small Ball Game, first origi-
nated in Greece but was then ren-
ovated by the Romans after their
conquest of Greece in 146 BC.
The exact rules of this ar-
chaic sport are not well known,
but some features of it show
striking resemblances to rugby.
The Latinized word harpastum,
derived from Greek, means “to
seize” or “to snatch.” Both hand
and foot were used in this game;
the players had to get the ball over
the opposite team’s line to score.
The pitch used was rectangular
and slightly smaller than an aver-
age-sized soccer pitch. Also, the
ball played with, about eight inch-
es in diameter, was harder and
smaller than a soccer ball. It was
made of leather skin and stuffed
Football in Two Centuries
Some people believe that
soccer reached its climax in the
1950’s while Pele, the Brazil-
ian “Black Pearl,” was showing
his legendary football skills to
the world. However, other fans
would argue that the 1980’s were
the most glorious days of soccer
while the magician Diego Ar-
mando Maradona was playing for
the Argentinean national football
team. This is not just an argument
between the fans of FIFA; the of-
ficial institution of football could
never choose any of these two
players over the other. It was not
just about these two players; the
great teams’ stadiums were wit-
nesses of the talents of other great
players such as the Dutch super-
star Johan Cruyff, the Argentine-
an legend De Stefano, and many
others. These players, along with
Maradona and Pele, created the
history of soccer; they allowed
people to enjoy watching them
play on the fields. The question
here is: could those moments in
which these players played be the
real climax of soccer? What is re-
ally going on in the 21st century?
There is no doubt that
those earlier players have dis-
covered football, but the greatest
moments are happening now in
the 21st century because on an
almost daily basis we hear about
a certain team breaking a certain
record in history. For example,
the 2003/2004 season saw one
with either sponges or animal
fur. A unique factor of the game
was that the number of players
varied. Some reports suggest that
there were 5-12 players on each
side, whereas some propose that
hundreds of players were on each
side!
Boosting the popularity of
harpastum during antiquity, the
great Roman general, Julius Cae-
sar, used this sport as a military
training technique to enhance
the physical fitness of the Roman
army: such was the importance of
this physically challenging game.
Even several significant figures
of that period have commented
on and praised the effectiveness
of harpastum. “Better than wres-
tling or running because it exer-
cises every part of the body, takes
up little time, and costs nothing.”
explained Galen, a Greek phi-
losopher and perhaps one of the
greatest medical researchers of
antiquity.
A basic idea of how points
were scored in this game can be
pictured. Each team must keep
Pele, the “Black pearl.”
of the strongest teams in Lon-
don, Arsenal, going through the
season unbeaten; this was one
of the greatest records ever wit-
nessed in the history of football.
It was just a month ago when the
Catalonian team, FC Barcelona,
had broken the record of most
consecutive wins in the La Liga;
this record was previously held
by the football club of Real Ma-
drid in the last century. The same
team, Barcelona, won six titles in
one year (2009), an achievement
which had never been witnessed
before in history. Very recently,
Arsenal’s Gunners recorded one
of the rarest situations in football
when they held possession of the
ball for five minutes without let-
ting the opposition team touch
the ball at all. On the individual
level, the Argentinean star Lionel
the ball in their own half for as
long as they can. The opposing
team had to snatch the ball and
get it over the centre line to score.
Only the player in possession of
the ball could be tackled. Dodg-
ing and passing were the main
ways of keeping possession. Oth-
er rules, such as players and balls
going out of bounds, are similar
to those of football.
Like soccer, harpastum
was a fast and violent game. Tack-
ling was allowed, thus the players
would often end up on the floor.
To get an idea of how violent the
game was, sources indicate that a
spectator from Greece once had
his leg broken when he got caught
in the middle of play! This was
not a game to bump into.
Harpastum eventually
travelled with the mighty Ro-
man army across most of Europe
during the expansion of Rome.
It almost immediately became
popular with the locals of the Eu-
ropean countries visited. In fact,
there are records of a match be-
tween the Romans and the Brit-
Photo courtesy of wikimedia.org
Messi broke another record last
year when he scored 46 goals in
one season, which is the second
best rate of goals scored in one
season.
These records I men-
tioned are just a few among the
thousands seen in the 21st cen-
tury. It is true that many great
players have played in the 20th
century, but that does not mean
soccer will stop giving birth to
new great names such as Messi,
Zidane, Ronaldo, and Ronald-
inho. We have just gone through
a decade of the 21st century and
those players have already broken
half of the records of the previous
century. There is much more to
come for the soccer fans to enjoy.
Players come and go, but soccer
remains the most enjoyable sport
in the world.
Champions League Draw
ish natives in which the Romans
won. Hence, it is the Romans who
are often credited with bringing
football and rugby into the world,
Superstitions in Football
Soccer players, like most
human beings, believe in certain
superstitious ideas that relate to
soccer. Some touch the ground
and cross their hearts before
coming onto the pitch; some
read Dostoyevsky to prepare for
the match; others simply wear
their underwear inside out, be-
lieving that no harm can come
to them if they do so. Some of
the most bizarre superstitious
beliefs in soccer are listed below:
The Dutch legend Johan
Cruyff used to slap his goalkeep-
er Gerts Bal in the stomach while
he was at Ajax, and then spit his
chewing gum into the opposi-
tion’s half before kickoff. When
Cruyff once forgot his gum in
the European Cup of 1969, Ajax
lost 4-1.
France’s Laurent Blanc,
who is the national team coach
now, used to kiss the bald head
of his goalkeeper Barthez before
every match in the 1998 World
Cup. France went on to win the
competition, beating Brazil 3-0
in the final.
England’s captain dur-
ing the 1960’s and 1970’s, Bobby
Moore, insisted on being the last
person in the changing room to
put on his shorts before kick-off.
In 1981 Desmond Morris wrote:
“Moore’s team-mate Martin Pe-
ters was fascinated by the way
he stood around holding the
Sports
Graphics by Marwan Muhammed
particularly in Britain where the
ancient sport of harpastum was
developed into these two widely
enjoyed games we see today.
shorts, waiting for everyone else
to finish dressing.” Peters would
wait until Moore had put on his
shorts, before taking off his own.
Moore would respond by taking
off his shorts, and waiting until
Peters had put his back on.
Sergio Goycocha, who
was Argentina’s goalkeeper at
the 1990 World Cup, had a habit
of urinating on the pitch before
a penalty shootout. It was a “suc-
cessful” routine as Argentina
reached the final of the compe-
tition before losing 1-0 to Ger-
many.
Gary Lineker, the legend-
ary English striker, never shot at
goal during the warm ups for his
matches because he didn’t want
to waste a goal! And if he didn’t
score a goal after the first half, he
would change his jersey. If the
bad run extended, and his form
was dipping, he would get a new
haircut.
Ivory Coast’s defender
Kolo Toure would always stay
behind so that he would be the
last player entering the pitch. He
would supposedly play better if
he did so.
Whether we believe in
superstitions or not, there are
people who base their lives on
them, like the soccer players I
mentioned above. You might
find some of those superstitions
funny, stupid, or even reason-
able. Nevertheless, superstitions
do obviously exist, and surpris-
ingly drive some soccer players
along. But do they drive you?
 Leisure
Friday, April 1, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 1

“ If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life mov-
ing, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in
”
spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.
Martin Luther King, jr.

Created by Marwan Muhammed

Awat.adv@gmail.com
Created by Marwan Muhammed

Photo of the month

Photo by Marwan Muhammed

Art Palace Building at night; Baxtiary, Sulaimany, Iraq.