Kurdish Students Believe There is Hope for the Future of Iraq

As reported by Margaret Besheer on KurdMedia.com, students at Salaheddin University in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq say they are “hopeful about their futures.” Besheer reports that Sumaya, a 22-year-old student living in a girls-only dormitory, “believes she will have a brighter future than her parents,” who were among the thousands of Kurds who fled to Iran, Turkey and Syria under Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Besheer reports that Sumaya believes she has seen great changes in Kurdistan since the fall of Saddam’s regime. “They [Kurds] have come back to their country, and they use their money here and make buildings,” says Sumaya. She also describes how people are free to move between cities, something that was not allowed under Saddam’s regime.

The students do express concerns, however, about the quality of their education and their ability to find jobs after they graduate, Besheer says. “Many of the students do not speak Iraq’s principal language, Arabic, because they were raised in neighboring countries,” Besheer reports and this is why there is a cause for concern. “Many say they are likely to go abroad to complete their educations and work.”

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