Commemorating
the loss of Kurds
drowned on their way to
Europe

On Thursday, 22 of
January, 65 people died in
the Aegean Sea. At least
28 of them were from Iraqi
Kurdistan and 5 from
Sulaimani.

On the last
Saturday of January, the
whole group of the CPT
Iraqi Kurdistan training
attended a vigil for these
people. The event,
organised by CPT partners,
was to bring awareness to
the situation of so many
people losing their lives
in the sea on the journey
to a freer and safer life.
It was a time to express
grief for the loss of
lives of people from this
region and this city.

Our
team is getting
bigger and more
diverse

January was very
special for Iraqi
Kurdistan team. We
started a new year
full of energy, new
ideas and excitement
for the upcoming
trainings and work.
Two new members joined
our team to support
four other long- term
members. So, this year
we have with us:
Mohammed, Lukasz,
Kathy, Alicja, Julie
and Rezhiar.

Rezhiar Fakhir
comes from the Kurdish
mountains and
currently works as an
intern with CPT. He is
very determined to
bring change to
Kurdish society on a
cultural, social,
political and
traditional level. He
realized that
education is the best
way to bring change to
Kurdistan and that he
had the duty to
educate himself
further to achieve
real change for his
society. Growing up in
a war-torn
environment, he has
been writing about
conflicts and issues
related to the
political, cultural
and social situation
in Kurdistan. In his
articles, he insists
on the human dimension
of conflicts to
highlight that people
at war have more in
common than they think
and should concentrate
on that instead of
their differences. He
shares some personal
insights too. Since he
has not travelled
abroad a lot, his
favourite place to be
is his kitchen where
he finds refuge and
can set his creativity
free.

Julie Brown
joined CPT in November
and became part of our
team in January. For
the past several
years she has been
working on social
justice issues
surrounding poverty,
U.S. militarization,
and War. Julie is
also part of a
Catholic Worker
community that runs a
day shelter and soup
kitchen when she’s at
home in Des Moines,
Iowa, USA. In her
free time she enjoys
making things with her
hands and creating
art.

Mohammed Salah
Mahdi, is a Kurdish
Muslim. He met CPT in
2006. At the beginning
he worked as a team
driver for about 2
years, then he became
a translator, adviser
and sponsor until
2014. When Mohammed
finished the CPT
training, he joined
the team in Iraqi
Kurdistan. Currently,
he is the only person
who can sponsor the
foreigners for their
residency in Iraqi
Kurdistan. He loves
CPT. Mohammed enjoys
cooking and driving.

Alicja, an
activist from Poland,
has been an intern on
the Iraqi Kurdistan
CPT team since
September 2014.
Previously, she
studied
ethnolinguistics and
worked as a volunteer
in a Polish ngo,
delivering workshops
on peace and
antidiscrimination as
well as working in the
refugee camp in
Poland. She cannot
live without sport.
Last summer she came
from Poland to
Kurdistan by her bike
(from Turkey to
Sulaimani by bus).
Alicja loves
travelling and
learning languages.

Lukasz Firla
fell in love with
Kurdistan, its
wonderful and diverse
people, passionate
history and beautiful
nature in 2009 when he
came here for the
first time with a CPT
delegation. In winter
of 2010 he joined the
team as an intern. A
year later he trained
with CPT, joined the
organization, and
since March 2011, he
has been living in
Iraqi Kurdistan and
working full-time with
CPT. Together with his
wife and son they call
Kurdistan their home.

Kathy
Moorhead Thiessen has
worked part-time with
our team since March
2011. During the
summers when she is in
Canada she enjoys
gardening and growing
healthy food. She also
loves to make
colourful patchwork
blankets. Kathy has
had a wonderful 5 1/2
years working with the
fantastic people of
Iraqi Kurdistan but
in April she will join
the CPT Indigenous
Peoples Solidarity
team that works in
Canada.