Sulaimani teachers and government employees on hunger strike over unpaid wages.

On January 28th, twelve teachers and government employees began a hunger strike out the front of the UN headquarters in Sulemani. They have not been paid for two months, which is an unfortunately common situation for government employees in the Kurdish region of Iraq. But this time these hunger strikers are determined to address that issue and more.

The CPT team arrived at the hunger strike on Sunday February 2nd - six days after it began. A long tent has been erected on the site, with twelve beds inside for the hunger strikers. Several hundred people are gathered in and around the tent. It’s a mixed crowd - friends, family and other supporters; religious leaders and media.

Inside the tent it is a crowded scene. The hunger strikers would hardly have time for a meal anyway, between all the visitors. A mullah is saying a prayer. A woman is handing out roses. A man is singing a song in solidarity. In the corner, someone is making cups of coffee and pressing them into the hands of the many visitors. We spoke to five of the hunger strikers - Dilshad Baban, Hadi Hama Rashid, Sangar Mahdi, Pakiza Hama Ameen, and Mohammed Rasul Mohammed.

Just as we arrive, one hunger striker is being carried into an ambulance. Before we leave, another will follow him. But still, resolve and spirits are high. Pakiza Hama Ameen tells us “there are two types of food: food that feeds the body and food that nourishes the soul. We have been feeding our souls”.

The hunger strike has been going for six days, but the political issue is much older than that. Since February 2014, government employees have had 21 months where they were paid no salary at all, and another 47 where they have been underpaid.

Hadi Hama Rashid, said “We have been protesting for ten years, asking for our rights. We have been using different tactics, but so far they have not been successful. So we are escalating with the hunger strike.”

Pakiza said “We want our salaries, but it is not just about the salary. It is about our honour, which has been insulted, and about the government corruption that has seen our wages stolen from us.”

These wages have been an ongoing political issue in Iraqi Kurdistan. The central Iraq government was responsible for paying the wages, but when the Kurdish Regional Government refused to pay oil revenue to the central government, they responded by stopping paying wages. Sangar told us “the governments should not play with people’s fate in political games. We know that this country is rich in resources. Our salary is our right, not a favour they are doing us.”

It is mostly teachers taking this action, but they are not just here for their own profession. Dilshad Baban said “it is all government employees that are affected, but teachers are the lowest paid so it impacts us more.” But Dilshad expands - to him it is about the whole society. “The financial crisis is impacting everyone. Marriages are suffering under the financial stress, parents cannot afford their children’s schooling anymore.The national identity as Kurds is also affected. Children are disconnecting from their schooling because of all the strikes and protests we teachers are having to do - and when they disconnect they are at higher risk of engaging in violence or joining extremist groups.”

The region’s violent past weighs heavily on the hunger strikers. Pakiza told us “I am stuck between two hard choices. I am too old to be doing this, but I have to choose between my son fighting for change with a gun or me using this non-violent way”.

After decades of wars and now ten years of struggling even for the basic right of being paid for your labour, hope can be hard to find. But hope has a habit of popping up even in the worst circumstances, and the hunger strikers hold on to a memory from their own history. Hadi told us of the general strike in 1991, as part of the Kurdish uprising. “It led to the release of many political prisoners from Baghdad, and the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Kurdistan. We are hoping that like then, more people will join us.”

It seems even in this short time, the hunger strike has had some success. The number of supporters there was overwhelming. We spoke to one, fellow teacher Begard Majid. With tears in her eyes, she said “They are sacrificing for all teachers; for everyone's rights”. According to news reports, a delegation from the Kurdish government has asked for a meeting with Baghdad to discuss the budget arrangements.

It is a reminder of the impact that powerful, creative and courageous action can have. As we leave, Pakiza tells us “we won’t stop until we get a fair system for paying our wages, until we are given back our honour, and returned the money they have stolen from us.” She means it, too. After we leave, we hear reports that Pakiza is the third hunger striker that day taken to the hospital.

Andy Paine