KIRKUK – Kirkuk city usually hits headlines for ethnic disputes and reports of systemic discrimination. On Wednesday, a theatre festival kicked off with the intent of bringing Kurds and Arabs together.
Kurdish and Arab playwrights have converged on the disputed city to perform and watch plays translated into the two languages. “It is a message of peace and coexistence,” Khalid Doski, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s Minister of Culture, told Rudaw.
About 150 playwrights from the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Basra are attending.
Kirkuk is a multicultural province, home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmens and with a troubled history. It lies within the disputed areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad and has been under federal control since October 2017 when the Iraqi army took the majority of the disputed areas after the Kurdistan independence referendum.
The federal takeover of the city was followed by reports of violations against the Kurdish population, including a revival of the Arabization policies of former dictator Saddam Hussein. The provincial council is essentially paralyzed as Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs vie for influence and the governorship.
Nasir Hassar, a prominent Kurdish theatre director, told Rudaw that it is “an honor that such a festival is held in Kirkuk at this time with the attendance of a great number of people. Kirkuk has historically been the city of art and culture.”
“This festival is positive in all aspects including the political one,” said Ali Karim, another Kurdish writer.
Abdulqadir Halabi is an Iraqi playwright and hopeful to see an exchange of culture at the festival. “Arabic texts written in Baghdad are translated into Kurdish in order to spread Arabic culture. I hope Kurdish texts are also translated into Arabic so that cultures of both ethnic groups are mixed,” he said.
This is the inaugural year of what organizers hope will become an annual event. This year, the festival is named after Jihad Dilpak, a deceased Kurdish playwright who was a native of Kirkuk.
Dilpak was born in 1938 and died after an illness in 2013 at the age of 75. His plays include ‘The Life of the Mute Girl’ and ‘The Stolen Spring.’
Festival organizer Mohammed Khidir hopes the event will put Kirkuk on the cultural map. “In the coming years, we want to tell the theatre of Europe and the whole world that Kirkuk owns an original theatre, dating back a hundred years,” he said.
The Kirkuk Theatre Festival will run through May 4 at the Kirkuk Cultural Centre. It will conclude with an award ceremony. The event is put on by the KRG. Rudaw Media Network is a media sponsor.
Reporting by Hardi Mohammed
Kurdish and Arab playwrights have converged on the disputed city to perform and watch plays translated into the two languages. “It is a message of peace and coexistence,” Khalid Doski, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s Minister of Culture, told Rudaw.
About 150 playwrights from the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Basra are attending.
Kirkuk is a multicultural province, home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmens and with a troubled history. It lies within the disputed areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad and has been under federal control since October 2017 when the Iraqi army took the majority of the disputed areas after the Kurdistan independence referendum.
The federal takeover of the city was followed by reports of violations against the Kurdish population, including a revival of the Arabization policies of former dictator Saddam Hussein. The provincial council is essentially paralyzed as Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs vie for influence and the governorship.
Nasir Hassar, a prominent Kurdish theatre director, told Rudaw that it is “an honor that such a festival is held in Kirkuk at this time with the attendance of a great number of people. Kirkuk has historically been the city of art and culture.”
“This festival is positive in all aspects including the political one,” said Ali Karim, another Kurdish writer.
Abdulqadir Halabi is an Iraqi playwright and hopeful to see an exchange of culture at the festival. “Arabic texts written in Baghdad are translated into Kurdish in order to spread Arabic culture. I hope Kurdish texts are also translated into Arabic so that cultures of both ethnic groups are mixed,” he said.
This is the inaugural year of what organizers hope will become an annual event. This year, the festival is named after Jihad Dilpak, a deceased Kurdish playwright who was a native of Kirkuk.
Dilpak was born in 1938 and died after an illness in 2013 at the age of 75. His plays include ‘The Life of the Mute Girl’ and ‘The Stolen Spring.’
Festival organizer Mohammed Khidir hopes the event will put Kirkuk on the cultural map. “In the coming years, we want to tell the theatre of Europe and the whole world that Kirkuk owns an original theatre, dating back a hundred years,” he said.
The Kirkuk Theatre Festival will run through May 4 at the Kirkuk Cultural Centre. It will conclude with an award ceremony. The event is put on by the KRG. Rudaw Media Network is a media sponsor.
Reporting by Hardi Mohammed
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