Zor Spas Kaka

I’m living in Kurdistan

That’s in Iraq
Taxi drivers are the biggest danger
They kidnap, rape, and grope me and my friends
If you report them to the police, you are asked
“what were you wearing?”
“are you married?”
“do you drink alchohol?”

Erbil, the capital
Swarming with dust
I never stop coughing
The men address each other as “kaka”
The women address the men with lowered eyes
The city is trying to rival Dubai

A movie theatre is coming soon
Carefour is opening in two months
We have three bars in the entire city
The US soldiers are all cheating on their wives

I signed up to come back next year
To teach again
Its the kids that I’ve fallen in love with
I want them to learn critical thinking

This is how it is
No sugar coating about it
But as you read this back home in the States
I am sure
The image your minds have conjured
Is way more barbaric, violent, and radical
Than the reality

And knowing the reality is worth suffering through it