Istabraq Al-Zubaidi
Geographic Focus: Iraq
Istabraq Al-Zubaidi is the Director of East Iraq Platform and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree
in Pathological Analytics.
Can you introduce yourself briefly?
I have been working in the field of journalism and digital media since 2018. I started as a blogger, then a reporter and presenter on social media platforms, and now I work as a freelance journalist for a number of Iraqi and Arabic websites. I’m also the executive director of the East of Iraq platform.
Defending my rights and the rights of the marginalised along with those who feel excluded by society, establishing a culture of diversity and acceptance of others, supporting women's rights and their participation in society: these are the goals that pushed me to engage in the field of journalism, not to mention my great passion for the field and literary talent.
What made you decide to write about Iraq's Gypsy community?
In 2018, by chance, I read a news story about the Gypsies in Diyala that piqued my interest. I didn't know beforehand that they existed in Diyala, so I started researching about them and found some TV interviews with repetitive content in which the Gypsies appear appealing and asking to change their situation. But no interview touched the stories of these people, their feelings, how they live, what do they feel, what do they suffer? That's when I started writing more about them and shining a media spotlight on their community, but I received a lot of negative and inflammatory comments about them and it really hurt me.
In 2021, I felt that I had to be with them, to hear their stories from them, to see everything and live it with them and not through an intermediary, despite great warnings by people and security authorities. I decided to go, and thought, "Whatever happens, I will try my luck!” I was very surprised by [Gypsies]. They live a bad reality on the margins of life, the children are barefoot and their clothes are light in the cold, their areas are flooded with rainwater, their houses are made of mud, none of them are educated, yet they are among the most kind and peaceful people, very welcoming and simple. Since then, I have continued to visit them over these years, and after living with them for more than a year, I decided to write an in-depth report about them that tells everything about them, especially the women and children.
Before that, I made a programme in which I met with the women and shed light on their stories, and society began to change its viewpoint from incitement and hatred against them to sympathy for them.
How does Iraqi society (in general) view Gypsies?
I speak from my own experience within the community of Diyala governorate, which is located in eastern Iraq. Unfortunately, there is still a refusal to integrate the Roma into society. Gypsies currently live in a small village alone and isolated, never integrating with the rest of society. Social relations and marriage are only among them, children suffer from bullying and this has caused their reluctance to complete their education.
The [non-Gypsy] community refuses to employ them. Parents refuse to allow their children to mix with Gypsy children and rumour bad things about them that do not necessarily apply to them. This rejection was acquired through stories, myths and rumours spread in the community without verifying whether this is true or not.
What types of challenges and obstacles does the Iraqi Gypsy community face?
They simply do not feel that they live a normal life equal to the rest of society. They feel ostracised and isolated from society. They live in a poor economic situation and engage in begging. Most of them are uneducated and those who have completed their studies have reached the intermediate level. Their deprivation of education is related to the social rejection of their presence among other children in the same school, and then the poor financial situation they live in, which forces them to go out to work on the streets.
The government and NGOs should implement a programme that seeks to address the social stigma, improve their livelihoods, integrate children in education and young men and women in educational workshops and courses, and teach them different professions. This is what they want, to live a normal life without feeling rejected by society and without experiencing the lack of medical services, denial of education and a decent living.
What needs and experiences did the Gypsies you spoke with talk about? What were their suggestions for meeting these needs?
When politicians and government officials treat Gypsies like the rest of society and seek to improve their lives and urge society to accept them, change will begin. But what actually happens today is that politicians visit them during elections only in order to seek their votes, and in the recent elections even these visits have become scarce because the politicians are afraid of society's criticism of them. They fear that they will be labelled [negatively] due to their frequency of association with Gypsies – that they will be treated with suspicion.
In your view, what needs to change in Iraq so that Gypsies are valued as equal citizens?
Enacting laws that protect everyone and grant equality is very important, but it is not enough; society needs to raise awareness to reduce the exclusion and isolation of marginalised and vulnerable groups.
Read one Istabraq's articles on Iraqi Gypsies (English language) here.
