There is more than one way to fight, or so they say.
We at American Voices do not charge ourselves with teaching beginners. Instead, we fight to help those that already have some training to move forward with their musical aspirations, and to provide some thread of continuity to their broken educations. Of course, in reality there are those that, for all practical purposes, are essentially beginners (we sometimes even add a beginner class if the need arises). This results in an additional amount of classroom diversity that presents its own set of challenges.
It has been difficult to blog since work has been so exhausting and, since this is my second trip to Kurdistan, because I now know people here who are anxious to take me out for dinner or the markets once work is finished. Or, as Grandmother used to say, “Just so you know, it is hell to be popular.” It is hard to describe how one can feel so fatigued and still have so much fun. It is a daily ritual.
This year, the YES Academy was plagued with a plethora of logistical challenges. But the final Gala in Duhok went off as planned, which is a good thing since the new conference center at The University of Duhok is state of the art, and only months old. A beautiful venue.
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Once the gala was over in Duhok, we were back to Erbil. We were asked by the US Embassy to do a 4 day mini-workshop in Kirkuk. To do this, we would have to take special security measures. While Kirkuk is much better than it was even a couple of years ago, it is still a city in conflict. Though there is plenty of oil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Saddam had not allowed the Kurds to drill for it (which is now beginning to change). Since Kirkuk is on the southern border of Kurdistan, and is so rich in oil, Saddam began moving Arabs into the area during his reign over Iraq, and exploiting the resources of the area, thus creating a dispute as to whom Kirkuk actually belongs. At this time, it is technically part of Iraq, and not a part of Kurdistan, though the northern side of the river (the side we would be visiting) is made up mostly of Kurds who will be quick to point out that the city is theirs.
Our security team consisted of 11 Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers, and would be supplemented by extra police during our mini concert that would cap our 4 days there (I was on the local news in Kirkuk the night before the concert, so any “baddies” that wanted to cause trouble would have known to whom and where to go to make it so. It might be noted that I asked the media folks not to broadcast the story until the night we would leave. Their response was an unconvincing, “we will try.” I guess some things are the same no matter where you are).
In reaching our destination, one of the “Kurdistan Save the Children” centers, we were not be able to take the same route each day, nor would were we allowed to stay the night in Kirkuk. We had to change cars on the outskirts of town each day so nobody would be able to recognize our cars when we entered the city.
To be honest, I wasn’t so much worried about our security in terms of terrorism as much as I was worried about the driving we were subjected to…100 mph, with no seatbelts, and a driving style that would get anyone attempting it in the States arrested. The highway is crowded with tanker trucks carrying petrol, and in 4 days I saw 3 crashes on the short 50 mile stretch we would travel. When I scolded the commanding officer on the second day for deliberately trying to get as close as possible to the cars as he passed them (it wasn’t necessary to get so close since we had two lanes, and I saw several cars run off the road by our vehicles), his response (via a translator) was that we had to drive that fast for security. I retorted that I didn’t give a damn how fast he drives, but that he didn’t need to cut tankers off by a coat of paint, and I asked him what good it does us for him to protect us with guns if we would end up dead in a ball of flames. Moments after this conversation, we came upon another tanker on fire on the highway. Our caravan didn’t waste any time getting off road and out of harms way. After a 5 minute improvised (and very bumpy) route through what looked like a industrial park yard, we were back on our way. Somehow, the ride afterwards seemed more reasonable. While Paul was more concerned about the driving in town (we hit two cars in 4 days in my car), i was more worried about the highway. Regardless, the whole experience would be quite an adrenaline rush by any standard.
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The nice thing about the Kirkuk run was that we were back at our hotel in Erbil by 3pm each day. Since we have been staying near the city center, there has been plenty to see after working hours.
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One afternoon, my students, Hoshyar and Hersh, took me into a back alley neighborhood near the town’s bazaar. It was the Jewish quarter up until the 1970’s. Saddam ran the Jews off, however they officially still own the homes in the area. Hoshyar and Hersh both wish for the day they will return. The government is currently moving out the people in these homes in an attempt to accomplish just that. My guess is that they will never return. Most of the homes are in ruins and the political climate doesn’t favor the immigration of non-Kurds or Arabs.
While walking the narrow streets, my original idea was to be on the lookout for my usual cat photo ops. I noticed that the streets weren’t filled with cats, but filled with children, their parents mostly indoors preparing dinner. So, I put away my camera and took out my iphone in an attempt to stealthily (but mostly not so stealthily) use the phone’s camera to take pictures of the children in an attempt to capture a glimpse of their lives in this part of town. Since I took these photos “on the fly,” the focus is not always the best. Still, if you look closely, you can see clues as to the nature of their meager existence here in Erbil.
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Though I am very tired, I am confident that we accomplished some things here. The final look on the faces of our students told us we “done good” in Kurdistan. I am off to Lebanon tomorrow, where a record number of pianists await.
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“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” -Winston Churchill
Thank you for your very interesting blog.
Thank you, John. And thanks for giving us a plug on your site!
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