I covered the war in southern Iraq as a
journalist but never set foot in the
north until after the Americans had gone
I couldn’t believe it was the same
country the city of Suleiman iya is a
liberal island in a region flooded with
extremism enemies are all around
Isis is just two hours away
my name is Neel che and I’m a writer
with National Geographic magazine I’m on
assignment in northern Iraq for a story
on the Kurds a Muslim minority and a
crucial Western ally in the battle
against Isis the Kurds are an ancient
people with their own language and
culture and today they’re scattered
across Turkey Iran Syria and Iraq here
in Iraq the Kurds control a territory
the size of Switzerland and though they
officially remain part of Iraq they have
their own president their own Parliament
and their own moderate form of Islamic
democracy all of that is now under
threat
it’s a couple hours before sunrise we’re
gonna meet up with an Iraqi police unit
that’s going out looking for Isis
fighters around the city of Kirkuk
I’m leaving the safety of sulemani and
heading south toward kir cook toward
isis-held territory and a police
commander charged with keeping the city
safe from jihadis power is my friend and
my fixer
he’s a Kurdish photojournalist who’s
helping me chase leads and meet the
right people he was also born and raised
in Kirkuk and he’s lived through all the
recent Wars it’s the time of wild dogs
in the city this is when they feel free
to roam here cook is an oil-rich city in
the middle of Iraq and it’s also the
country’s melting pot in care cooks
dense neighborhoods Christians live
beside Muslims Kurds live beside Arabs
and everyone lives just a few miles from
Isis in 2014 the Kurds stepped up to
stop militants from capturing Kirkuk but
fear still stains everything here
journalist but never set foot in the
north until after the Americans had gone
I couldn’t believe it was the same
country the city of Suleiman iya is a
liberal island in a region flooded with
extremism enemies are all around
Isis is just two hours away
my name is Neel che and I’m a writer
with National Geographic magazine I’m on
assignment in northern Iraq for a story
on the Kurds a Muslim minority and a
crucial Western ally in the battle
against Isis the Kurds are an ancient
people with their own language and
culture and today they’re scattered
across Turkey Iran Syria and Iraq here
in Iraq the Kurds control a territory
the size of Switzerland and though they
officially remain part of Iraq they have
their own president their own Parliament
and their own moderate form of Islamic
democracy all of that is now under
threat
it’s a couple hours before sunrise we’re
gonna meet up with an Iraqi police unit
that’s going out looking for Isis
fighters around the city of Kirkuk
I’m leaving the safety of sulemani and
heading south toward kir cook toward
isis-held territory and a police
commander charged with keeping the city
safe from jihadis power is my friend and
my fixer
he’s a Kurdish photojournalist who’s
helping me chase leads and meet the
right people he was also born and raised
in Kirkuk and he’s lived through all the
recent Wars it’s the time of wild dogs
in the city this is when they feel free
to roam here cook is an oil-rich city in
the middle of Iraq and it’s also the
country’s melting pot in care cooks
dense neighborhoods Christians live
beside Muslims Kurds live beside Arabs
and everyone lives just a few miles from
Isis in 2014 the Kurds stepped up to
stop militants from capturing Kirkuk but
fear still stains everything here
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