Sulaimaniyah in Eye of Storm

When hundreds of people poured into the central square of Sulaimaniyah on February 17, to show solidarity with Tunisians and Egyptians as well as to call for reform and an end to corruption in Iraqi Kurdistan, I was just a curious reporter monitoring the situation.

But soon after the rally ended, I was faced with the most difficult story of my professional career.

Many of the demonstrators had left towards Salem Street, the best known part of the city, when for reasons that are still under investigation, some ended up clashing with guards outside the offices of the region’s president Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP. In the ensuing fight, one person was killed and nearly 60 injured.

At this point, I was a few blocks away, but could hear the sounds of gunshots and the sirens of ambulances and security vehicles rushing towards the scene. I knew that I had an assignment and headed straight there.

It was the first time I had seen such huge crowds of people demanding reform and jobs and the first time I had witnessed live gunfire against protesters. What I saw that day became part of an IWPR report about the demonstrations that were sweeping Iraq, but I felt that I needed to write another story focused on Sulaimaniyah.

I kept a close eye on developments after February 17 as the demonstrations gained momentum. I could see that the young protesters were defying the might of the security forces and their use of live ammunition, and asked my editors at IWPR if I could write a follow-up story about the demonstrations.

In the ensuing days, hundreds of extra troops were brought to the outskirts of Sulaimaniyah and a curfew put in place. More demonstrators were killed and many more injured, and there were numerous arrests by the security forces as the protests spread to other areas of the province.

My biggest challenge in filing the story was the security situation. People were defying the curfew and I had to walk around with my press card always ready to show the security forces. People were demonstrating in several areas of Sulaimaniyah city, so I had to decide which of the protests I needed to cover. In the end, I judged that it was the centre of the city that had become the magnet for demonstrators.

The images were shocking; I saw protesters blocking roads and burning tyres as security forces opened fire on them and plainclothes police tried to arrest them. Businesses were all shut down and the usual traffic jams were eased as fewer people were willing to enter the city. The slogans that the demonstrators were chanting - such as, “Down with corruption” and “People are suffering” - were all new to me.

I carried out several interviews with the protesters, but getting information from officials was difficult. I had to call many of them numerous times before they even picked up the phone. My other challenge was to keep up with the fast-paced developments as casualties increased and more and more people joined the demonstrations.

I filed the article Sulaimaniyah in Eye of Storm from an internet café on February 23 but the following day I was still on the phone to sources and out reporting on the demonstrations to make sure that my piece was up to date.

What I learned from this story were some very valuable lessons for my career. For example, while I was told by military officials that all reinforcements had been withdrawn from Sulaimaniyah, I could see for myself that many of them were patrolling the streets of the city. This experience was a good reminder of the lessons that I had learned from IWPR – that information has to be checked carefully for accuracy before it could be published.

When the story appeared it meant a lot to me. Although the violence has died down, the protesters are still holding daily rallies in Sulaimaniyah’s central square, waiting for the authorities to meet their demands. In the light of all the protests happening in other parts of Iraq and Middle East, I too feel that the demonstrators in Iraqi Kurdistan needed to be heard.