Community
Kirkuk Center for Tortured Victims Volunteers
By Amed Latif Omer
From Sulaimany, Iraq
There are plenty of NGO’s in Kurdistan whose only product is their name. By this I mean they have not and are not making true impact in Kurdistan today. This is one reason why the KRG cut many of the spending budgets of the unproductive organizations in 2010. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s financial plan is certainly being wasted through many different mechanisms and certain NGO’s have slowly become one of those. The following NGO, however, has managed to produce substantial positive effects in the lives of many tortured victims. This is one organization that is has unquestionably made an irrefutable contribution to the lives of many without discrimination.
What is the name of the organization?
The name of the organization is the Kirkuk Center for Torture Victims.
How many centers do you have in Kurdistan?
We have five centers in Kurdistan. Our first center was established in Kirkuk, hence the name Kirkuk Center for Torture Victims. We also run centers in Sulymaniya and Erbil. The Halabja Center is specialized in the treatment of victims of the chemical attacks in March 1988. Our center in Chamchamal has put a focus on the children of the second and third generations of survivors of human rights violations. In Duhok, we reach out to religious minorities, but also any other person who has been victimized in the past or at present. Five centers also run a mobile team going to rural areas.
What is your main objective?
Our main objectives are two-fold. As a treatment center, we are providing free-of-charge medical, psychological and social support to victims of human rights abuse, intolerance and persecution. As a human rights organization, we are promoting the universal rights of all people, but are also active in working towards an improvement in the conditions for women and children in particular. We speak out against torture and violence, but also the abuse of women and children, female genital mutilation and the bullying of the children in Kurdistan and Iraq.
What kind of treatments do you give to the patients?
In our centers, the main treatment is on a psychological and psychotherapeutic level. Our staff consists of psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists. The therapy consists of different methods, including cognitive and behavioral therapy, art and sand play therapy, group therapy, and by listening to the patient. For many of our clients, we are the first people to hear them tell their stories. Physiotherapists help ease the patients’ pain, either as a result of torture and beating, or as a somatic response by the body to endured psychological suffering. Some have displaced hips, lame legs and other physical disabilities. Medical doctors work part-time at our centers to see the patient’s free-of charge. Our social counselors are part of the staff of the prison teams and visit schools to give lessons to the students.
What makes it so special?
Our centers treat every person regardless of their age, e thnicity, gender, religious belief or social status. We are continuously training our staff in psychology, psychotherapy, pedagogy and other topics of relevance. The Kirkuk Center is the first center of its kind in the north of Iraq and still the only center in this region specialized in the treatment of victims of the Anfal campaign, torture, war, and violence. We take a multi-disciplinary approach in which different medical specialists work together to provide the treatment that the client requires. Before 2003, the profession of psychotherapy did not exist in this country. Together with a number of international health professionals, we could provide a series of training to our staff in this new field. Further, we have innovative programs, such as our mobile teams for people living in remote villages, prison teams that visit the juvenile and women prisons in Kirkuk, Sulymaniya and Erbil, and specialized centers such as the center for victims of chemical attacks in Halabja, the center for children and adolescents in Chamchamal, or the center in Duhok that reaches out to the religious minorities that live in Duhok and the Nineveh plain. In all these areas, we have been the first organization to provide this kind of support. We wish to reach out to people living in Kurdistan as refugees from neighbor countries or internally displaced persons (IDP), that is, Iraqi refugees who seek shelter in the safe haven of Kurdistan. Many of them are living in refugee camps where they lack support for their mental and physical problems. Our staff would go there weekly and provide the same forms treatment to them as it does to the patients visiting our centers and mobile teams.
Who is involved?
The Kirkuk Center was started in 2005 in cooperation with the Berlin Treatment Center for Torture Victims (bzfo) by Salah Ahmad. Born in Kirkuk, he immigrated to Germany in the 1980s where he became a psychotherapist specialized in the treatment of children and youths. Since 1993, he has been working as a therapist with the bzfo. From his experience working with torture survivors from all over the world, he knew of the need for such an institution to be established in Kurdistan. Our staff consists of specialists that come from Kurdistan and Iraq and therefore know the culture and society first-hand. In all cities, we cooperate with a number of medical specialists who we refer our patients to for further treatment.
Who can visit this place?
Any person can come to our center if they feel that we could be of their service. Our therapists will listen to every person and determine if and what kind of treatment we could provide for them. If we are not the right institution for them, we will help the person to find the specialist they need. Any person is welcome to contact us and seek support.
What do these people have to have with them in order to be accepted in this place?
