Laila Ahmad in Diyala

Before the sun's rays illuminate the streets and roads of Kifri, Gashaw and her daughter begin their mission of searching for plastic to retrieve from the trash on a tricycle.

Gashaw Raouf, 55-years-old, lives in the Kifri district and has four children, three daughters and one son. Despite life's challenges, she has not given up and continues to struggle to earn a living for her family.

"I search all the alleys and streets for plastic waste," Gashaw shared in her interview with KirkukNow, "I have not experienced comfort, my fate is to live with all of this."

 Due to poverty, her eldest daughter and son dropped out of school, but her other two daughters are still attending school.

Her husband's leg was amputated due to an explosive device explosion, and he later suffers from heart disease and diabetes. Her 14-year-old son suffered a head injury as an infant and is now unable to assist the family with daily tasks.

Initially, her eldest daughter accompanied her on her trips and was the one driving the bike, but now she stays home to prepare food and care for her bedridden father. Her youngest daughter, who is 13 years old, now drives the bike, dressed in boys' clothes and covering her face with a scarf.

"We collect all kinds of plastic waste such as water bottles, fruit baskets, oil bottles, etc., and then sell them to the recycling plant in Kifri." The search mission begins early in the morning and continues until the evening.

The factory grinds and melts at least 50 kilograms of plastic daily, which is then transformed into chairs, tables, flower pots, and more. About 500 tons of waste are collected daily in the Kifri administration, without being sorted.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs announced a decline in the poverty line from 23% to 16%, while indicating a decrease in unemployment rates from 16% to 14% during the past two years.

The unemployment rate in Iraq saw no significant changes in 2023 compared to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 15.53 percent. However, 2023 marked the second consecutive decline in the unemployment rate, according to Germany-based statista.com, a global data and business intelligence platform.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) reported last June that the unemployment rate in Iraq has risen from 9% in the early 1990s to 14.2% in 2021.

"The money we earn from selling plastic is barely enough to purchase sugar, oil, and other daily necessities," Gashaw noted, mentioning that some charitable individuals donated to build a small house for them in Kifri two years ago.

Collecting plastic waste was not their first choice, but life's challenges forced them to turn to this difficult work. Before collecting plastic, she attempted to make bread, but found it exhausting and was unable to continue. Her husband receives a salary of 150,000 Iraqi dinars (USD100) every few months.

The population of Kifri district is estimated at 55,000. The district is affiliated with the Garmyan administration of Sulaymaniyah Province, which also includes the districts of Kalar, Darbandikhan, dozens of sub-districts and hundreds of villages. The total population of the Garmyan administration reaches 324,000 people, according to previous statistics btained by KirkukNow from the Garmyan Statistics Department.

People prefer working in the public sector due to shorter work hours, better pay, and retirement benefits, while the private sector struggles to provide easy and well-paid jobs.

Out of 40 million Iraqis, 9.2 million are employed, while Iraq's state-dominated economy is led by the oil sector, which provides approximately 85% of state revenue. The government now pays 400% more in salaries than it did 15 years ago. Around three-quarters of the state's expenditures in 2020 went to paying civil servants in the public sector.

"I will continue collecting plastic as long as I breathe to support my children," Gashaw proudly said as she realized that her work benefits the environment by removing the harmful effects of plastic.