Kurdistan’s Death Machine

The year that passed was pivotal for the Kurdistan Region, replete with everything from the Miss Kurdistan beauty pageant (you don’t want to hear my views on that) to the Erbil-Baghdad relations, oil contracts, elections, and the large inflow of refugees from Syria.

But no one made a reference to the “2013 Anfal” against the Kurds.

This time, it was not triggered by any Baathist, not by Chemical Ali, not by Turks, Syrians or Iranians. The “2013 Anfal” against the Kurdish people was caused by Kurds themselves. Some scholars define this as “white terrorism.” Politicians have called it “genocide,” and writers have referred to it as a “war.”  But those guilty of it call it “qazaw qadar” (destiny).

We, the Kurds in Iraq, are the proud owners of the “Road of Death” and the Batamay xwa (leaving it to God) roundabout. In three provinces, we own one million weapons, if not of mass destruction, then of family destruction and that weapon is the car.

I cannot recall a single day of going to and from work without witnessing an accident of some sort, without screaming my lungs out at someone -- or for that matter without having someone beeping their loud car horns at me.

Cars come from everywhere, shooting at you like bullets, to the extent that we need to install roof mirrors. That is because, funny enough, cars seem to fall on motorists even from flyover bridges overhead.  In fact, don’t bother with that option: No one uses a car-mirror anyway.

Seventy percent of the time the culprit is the taxi driver. It is not the driver’s fault. He just does not know that there is something called a turn signal. And, of course, you certainly cannot blame him because he owns the road. Hence, he can stop when he pleases to pick up or drop off his passengers.  

There were over 800 reported, and serious, car accidents until September last year -- twice as many as in the whole of 2012. According to certain sources, car accidents are the third cause of death in the Kurdistan Region, killing more than “two people every day.”

I am a female driver. I admit I am not the best of drivers (you know, reversing problems). But the number of times my fellow drivers on the road tell me off for following the rules is infinite.

I get told off sometimes for stopping at a red light, for stopping during a U turn because there are speeding cars coming my way, stopping before a zebra crossing for pedestrians and for using my turn signals. Don’t tell me you did not know! It is so not cool to use something called a turn signal.

A few evenings back, driving through some of the main roads in Erbil, it felt like passing through a disco. The flashing lights that created that impression were speed cameras. It seemed like every driver in front of me had their picture taken. Most didn’t smile for the camera because they were too busy talking on their phones.

Authorities have made the process of issuing a driving license a little “tougher,” speed cameras have been installed and there are television shows teaching people how to drive. And finally, now it is not surprising to return to your car and have a ticket smiling at you on the windscreen, for parking in the wrong place.

None of the above has worked. Hence, I have a three-step solution: Increase fines, confiscate licenses and -- most importantly -- it is about time we have a decent public transport system, be it busses or trains. I have heard a lot, but will not believe anything, until I see the rails and hear the train’s toot-toot.

If a building can go up overnight, I don’t see why a decent train (or bus system) is taking well over a decade. Sadly, businessmen with deep pockets prefer to make their pockets even deeper, rather than give back something to society that is needed.

With a transport system in place cars will decrease, people who cannot drive won’t need to drive, and, yes, most taxi drivers will need to find new jobs. Simple. 

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