In Kurdistan, the locals add “inshallah” whenever saying a blessing or something hopeful. It means “God willing”, for only God knows what the future holds.

“I am looking forward to buying Macdonald’s for my sons.”
Dr. D is a dentist from Syria who fled the country with his wife and two sons at the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. However, to find a better life for his sons, Dr. D went ahead of his family to seek asylum in a third country but ended up being stuck in Asia due to immigration laws. This year, we are happy to share that Dr. D will be reunited with his family after a 3-year-long separation.

“At the beginning it was difficult…”
8 years ago, teenage brothers Maher and Nael fled a genocide with the rest of their family. Like others who have been forcibly displaced around the world, they had to find ways to rebuild their lives in a new land. School has been irregular and overcrowded, and jobs are scarce. But through their determination and with various support communities, Maher and Nael’s family has been making steps towards thriving again.

That’s what those eager eyes, bright smiles, and waving hands were saying. So many children, just a few teachers, not enough space. This was the state of our English Corner program every time. We always had to pick the first few hundred and turn away the rest.

“Hurry! Move out of the way!” It was a chaotic scene as an elderly Yazidi woman on a stretcher was whisked by four young men into our makeshift medical tent outside Delal City, an empty concrete building without walls on the outskirts of town. The refugees had heard about the Habibi medical team coming to help.

The sun beams a little differently here than back home. The heat feels as if multiple little fires are dancing all over my skin. The July sun in Northern Iraq is no joke, but for some reason, I keep coming back.

“What’s the name of your organization?” the government official asks in Kurdish.

“Habibi International,” I reply.

“Habibi?” his stoic face breaks into a smile, and then a chuckle.

I’ve encountered this dozens of times now.

“Hello Habibi!”, “Thank you, Habibi!”, “Let’s go, Habibi!” — you’ll hear this everywhere in this part of the world: on the street, amongst family and friends, and in more recent times, as we introduce ourselves as an organization.