Chinese hotel owner in Erbil hosts displaced families from Kirkuk for free

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) –  A Chinese businessman has been hosting over 20 displaced families from Kirkuk in his hotel, located in the capital of the Kurdistan Region, ever since Iraqi Forces and the Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia attacked their area on Oct. 16.

Zhao Yongming, a businessman from China who goes by the name of Yousif, is a hotel owner in Erbil and has been living in the Kurdistan Region for seven years.

Following the Oct. 16 attack on Kirkuk and other disputed territories, he offered up rooms in his hotel to accommodate displaced families from Kirkuk.

He praised the warm, hospitable nature of the people in the Kurdistan Region and stated that helping displaced families from Kirkuk was one way to express his appreciation to the people of the region.

Yousif noted that the hotel has the capacity to accommodate more families but called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to help him pay the electricity and water bills.

“In this month alone, I have paid IQD five million [US $4,200] in water and electricity bills,” he told Kurdistan 24.

Shalaw Ali, one of the men forced to flee Kirkuk and who has visited many camps, lauded Yousif and told Kurdistan 24 that he is one the “most generous individual” in Erbil when it comes to welcoming displaced people.

Since Oct. 16, over 180,000 people from Kirkuk Province and other disputed territories have been displaced to Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok.

The Kurdistan Region is home to over 1.5 million refugees and Iraqi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Most fled the Islamic State's (IS) threats in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and other northern parts of Iraq.

Editing by Nadia Riva

Additional reporting by Hemin Dalo