Soren, a 38-year-old Kurdish
political refugee, has a degree in
plant nutrition. He is Muslim, as
are most Kurds. He left the
Middle East via Turkey in
November 1989. In Canada, he
currently makes his money
delivering newspapers on the
North Shore.

enemy’”’ of his people, pleases
him.

But on Wednesday, thoughts
of his family, living in the Kur-
dish area of northern Iraq, were

uppermost in his mind as he
watched the Gulf war unfold on
the TV screen in his living room.

In the West, we are most fa-
miliar with the Kurds as victims
of Saddam’s 1988 atrocities
against the ethnic group.

After the failed war against
Iran, Saddam turned his military
machine to the task of killing
Kurds. Thousands died in chem-
ical attacks as Kurdish towns
and villages were destroyed. The
television images beamed from
Halabja — images of civilian
chemica! poisoning victims litter-
ing the streets —- haunt us still.

Northland

The war against Saddam, ‘‘the

about life in the country under the regime of

Saddam Hussein: ‘‘One time, one small boy said
to his father, ‘Our TV is not working. Repair it.’ His
father went to the market and bought one color
photograph of Saddam Hussein and stuck it on the TV
— that’s the TV of iraq and nothing else.”’

T HE MAN from Iraq recounts a simple anecdote

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

Said Soren, who was in
Turkey at the time of the
fighting, ‘The government of
Sraq, in 1988, destroyed our
villages. More than 5,000 loca-
tions, towns and villages, have
been destroyed. For example, 40
kilometres from the place that |
lived, more than 6,000 women,
children and old men died when
chemical weapons were used in
Halabja. Many of my friends
were killed there.”’

’ The traditional region of the
Kurdish mountain people strad-
dies iraq, Turkey, Soviet
Armenia and Iran. About a fifth
of Iraq’s 18 million residents are
Kurdish. But since Saddam’s
campaign against them, many
save been forced to flee to ref-
ugee camps in neighboring iran
and Turkey. :

About 100 Kurdish families
live in the Lower Mainland area.

“Since 1961, Saddam and
other leaders of Iraq have
wanted to destroy the Kurdish

v

£4 When they
say fight you
fight, when
they say war, a
r... Saddam
Hussein is
everything in
lrag.99

culture, and also they say that
Iraq is only for Arabs and there
are not other nations there.

“In Iraq nobody says no to
Saddam Hussein — just the
Kurdish people. If Saddam Hus-
sein say everything and | say to
him OK, I wouldn't deliver
(news) paper in Canada. I would
be working in a university. If 1
say yes to them, I am ina very
good place. But [ can’t. Now I
like to deliver papers here in
Canada and not obey orders of
the Ba‘th (Saddam’s) party,”*
Soren said.

Through family connections
and bribes, Soren was able to
obtain a passport to Turkey to

Sunday, January 20, 1991- North Shore News - 3

Kurdish refugee | tells of life under the regime of | fraq’ s dictator

Photo submitted
A KURDISH man in more
peaceful times, wearing
woollen Kapanik, tends the
flock in Iraq.

undertake plant nutrition
Tesearch work. When the docu-
ment expired, he applied toa
United Nations office for help to
immigrate to a third country.

His relatives, including five
brothers and four sisters, are not
so lucky.

Soren believes his four
brothers, all conscripted to serve
in the Iraqi army — the army of
the enemy of his people — are in
Kuwait.

Said Soren, ‘‘There is no
choice — the regime is a dictator
regime, and when they say fight
you fight, when they say war, a
war. Nobody is able to say his

S moves ahea

Council approves development process, ] 000 housing units

THE PROCESS by which a
Northlands golf course
could become a reality was
approved Monday night by
North Vancouver District
Council.

By Martin Millerchip
Contributing Writer

The terms of reference for a
large Northlands Golf Course
Review Committee were estab-
lished, together with the agree-
ment that up to 1,000 units of
housing be included in the Nor-
thlands neighborhood and that
design work for both course and
housing layout proceed without an
agreement with the Ministry of
Crown Lands.

The Central Mortgage and
Housing Corp. (CMHC) owns
approximately 14 acres of the land
that has been identified for a
potential golf course in the Nor-
thiands area, and some form of
compensation agreement will have
to be worked out with CMHC for
the property.

The figure of 1,000 units of
housing for the Northlands devel-
opment was agreed to only after
Ald. Jim Cuthbert failed to gain
enough support for 675 units.

Cuthbert compared the propds-
ed density with the four-storey
apartment buildings of Parkgate
Village and said, ‘tl don’t think
that that is what we want for this
area.”’