If a person suffered from violence, persecution, torture, chemical attacks, displacement or other forms of abuse in the past they will be taken care of at the centers of the Kirkuk Center. Children who are facing problems at school or at home, such as bullying or violence from their parents, can also come to our centers or mobile teams. Women who suffer from domestic violence, problems with their families or the loss of close ones are also welcome.
Why aren’t many people aware of it?
Our centers have treated more than 8,000 people since 2005. We estimate to have had an impact on more than 20,000 people in North Iraq due to the improved conditions of our clients. In general, people tend to block awkward topics from their lives. They do not want to hear or talk about these kinds of topics. This is especially the case with people who themselves have been victims of abuse. Through media, posters, conferences and other activities we are engaged in promoting our centers and our work. Since 2010, we are also active on Facebook and run an advert for children and young adults to speak up if they are facing bullying or abuse.
Who is supporting it or funding it?
The centers were established with the support from the German Foreign Office, the European Union, and the United Nations. By now, we are also working together with other NGOs. We hope that the Kurdish Regional Government will see value in supporting our centers, too.
Unfortunately, as with any project funding, some support is running out this year. For that reason, we are currently looking for people and organizations that would be willing to support our centers in Kirkuk and Chamchamal, so that we are able to continue the vital support that we are giving to the children in these war-torn areas. Any person willing could support us by making a private donation or volunteering at one of our centers.
Are the workers (doctors) there volunteers?
Our staff is made up of full-time employees, part-time workers and volunteers. Many of our colleagues volunteer several hours a week at our center.
Do they need young volunteers to help in their initiative?
We always appreciate any offer to help in our work, be it on a professional level as a doctor, psychologist or social worker, but also to promote our work. We would also love to provide training in the English language to our staff, as the field of work necessitates a good command of this language. For example, most of the literature is written in English. But also communication with international partners and donors requires knowledge of the language by our staff. If anyone would love to help us in our work, please feel free to visit or contact us, for example through our websites
www.kirkuk-center.org and www.kurd.kirkuk-center.org.
The Kirkuk Center for Tortured Victims has proved that even in our own communities, altruistic work is being accomplished. Providing medical services without charge and having doctors volunteer are acts that deserve to be awarded. This organization has set an examplefor others of its kind. Kurdish culture is desperately in need of acquiring more volunteers. The new generation of Kurds needs to work on instilling the art of volunteering in Kurdish culture.
Kirkuk Center for Tortured Victims Volunteers
By Amed Latif Omer
From Sulaimany, Iraq
There are plenty of NGO’s in Kurdistan whose only product is their name. By this I mean they have not and are not making true impact in Kurdistan today. This is one reason why the KRG cut many of the spending budgets of the unproductive organizations in 2010. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s financial plan is certainly being wasted through many different mechanisms and certain NGO’s have slowly become one of those. The following NGO, however, has managed to produce substantial positive effects in the lives of many tortured victims. This is one organization that is has unquestionably made an irrefutable contribution to the lives of many without discrimination.
What is the name of the organization?
The name of the organization is the Kirkuk Center for Torture Victims.
How many centers do you have in Kurdistan?
We have five centers in Kurdistan. Our first center was established in Kirkuk, hence the name Kirkuk Center for Torture Victims. We also run centers in Sulymaniya and Erbil. The Halabja Center is specialized in the treatment of victims of the chemical attacks in March 1988. Our center in Chamchamal has put a focus on the children of the second and third generations of survivors of human rights violations. In Duhok, we reach out to religious minorities, but also any other person who has been victimized in the past or at present. Five centers also run a mobile team going to rural areas.
What is your main objective?
Our main objectives are two-fold. As a treatment center, we are providing free-of-charge medical, psychological and social support to victims of human rights abuse, intolerance and persecution. As a human rights organization, we are promoting the universal rights of all people, but are also active in working towards an improvement in the conditions for women and children in particular. We speak out against torture and violence, but also the abuse of women and children, female genital mutilation and the bullying of the children in Kurdistan and Iraq.
What kind of treatments do you give to the patients?
In our centers, the main treatment is on a psychological and psychotherapeutic level. Our staff consists of psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists. The therapy consists of different methods, including cognitive and behavioral therapy, art and sand play therapy, group therapy, and by listening to the patient. For many of our clients, we are the first people to hear them tell their stories. Physiotherapists help ease the patients’ pain, either as a result of torture and beating, or as a somatic response by the body to endured psychological suffering. Some have displaced hips, lame legs and other physical disabilities. Medical doctors work part-time at our centers to see the patient’s free-of charge. Our social counselors are part of the staff of the prison teams and visit schools to give lessons to the students.
What makes it so special?
