Coming to Kurdistan was a very eye-opening and enjoyable experience for me. Besides traveling out of Singapore for the first time in more than 2 years, I had the opportunity to visit a beautiful, adventurous and historical place, and meet many wonderful people. I was pleasantly surprised at how placid the region is and how hospitable the locals were to me, in stark contrast to what is often reported in the media about Iraq. The locals were very approachable and often they would start conversations with me when they noticed that I am a foreigner, so I took the chances to befriend them. I was amazed at how some of them shared about their past experiences candidly - Yazidis whose hometowns were invaded by ISIS and Kurds whose families were targeted by Saddam Hussein’s wicked genocidal campaign - they lived through these traumatic experiences yet many emerged stronger, possessing a valiant spirit in hopes of a better future for themselves and their families. When I visited the refugee camps, the conditions there were better than what I had in mind, and many residents, despite having lived through war, are back on their feet again, having proper jobs and house tents to stay in, and the children are attending schools in the refugee camps. Witnessing these things encouraged me, knowing that the humanitarian efforts by Habibi and other NGOs have paid off very well in enabling the refugees to recover from the physical and emotional impact of the wars and improve their standard of living. Being able to befriend the locals easily also gave me the impetus to continue journeying with them and to make disciples!
Locals celebrating their new year, known as Nowruz.
Community center being built by Habibi International in a UN Refugee Camp.
With some resident kids in the Refugee Camp.
Khabur River.
Me on a beautiful mountain in K-Land.
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