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Afro-Iraqis are a critical part of Iraqi culture and unfortunately continue to endure brutal discrimination. Slurs like “Abeed” (slave) are still used against them.
Hear from these community members themselves from Basra.
“Why is there no Black official in the state?”
Hear from these community members themselves from Basra.
“Why is there no Black official in the state?”
Like Rasha mentions, contemporary Iraqi music came from African origins. Moreover, I think it’s important to note that as Iraq deals with ethnic/religious/imperialist conflicts, Afro-Iraqis and their fight against discrimination is buried.
Here are further testimonials from Afro Iraqis on the discrimination they face, socially, politically and economically
I honestly really distrust both Memri TV and Aljazeera/AJ+ but the pieces released by these two offer a small window in what it’s like to be Afro Iraq. Here are the links for the videos posted above:
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The reason why I don’t trust/like Al Jazeera is because they often hijack popular liberal discourse in the US, through posting BLM positive/Anti imperialist content but then spew nationalist/right wing rhetoric when it comes to covering conflicts in MENA. So I’m cautious
But these clips are genuinely one of the few ones I could find that cover the discrimination of Black Iraqis.
Here is an additional article that sheds on the global fight against anti-blackness amongst Afro Iraqis and Black Americans.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/black-iraqis-say-george-floyd-s-death-sheds-light-on-their-own-centuries-long-plight-1.1035137
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/black-iraqis-say-george-floyd-s-death-sheds-light-on-their-own-centuries-long-plight-1.1035137
Abdul Hussein Abdul Razzaq states:
“We want to have our dignity back and to end social discrimination. The government must compensate us for what we have missed out on.”
“We want to have our dignity back and to end social discrimination. The government must compensate us for what we have missed out on.”
“While some have become influential local entertainers and artists, many are labourers with limited upward mobility. No black Iraqis serve on provincial councils or in parliament, their children are teased in school and intermarriage with lighter-skinned Arabs remains a taboo.”
“The Movement for Free Iraqis claims otherwise, arguing that systemic discrimination has deeply affected their community. Many black Iraqis are poor, which is a "huge barrier" for accessing political power, Diab said”
“Abdul-Hussein Abdul-Razaq, who founded the movement, said the group will not be able to run in the upcoming parliamentary election because of financial constraints.”
More can be found here: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4a8d54d9c.html
More can be found here: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4a8d54d9c.html
And lastly, here is another article from Al Monitor https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/black-iraqis-face-discrimination-racism.amp.html?skipWem=1
