ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish shopkeepers once dominated a local bazaar in Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul but they are now a minority due to the political dynamics the city has witnessed ever since the toppling of the former Baath regime in 2003.
"Before the invasion of Iraq by the US in 2003, Kurds made up 80 percent of the shops in this market," Yassin Naaemi, the chieftain of the local market told last week. "The subsequent events, however, led to a decline in the number of Kurdish shops to ten percent."
"Those who have left will never come back. Those who have sold their houses have moved to the Kurdistan Region where they have found jobs," Naaemi added.
Hajji Nazir Abdulla, who has been working at the market for the past four decades, is one of the handful of Kurds who have stayed.
"Factors contributing to the migration of Kurds from here were Daesh [the Islamic State], killings, and threats against their lives. They have left for the Kurdistan Region," Abdulla said. "People from across the Kurdish tribes were once here, such as the tribes of Goran, Zebari, Harki, and Surchi. They made up the majority of the Kurds."
Miqdad Rasheed, an Arab, said that Kurds have stayed in the bazaar only in name.
"This alley used to be called the shops of the Kurds. This market originally used to be called Gumbar. But in the 40s, 50s, and the 60s the name was changed to the Kurdish market due to the abundance of Kurdish shops," Rasheed said, adding that they are all upset that the number of Kurdish shops has significantly dropped.
"We are all too upset, but we do not want to say it. The fact is that the number of Kurds has largely dropped," he noted.
According to data from the Iraqi planning ministry, Kurds used to constitute 33 percent of the Nineveh province population. The ratio has now declined to 25 percent.
The Islamic State (ISIS) group took control of Mosul in 2014, embarking on a reign of terror that saw hundreds of civilians killed.
Mosul was severely damaged, and some neighborhoods were all but demolished during an offensive to take back the city by Iraqi and Kurdish forces supported by the global US-led coalition. Control was finally taken from ISIS in the summer of 2017.
Mustafa Goran contributed to this article.
"Before the invasion of Iraq by the US in 2003, Kurds made up 80 percent of the shops in this market," Yassin Naaemi, the chieftain of the local market told last week. "The subsequent events, however, led to a decline in the number of Kurdish shops to ten percent."
"Those who have left will never come back. Those who have sold their houses have moved to the Kurdistan Region where they have found jobs," Naaemi added.
Hajji Nazir Abdulla, who has been working at the market for the past four decades, is one of the handful of Kurds who have stayed.
"Factors contributing to the migration of Kurds from here were Daesh [the Islamic State], killings, and threats against their lives. They have left for the Kurdistan Region," Abdulla said. "People from across the Kurdish tribes were once here, such as the tribes of Goran, Zebari, Harki, and Surchi. They made up the majority of the Kurds."
Miqdad Rasheed, an Arab, said that Kurds have stayed in the bazaar only in name.
"This alley used to be called the shops of the Kurds. This market originally used to be called Gumbar. But in the 40s, 50s, and the 60s the name was changed to the Kurdish market due to the abundance of Kurdish shops," Rasheed said, adding that they are all upset that the number of Kurdish shops has significantly dropped.
"We are all too upset, but we do not want to say it. The fact is that the number of Kurds has largely dropped," he noted.
According to data from the Iraqi planning ministry, Kurds used to constitute 33 percent of the Nineveh province population. The ratio has now declined to 25 percent.
The Islamic State (ISIS) group took control of Mosul in 2014, embarking on a reign of terror that saw hundreds of civilians killed.
Mosul was severely damaged, and some neighborhoods were all but demolished during an offensive to take back the city by Iraqi and Kurdish forces supported by the global US-led coalition. Control was finally taken from ISIS in the summer of 2017.
Mustafa Goran contributed to this article.
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