Famous Iraqi social media influencer expresses amazement at Erbil's urban development
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Asking whether he was in "Europe or Erbil", the famous Iraqi social media influencer Ali Adil expressed his astonishment at the urban development of the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil over the past decade.
With the lavish, high-rise buildings of Empire World as his backdrop, the young influencer asks the short video's over 900,000 viewers: "This Erbil or Europe?" as he looks at the luxurious residential building.
"I am shocked! I am now shocked! I am seriously shocked!" he said before throwing a kiss to Kurdistan and its people.
"What I can say [is] if you come to Erbil with an angry mood or stress, you will go back with full energy!" he said.
As of writing, his short video has 67,000 likes and over 5,000 comments.
Adil became a social media sensation last year after he released a short video in which he appealed to US President Joe Biden to help Iraq as the country faced a swelteringly hot summer lacking essential public services.
"Biden — if you don't help me, I will jump," he said before listing Iraq's pressing issues, including rising temperatures, hospital fires, and chronic electricity shortages.
The 18-year-old's recent visit to Erbil seems to have changed his disillusionment.
The young star is from the central Iraqi city of Hilla, 112 kilometers (70 miles) south of Baghdad. His short videos often depict the daily problems that his fellow Iraqis face, particularly during the summertime.
In a video recorded outside his home, where there are piles of trash, he goes to buy fuel for a small generator that powers a fan to help him endure temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) in the summer.
He soon became recognized by top Iraqi and American officials. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi invited him to his office for a meeting. Moreover, a senior State Department official Joe Hood responded to his appeals to Biden via a video, saying, "We love you in America!"
But that fame came at a cost.
"Now I am afraid…, I don't go out with my family. When I go out with my friends, I wear a hat and a mask so no one will recognize me. Some people hate me now," he told New York Times last year.
Thousands of social media users wrote him negative comments, alleging he had taken "money" from the Iraqi official in exchange for not being vocal against the government's incompetence.
But Ali is not the only one who expressed those grievances.
In October 2019, thousands of young Iraqis poured into the streets of Baghdad and southern provinces, demanding employment, the end of Iranian hegemony over Iraq, and basic public service provisions. "We want a nation" became a popular slogan used by the masses of protesters.
In response to their demands, which they described as "basics", more than 600 young Iraqis were shot dead, allegedly by militia forces.
"What I can say [is] if you come to Erbil with an angry mood or stress, you will go back with full energy!" said famous Iraqi social media influencer Ali Adil.
— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) June 8, 2022
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📹Ali Adil's Facebook pic.twitter.com/IEvqOuK1aa