Weaving Instructor in the Making!
“My name is Zereen Barjas Nasro. I have been making carpets, rugs, and crafts since 2018, and I am the only girl in my family. My most cherished memories are from my work here at the Enterprise & Training Center. I have met women from all different parts of Sinjar, and we shared our sorrow and anguish after fleeing and suffering. This has brought us closer together and has made us feel like a family here.
I am most proud of may carpet weaving skills. In general, girls and women in Iraq have very limited access to education and work. But that did not stop me from learning knitting and weaving skills, which is not very simple, in fact. To me, knitting is almost like a form of writing, as I can express my thoughts and emotions through a piece of art.
My dream is to maintain my work to help support myself and my family, and one day become a weaving and crafts instructor to share my skills with other women and girls and motivate them. Even though most societies in Iraq are patriarchal, I support women’s advancement. Also, I am proud to show everyone that Yezidis have skills, and we can succeed in anything we do, even though our people struggle from discrimination. I also want people from other communities to know that the Yezidi culture is peaceful. Despite what we have suffered, Yezidis do not desire vengeance, hatred, or racism. We welcome others who do not harm us and treat us equally.
Five years from now, I hope to deliver classes to others about the skills I have learned. I would love to have my own business where I can display and sell my crafts. It was very difficult to learn how to weave, and I want to use this talent to help promote the Yezidi community and encourage others to know who we are.
I want to thank FYF for providing us with the space and the raw materials to continue this work, and most of all I want to thank everyone who has been nice and sincere enough to learn about our hand-crafted products and purchased our items. It is because of the customers that we can help our families meet basic needs during these difficult times.”