Cuthbert said that if the higher

NORTH VANCOUVER
DISTRICT COUNCIL

figure of 1,000 units was included
in the motion, ‘I think there is a
certain implication that that is the
target.”

Ald. Rick Buchols agreed that,
**1,000 is far too large a number
for me."’

But Mayor Murray Dykeman
supported the staff proposal, cail-

‘ing 1,000 units ‘‘a reasonable fig-

ure’’ that would ‘‘leave room for
possible maximizing of whatever
development concept could be
coupled with the golf course or
any other land use.’’

Some ‘“‘tentative’’ figures from
planning staff suggest that, at a
density of almost 12 units to the
acre, 35 per cent of the units
would be detached, 36 per cent
would be attached (townhouses),
and 29 per cent would be apart-
ments.

The breakdown of the various
types of housing parallels the
Parkway housing types closely,
but lags far behind Indian River
and Blueridge/Seymour Heights
neighborhoods in the percentage
of detached housing.

The Northlands review commit-
tee will provide advice through
staff to council on:

«terms of reference for the en-
vironmental and geotechnical
studies required;

* terms of reference for the design
of the golf course;

*the design for the Northlands

North Vancouver District Mayor
Murray Dykeman ... 1,000 units
‘ta reasonable @igure.’”

neighborhood, which includes
housing types and densities, loca-
tion and iypes of parks, en-
vironmental protection areas,
location and size of school site(s),
relationship of neighborhood to
golf course, relationship of the
neighborhood to adjacent devel-
opment, roads and circulation
patterns and view protection;

* any consultant’s report referred
to it by council and public
distribution of such information;
ethe terms of reference for a fi-
nancial plan;

«the financial plan itself when
completed;

* public input into the golf course
and neighborhood design;

© the timing and scheduling of the
golf course;

the extent of public use of the
course and clubhouse;

* and suitable names for the goif
course.

Staff hope the first review
committee meeting will be early in
February, when the committee will
review the terms of reference
(drawn up by staff) for the
geotechnical and environmental
studies and a preliminary course
layout.

A total of $250,000 has already
been ailocated to the 1991 plan-
ning department budget for the
preliminary layout work (although
that figure does not include the
costs of the review committee
itself).

Consultants will be hired to
complete the studies, while staff

will work with the other major’

fand owners, Cressey and United
Properties, to establish a
neighborhood design for review by
the committee and approval by
council.

A financial plan would then be
commissioned to examine income
and expenditure options taking in-
to account the golf course size and
quality options, clubhouse size
options and the development
potential of the residential land in
the neighborhood.

The financial plan would also
examine golf course management
options ranging from a municipal
course to a public course and any
suitable combinations of public/
private joint ventures.

ideas as a normal citizen. Sad-
dam Hussein is everything in
Iraq.”’

Soren maintains that five per
cent of Iraqi citizens, including
most army conscripts, actually
support the regime.

**These five per cent, they sold
themselves to Saddam Hussein,
because Saddam Hussein let
them have the high life and posi-
tion.”

He was not surprised when
war broke out this week: ‘‘There
was the smell of war in the place
— the gulf."’

But he believes the proclaimed
reason for the action, the libera-
tion of Kuwait, is a hypocritical
one.

**The United States used the
color of the United Nations to
let Kuwait free — i don’t
believe. Every superpower does
something for its own economic
things and not for another,’’
Soren said, adding, ‘‘When
Saddam killed more than 10,000
Kurdish children in 1988, at that
time the United States must say
to Saddam Hussein, ‘dictator.’
When Israel invaded south
Lebanon, they didn’t say any-
thing — this is politics.”

But he believes, for the future
of his people, Iraq will be a bet-
ter place with Saddam gone.

Said Soren, ‘‘Because this man
is crazy. He is sick because he
likes to be famous. Everybody
say, ‘Saddam.’ ”’

Oe]

index
E@ Affiluence & Influence .18
Mi Gary Bannerman .... 9
W@ Classified Ads ....... 36
Wi Cocktails & Caviar ...16
MW Comics............. 33
Wi Editorial Page ....... 8
@ Fashion ............- 13
@i High Tech.......... 28
W@ Horoscepes ......... 33
£5 Dob Hunter......... 4
@i Inquiring Reporter ...42
W Lifestyles ........... 31
® Mailbox ............ 7

@ Municipal Affairs .... 8
@ Spiritually Speaking ..44
@ Travel ............. 34
@ Vintage Years....... 17
i What's Going On....20

Weather

Sunday, cloudy with sunny
periods. High 5; low -I°C.
Monday, sunny with cloudy
periods. High, 6; low -1°C.
Tuesday, mostly cloudy
with a chance of showers.
High, 6; low, OPC.

Second Ciass Registration Number 3885