CNS STORY: Kurds in Nashville, Tenn., gear up for Iraqi elections

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CNS Story:

IRAQ-KURDS Jan-20-2005 (640 words) With photo posted Jan. 19. xxxn

Kurds in Nashville, Tenn., gear up for Iraqi elections

By Theresa Laurence
Catholic News Service

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- Having Nashville chosen as one of only five cities in the country where Iraqi expatriates can cast their ballots in the upcoming election is fantastic news to the local Kurdish community.

"We definitely are so excited to do this," said Sarwar Hawez, a caseworker for Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services who is originally from Iraq.

Hawez will be working at a polling site in Nashville during the Jan. 28-30 voting period set for Iraqi expatriates. During those three days, an estimated 1 million Iraqis living in 14 countries worldwide, in addition to those inside Iraq, will have a chance to elect an assembly that will draft a constitution.

Hawez is busy encouraging his fellow Iraqis in Nashville and around the country to vote, which he considers a "great opportunity."

Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States. It is about 5,000 families strong. The other American cities chosen as polling places are Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Washington.

Hawez has been contacting members of other Kurdish communities throughout the Southeast, including those in Memphis and Dallas, by phone and e-mail, encouraging them to make the drive to Nashville so they can vote.

"I don't want one person to miss" the elections, he told the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Nashville Diocese.

However, Hawez is concerned about Iraqis who live far from the cities where elections will take place. "It is a lot of cost and time and some people will have problems getting off work for travel," he said.

Iraqi expatriates were required to appear in person when registering to vote; the registration period started Jan. 17 and was to end Jan. 23. They have to appear in person again to vote.

Hawez said Kurdish leaders approached the International Organization for Migration about allowing people to register to vote by mail or providing a bus service from city to city, but permission was not granted. Officials say showing up twice in person is necessary to prevent fraud.

The 54-year-old migration organization works with governments on human migration issues and was overseeing the election process for Iraqis living outside their home country.

With registration under way and the elections looming, logistical problems were still being ironed out. The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq only authorized an out-of-country vote in November, and Nashville was not notified it would be a host city for the elections until late December.

Iraqis were still unsure how the voting would work. "Iraqi people don't know what is the election process. That's natural," Hawez said about a people who have not had free elections in their country in more than 60 years.

Hawez, who left Iraq six years ago, still has family members in the country whom he speaks with frequently. "The Kurdish area is ready for elections," he said. "The Kurdish public opinion is that we are so excited for this day.

"My mom, who is 72, said even if she is in a wheelchair 'I will go.' If the elections are in heaven, 'I will go.' I like this opinion," Hawez said.

The Kurdish region of Iraq is in the north, just below the Turkish border. The Kurdish people make up about one-fifth of the country's population.

While Hawez was troubled by the reports of violence in Iraq leading up to the elections, he said that "there is very strong security in the Kurdish area," and felt his family would be safe when casting their ballots.

Likewise, after attending two meetings for poll workers in Nashville, he was confident about the security of the elections being held locally.

"If we have success in this election, at the same time it will be a success for USA. In the whole process we are joined together," Hawez said.

END

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