Basra leaders in Kurdistan pay respect to Kurdish man who died trying to save Iraqi woman

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Tribal leaders from Basra on Wednesday joined the many voices praising the actions of a Kurdish man who lost his life trying to save an Iraqi woman who drowned while visiting the Kurdistan Region on Sunday.

Jabar Osman Said, 19, drowned in the Choman River in Erbil’s Balakayati area after he attempted to rescue Zahra Hashim, an Iraqi woman who came as a tourist from Baghdad to the Kurdistan Region, along with her family during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The family of Said had prepared a ceremony for officials and others who wished to pay their respects to the Kurdish youth who risked his life for a stranger.

“We thank this man for his selfless act,” expressed one of the tribal leaders to Kurdistan 24, offering his condolences to the family of Said and applauding the act, stating “this represents the values of the peoples of Kurdistan.”

In response to a question from Kurdistan 24, the leader affirmed his people’s appreciation for the “nondiscriminatory welcoming” of displaced persons from the southern regions of Iraq by the Kurdistan Region and described Masoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), as a “compassionate man.”

Another man with the delegation hoped that the visit would send a message of national unity and paint a picture of a country free of bigotry and internal rivalries.

He deemed the Kurdish man’s effort to be “a humanitarian act” which he hoped would send a strong message to the “politicians who seek to divide us [the different ethnicities of Iraq].”

The Arab leaders endeavored to promote Iraqi unity saying “we must fight for coexistence” as “we are all brothers.”

The Kurdistan Region’s Tourism Committee honored the memory of Said on Monday by making him the “symbol of hospitality.”

Barzani, former Kurdistan Region President, called the incident “proof of the humanity of the Kurdish people and their readiness to sacrifice” themselves for the sake of their guests, a moment of pride for those looking to fight back prejudice which has plagued Iraq and its relationship with the semi-autonomous region.

Editing by Nadia Riva