‘No joy in 2020’: Kurds hope for end to economic crisis, coronavirus

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – As 2020 draws to a close, the people of Kurdistan are hoping to see an end to the staggering economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, but most are not optimistic about 2021.

Rudaw reporters spoke to people marking the New Year across the Kurdistan Region and reflecting on the difficult year that has passed. 

“There was no joy in 2020. There was an economic crisis and coronavirus. I hope we can be saved from all the issues we are suffering from,” said a young man from Kalar.

An elderly man in Kalar was celebrating New Year’s Eve with Kurdish folk songs. He is not hopeful of seeing positive changes in the coming year. 

“I am pessimistic about the New Year based on the news I see every day. Issues never finish, therefore I think the New Year will be even worse,” he said. 

The beginning of 2020 brought some good news for Kurdistan Region’s civil servants when the Iraqi government resumed sending the Region’s budget share, used to pay their salaries, after suspending payments. However, the flow of money from Baghdad stopped in April. With the economic crisis, more families in the Kurdistan Region have fallen into poverty. 

March is usually a month of joyous celebrations for Kurds with several national holidays including Newroz. But this year, with the spread of coronavirus and lockdowns, people could not go on picnics as they customarily did. 

A Kurdish woman, who moved to Erbil from Iran seven years ago, told Rudaw that the coronavirus prevented her from visiting Iran. “I hope this virus ends in the New Year,” she said. 

An elderly woman from Kirkuk but now living in Erbil, wished for better times ahead. “Inshallah the New Year will end the virus and bring joy,” she said. 

Most of the people who spoke to Rudaw reporters across the Kurdistan Region had strong negative feelings about 2020 because of the economic crisis and the pandemic. 

Despite a dramatic drop in the daily numbers of coronavirus cases, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) banned New Year celebrations, but this did not prevent people from gathering.