On the Brink of Collapse

Abdulbasit Omar

The Kurdish nation, after many years of struggle and after all the resistance of Southern Kurdistan, what have we achieved?!

Instead of a strong and united government, we ended up with two administrations and yellow and green zones! Instead of a solid economic foundation, we regressed in public health, regressed in the university system, and an outdated method of education. Ended up with a broken healthcare structure and with a collapsed judicial system.

Instead of a government, we have tribal councils. Instead of the law, we have the mood and taste of the ruling family. Instead of a court, we have the final word of the tribal chief. After all the sacrifices and struggles of our people, where did we arrive?

A sealed tunnel choked with the theft of public revenue, enriching themselves at the expense of the poor and broken, looting the resources of the land above and below. We ended up with a looter government that steals salaries and puts citizens in debt. From the loud threats of referendum and separation, to crawling back and begging Baghdad. From claims of economic independence, to becoming beggars pleading for fair financial entitlements from the central government! From fake promotions turning Erbil into Dubai, to a city stinking with sewage, polluted air, and social decay. From promises of building a just system with taxes, fees, and state revenues, to channeling all the national income into the private companies of the ruling families, used for the luxury of their children and grandchildren. But tell me, where is your so-called “national achievement”? Where are the most basic public services, water, electricity, and modern roads?

You were never leaders, you were looters of oil and gas, smugglers of wealth! You paved the way for joyless lives and daily suffering. You should carry your burden and leave. Leave and blacken your own lands; go sell your dignity again! You have brought disgrace, and you will continue to bring disgrace. Leave, and do not look back!

Your 21st-century illusion has become a dark folktale in the heart of the people.
Like 1975 again, throw tails back into your pockets, announce your second collapse, may God grant us just a little breath of peace, to live in dignity and finally inhale the air of freedom!