With Mam Jalal: A Solution

Imad Ahmed

Written by Imad Ahmed, Head of the Media and Awareness Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

After publishing my previous article With Mam Jalal, a Dream and a Sorrow, a number of friends and comrades contacted me by phone and WhatsApp, either calling or sending messages. Some remarked, “Kak Diler Sayyid Majid’s words will come true, God willing.” Others asked me to clarify the means by which we could implement the solutions I mentioned, as I had promised the late Mam Jalal in my dream that we would make a serious effort to resolve the disputes confronting the Kurdistan Region.

In essence, they wanted me to write to them about the reform process and to explain how we might fix it.

Here, I wish to express my personal opinion with complete frankness. If I succeed, I shall earn two rewards, and if I fail, one reward, in line with the Ja‘fari school of Islam.

So I went into my library and sat before the half-statue of Mam Jalal, placed by the window. It occurred to me to write these lines. I began tapping on my phone’s notes application with my thumbs, as if speaking directly to Mam Jalal himself.

We must start with criticism and self-criticism.

We live in a country plagued by salary delays, shortages of energy and water, drought, unrest, and recurrent crises.

On one hand, political unity among the Kurdistan Region’s parties is rare. Relations between the government and opposition are at their lowest ebb, and public trust in government has all but vanished. On the other hand, regional interference has grown, and much of the media plays a negative role in its coverage of events.

We are a region of roughly 6.4 million people. Unpaid salaries have pushed the majority below the poverty line — that is one side of the story. The other is that thousands of foreign workers fill jobs in households and the service sector while tens of thousands of our own people remain unemployed. Yet, despite such poverty, many residents travel abroad each year for leisure, pilgrimage, or other purposes. This is the reality of our Region.

As the saying goes in the PUK: what is the measure, and what is the solution? First, we must recognise that much of our current plight stems from our own behaviour and policies. But the key questions remain: can the situation change and return to normal, or is a solution impossible? Must we endure this forever, or is there still hope?

We must not lose hope, for when a problem arises, the seeds of its solution often lie within it. Severe crises may be sparked by small issues, and, equally, may begin to be resolved through small and measured steps.

To settle today’s disputes in the Region, we need steely determination, solidarity, and a clear short- and long-term roadmap, drawing upon both foreign advisers and our own local experts and academics.

Reform must begin with ourselves and extend into our education system—schools, institutes, colleges, and universities. We must develop comprehensive programmes for reform across the social, economic, political, and cultural spheres, as Singapore in East Asia and Rwanda in Africa once did—they began without relying on oil and gas resources, and we have seen how they transformed from a troubled and impoverished country into a developed, stable, prosperous, and peaceful country.

This cannot be achieved through laziness or arrogance, by behaving like chicks always fed by their mothers, or by relying solely on oil and gas revenues. It requires the mobilisation and diversification of national income, particularly through development and investment in agriculture, trade, industry, and tourism. Politically, this requires improving relations between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad within the framework of the constitution, cutting unnecessary expenditures, and increasing and diversifying sources of revenue.

We must reject the belief—held by some within the Shi‘a community—that the more corruption and injustice spread, the sooner the Twelfth Imam will appear, and that only then will peace, equality, and prosperity prevail. The Kurds are, of course, a resilient and self-sacrificing people who have endured many hardships, and they can rise again this time too—provided they are led by wise, trustworthy, and capable leadership. While the responsibility for today’s situation rests mainly with the Kurdistan Supreme Leadership, the people share it as well, for they elect the very parties that have brought the Region to this point.

As I wrote these words, I sat alone before the court of my own conscience, reflecting on Kurdistan’s past and future. The reality deeply saddened me; my throat was parched, and I felt very thirsty. Just then, my eight-year-old grandson, Sha, entered carrying a cup of cold water. “Grandfather, I brought you this,” he said. I kissed him, thanked him, and drank, feeling a mixture of sorrow and tenderness. My gaze returned to the statue of Mam Jalal, and this time I said: I am optimistic that we have your experience, so God willing, we will not stop until we fix this situation and achieve success.