Snowfall is making life difficult for villagers in northern Duhok

DUHOK, Kurdistan Region – Snowfall is making life difficult for villagers in northern Duhok, where some are struggling to find firewood. To get through the cold season, village residents have to make preparations months before the start of winter.

Thick layers of snow are covering roofs and home entrances in the villages of northern Duhok province.

With their shovels in hand, people climb on top of their roofs and stand outside their homes almost daily to clear the piles of snow.

Before the start of winter, the villagers in northern Duhok have to make preparations, says Ali Adil.

“If you haven’t made preparations at the beginning of the autumn season for the winter season here, then you are in trouble, because winter here is freezing cold,” he says.

Snowfall can reach up to 100 centimeters in Derishk village, he says.

But it usually does not disrupt schools, he adds.

At the end of a school day, students walk back home in the snow and even have some fun with it, hurling snowballs at one another.

Some residents such as Suleiman Abdullah are well accustomed to dealing with the snowfall nowadays.

“First we secure the necessities such as shelter and food for our livestock. Then we prepare the materials for heating,” he says.

He adds that in the past it was much harder to secure supplies during winter.

“It is nothing like that now. We have cars and it is not an issue anymore,” he says.

However the headman of Derishk village says collecting wood is a struggle.

“Kerosene is not efficient in this area. In my opinion without wood, kerosene would not be useful here,” says Anwar Yassin.

There is limited access to locations where the villagers can collect wood, he adds.

“I mean there is the Turkish (military) on one side, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party militias) on the other side,” Yassin says.

The mayor of a nearby town says this struggle affects several villages in northern Duhok.

“Snow becomes an obstacle and blocks the roads to several villages in our area. Specifically, the villages of Ure, Sarero, Adine, Benave, Hedina,” says Kani Masi mayor Sarbast Sabri.

Snow sweeping machines are operating continuously on main roads in the area to keep them clear.

Reporting by The Associated Press 

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