Self-understanding
HAUKARI e.V. supports projects in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Iraqi province of Diyala
- Projects providing psychosocial counselling, protection, and empowerment for women affected by political, social, and/or gender-based violence.
- Projects supporting and strengthening survivors of political violence, particularly women who suffered severe violence during the Anfal operations carried out by the Iraqi Baath regime in 1988.
- Social, cultural, and educational projects for youth aimed at countering lack of perspective and radicalisation and promoting social participation and the empowerment of young people.
- Dialogue between various ethnic, religious, and political factions in Iraq.
- Emergency aid projects in times of acute crisis
A key focus of our project activities is the particularly conflict-prone region of Germian in the south of the Kurdistan Region, bordering the Iraqi provinces of Salahaddin and Diyala. To this day, the region suffers from the consequences of violence and destruction endured during the Anfal operations of the Iraqi Baath regime in 1988. With the rise of ISIS in 2014, Germian once again became a conflict zone, endured losses in the fight against ISIS, and took in tens of thousands of displaced people from ISIS-occupied central Iraqi provinces. Furthermore, the region continues to experience attacks by remnants of the terrorist group “Islamic State” as well as clashes between various armed militias.
All projects supported by HAUKARI e.V. are implemented by local civil society and governmental/municipal partners and are supervised by local HAUKARI staff. All our partners are committed to opposing violence and fundamentalism, to promoting gender equality, social justice, peace, and dialogue between the various ethnic and religious groups in Iraq. All projects originate from requests and ideas of local partners and are jointly planned, implemented, and evaluated with them. HAUKARI e.V. sees itself as a mediator between local perspectives and German and international donors and funding institutions. Equal cooperation between HAUKARI e.V. and local partners, as well as the strengthening of local civil society–government collaboration and sustainable structures, are key objectives of our project partnerships.
HAUKARI e.V.’s local partners include the social and cultural centre for women KHANZAD, the Anfal Memory Forum of female survivors in Rizgary, and youth and cultural initiatives in Kifri, Rizgary, and Khanaqin. HAUKARI e.V. works closely with the Directorate to Combat Violence against Women (DCVAW) of the Kurdish Regional Government, government-run shelters of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (DOLSA), the regional administration of Germian, and the municipal administrations of Kifri, Khanaqin, and Rizgary. Our partner organisations are interconnected, support one another, and are able to act jointly, quickly, and with minimal bureaucracy in acute crisis situations.
In Germany, HAUKARI e.V. informs the public about the situation in Kurdistan and Iraq, the work of our partners, and development-related topics. Through conferences and publications, HAUKARI e.V. contributes to professional debates on psychosocial work in crisis regions and with refugees in Europe. In development policy discussions, HAUKARI e.V. advocates for international aid that combines emergency crisis response with long-term strengthening of local governmental and civil society structures, and that aligns its support with the needs and perspectives of local actors—beyond cyclical crisis management.
HAUKARI e.V. is committed to building international networks against nationalism and fundamentalism, and for social and gender justice—both in Europe and in the Global South.
HAUKARI e.V. supports the following appeals and campaigns:
Patents kill – For the suspension of patent protection on all essential medicines.
Note on the term “Global South”:
The term “Global South” refers to the socially, politically, and economically disadvantaged position of a state in a globalised world. In contrast, the “Global North” describes a privileged position of a state within the context of global capitalism.
These terms aim to avoid a hierarchical categorisation of countries. Inequalities are not inherent traits of countries but are shaped by colonial and imperial histories as well as current sociopolitical and economic dynamics.
While the term “Global South” expresses resistance to evaluative descriptions of countries, grouping countries into a general category can obscure individual (power) relations between and within countries. Additionally, we should critically ask: Who uses the term “Global South,” and for what purpose? Is it a self-designation used by the countries concerned, or does it rather hinder their ability to formulate their own relationships and particularities?
It becomes evident that the term evokes different meanings for different people and that we must remain in constant dialogue about its use.