Kurdish immigrant from Halabja becomes advanced pilot in Sweden

Asir Kikawas speaks to Kurdistan 24 about his life experiences before taking to the skies. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Asir Kikawas speaks to Kurdistan 24 about his life experiences before taking to the skies. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A man from the Kurdistan Region who lives in Sweden has become a successful advanced pilot while running more than one business.

Asir Kikawas has been living in the Scandinavian country since he left the city of Halabja in 1999 with his mother and sister following the martyrdom of his father who was a Peshmerga fighter.

“Sweden was a new country for me and required a lot of effort to fit in,” Kikawas told Kurdistan 24, recalling his journey.

“I had hope and my mother was behind me,” he added. “That is what led me to reach my goal.”

He explained that he also manages “two to three companies online,” in an exclusive interview before taking off in a rental two-seated plane.

Kikawas received his education in Sweden, from primary school to college, where he studied aviation. He has acquired an airline transport pilot license, abbreviated as ATPL.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has forced aviation companies to shut down or significantly reduce their flights due to the high risk of transmission among passengers on board. Mr. Kikawas, like many others, has been jobless due to the halt.

Diaspora communities usually face numerous challenges with their adopted nations, mainly due to cultural differences which can make the process of integration a tough challenge.

A significant portion of the world's Kurdish population live in the West – mostly concentrated in US and Europe – after fleeing Iraq mainly during the 1980s and 1990s. Some within the Kurdish diaspora, such as Kikawas, have been able to seize opportunities and become popular figures in their communities. 

Editing by John J. Catherine