It is with great sorrow that we share with you that Kajen’s (our computer teacher) husband, Heval, was killed instantaneously in a tragic car accident on the Erbil highway on Tuesday evening. He was 26 years old and was on his way home from Erbil where he worked, to be home before a national curfew. He was killed on the eve of their sixth wedding anniversary.
As Iraq and Kurdistan drew to a total halt due to the national censure which required all married men and those over 30 years to be with their household inside their homes for 48 hours, we had to find those on our team willing to break curfew and drive her to the hospital to identify Heval’s body. Musa and Ayhan accompanied her on this brutal journey. Kajen is currently in total shock murmuring "He will come back, he will come back."
I am personally grateful to Musa and Ayhan for their act of love and care. The trauma has deeply impacted them too. All of Shariya are from the same tribe, all are connected.
Kajen has been with us for ten years, she along with Sahla and Shex Khalid opened the War City kindergarten for Syrian refugees. After she married and gave birth to Darla, she wanted to return to full time employment, spending the mornings with her beloved kindergarten kiddies, and teaching computer science to our Yezidi students in the afternoon. As new parents they needed the income. Heval had work in IT requiring him to work outside the village, long, long hours.
We persuaded her that this would be too heavy of a load for her, so she returned after three months, part time, to provide keys for the future to our Yezidi tribe in the Hope Centre, Shariya Camp. In our community, it is rare for a married woman to work, it is close to unthinkable for a woman with a child to return to work. It is a reflection of the freedom that her husband gave her, going against the social norms, and of her in-laws who supported their decision and took care of Darla while Kajen worked.
We will carry Kajen for as long as is needed, until she is ready and able to stand alone again. Her salary is guaranteed during her period of mourning. Our desire is to lift as much of the practical load that we can.
Death has no payoffs in Iraqi Kurdistan. There is no life insurance, no health insurance, no car insurance. She and Darla live with her parents in law. It may be that she will return to her parents’ home.
In one of life’s suddenlies, she has lost her husband, her provider, and her car.
I appeal to you today to show your care for Kajen and her 3 year old daughter by giving a financial gift to her. Of course money will not bring her beloved Heval back, it will not ease the loss, but it is a practical way to help her and to alleviate the fear of not being able to cope.
Thank you for showing love to her at this time.
The newly dug grave in the village cemetery.
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