Our centers treat every person regardless of their age, e thnicity, gender, religious belief or social status. We are continuously training our staff in psychology, psychotherapy, pedagogy and other topics of relevance. The Kirkuk Center is the first center of its kind in the north of Iraq and still the only center in this region specialized in the treatment of victims of the Anfal campaign, torture, war, and violence. We take a multi-disciplinary approach in which different medical specialists work together to provide the treatment that the client requires. Before 2003, the profession of psychotherapy did not exist in this country. Together with a number of international health professionals, we could provide a series of training to our staff in this new field. Further, we have innovative programs, such as our mobile teams for people living in remote villages, prison teams that visit the juvenile and women prisons in Kirkuk, Sulymaniya and Erbil, and specialized centers such as the center for victims of chemical attacks in Halabja, the center for children and adolescents in Chamchamal, or the center in Duhok that reaches out to the religious minorities that live in Duhok and the Nineveh plain. In all these areas, we have been the first organization to provide this kind of support. We wish to reach out to people living in Kurdistan as refugees from neighbor countries or internally displaced persons (IDP), that is, Iraqi refugees who seek shelter in the safe haven of Kurdistan. Many of them are living in refugee camps where they lack support for their mental and physical problems. Our staff would go there weekly and provide the same forms treatment to them as it does to the patients visiting our centers and mobile teams.
Who is involved?
The Kirkuk Center was started in 2005 in cooperation with the Berlin Treatment Center for Torture Victims (bzfo) by Salah Ahmad. Born in Kirkuk, he immigrated to Germany in the 1980s where he became a psychotherapist specialized in the treatment of children and youths. Since 1993, he has been working as a therapist with the bzfo. From his experience working with torture survivors from all over the world, he knew of the need for such an institution to be established in Kurdistan. Our staff consists of specialists that come from Kurdistan and Iraq and therefore know the culture and society first-hand. In all cities, we cooperate with a number of medical specialists who we refer our patients to for further treatment.
Who can visit this place?
Any person can come to our center if they feel that we could be of their service. Our therapists will listen to every person and determine if and what kind of treatment we could provide for them. If we are not the right institution for them, we will help the person to find the specialist they need. Any person is welcome to contact us and seek support.
What do these people have to have with them in order to be accepted in this place?
If a person suffered from violence, persecution, torture, chemical attacks, displacement or other forms of abuse in the past they will be taken care of at the centers of the Kirkuk Center. Children who are facing problems at school or at home, such as bullying or violence from their parents, can also come to our centers or mobile teams. Women who suffer from domestic violence, problems with their families or the loss of close ones are also welcome.
Why aren’t many people aware of it?
Our centers have treated more than 8,000 people since 2005. We estimate to have had an impact on more than 20,000 people in North Iraq due to the improved conditions of our clients. In general, people tend to block awkward topics from their lives. They do not want to hear or talk about these kinds of topics. This is especially the case with people who themselves have been victims of abuse. Through media, posters, conferences and other activities we are engaged in promoting our centers and our work. Since 2010, we are also active on Facebook and run an advert for children and young adults to speak up if they are facing bullying or abuse.
Who is supporting it or funding it?
The centers were established with the support from the German Foreign Office, the European Union, and the United Nations. By now, we are also working together with other NGOs. We hope that the Kurdish Regional Government will see value in supporting our centers, too.
Unfortunately, as with any project funding, some support is running out this year. For that reason, we are currently looking for people and organizations that would be willing to support our centers in Kirkuk and Chamchamal, so that we are able to continue the vital support that we are giving to the children in these war-torn areas. Any person willing could support us by making a private donation or volunteering at one of our centers.
Are the workers (doctors) there volunteers?
Our staff is made up of full-time employees, part-time workers and volunteers. Many of our colleagues volunteer several hours a week at our center.
Do they need young volunteers to help in their initiative?
We always appreciate any offer to help in our work, be it on a professional level as a doctor, psychologist or social worker, but also to promote our work. We would also love to provide training in the English language to our staff, as the field of work necessitates a good command of this language. For example, most of the literature is written in English. But also communication with international partners and donors requires knowledge of the language by our staff. If anyone would love to help us in our work, please feel free to visit or contact us, for example through our websites
www.kirkuk-center.org and www.kurd.kirkuk-center.org.
The Kirkuk Center for Tortured Victims has proved that even in our own communities, altruistic work is being accomplished. Providing medical services without charge and having doctors volunteer are acts that deserve to be awarded. This organization has set an examplefor others of its kind. Kurdish culture is desperately in need of acquiring more volunteers. The new generation of Kurds needs to work on instilling the art of volunteering in Kurdish culture.
