- Title: Daredevil Iraqis take to the skies in Sulaimaniya
- Date: 8th November 2016
- Summary: SULAIMANIYA, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) SKYDIVER, MUSTAFA TAHA HASSAN, PREPARING FOR PARAGLIDE MEN LAYING OUT PARACHUTE VARIOUS OF YOUNG MEN PREPARING TO PARAGLIDE HASSAN PREPARING TO TAKE OFF HASSAN PARAGLIDNG PARAGLIDER, LAWAND JAYA, DIRECTING HASSAN HASSAN IN THE AIR (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) PARAGLIDER, LAWAND JAYA, SAYING: ''The parachutes which we use are too expensive. We appeal to the government to help us buy new ones. We are unable to buy such parachutes as we are still students. We bought these parachutes with the assistance of businessmen, traders and some companies. We asked so many officials to help us buy parachutes as the ones we use have become old and tattered a matter that constitutes danger on our life.'' JAYA ASSISTING FELLOW PARAGLIDER PARAGLIDERS TAKING OFF (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) PARAGLIDER, RIBIN RASHEED FATAH, SAYING: ''I started practising this game 16 months ago. I was able to obtain a certificate in two months with the assistance of my colleague Jaya. We are unable to buy such parachutes as I am jobless. Our team is not affiliated to any party, we are domestic team. We call upon the government to help us for developing this kind of sport so that we can improve our performance.'' FATAH PREPARING FOR SKYDIVE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PARAGLIDER, MUSTAFA TAHA HASSAN, SAYING: ''This sport has been in Iraq since the 1980s. But it came to a halt because of hard circumstances which our country is passing through. Thanks to God, we are now progressing forward. We hope to do a championship together with our colleagues in Iraq.'' VARIOUS OF PARAGLIDERS PARAGLIDER LANDING
- Embargoed: 23rd November 2016 12:14
- Keywords: Paragliding Iraq Sulaimaniya sport
- Location: SULAIMANIYA, IRAQ
- City: SULAIMANIYA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA00157L05ED
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Twenty-three year old Ribin Rasheed Fatah prepares to take to the skies above the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya.
Equipped with his parachute, head gear and GoPro, Ribin and his friends meet regularly to paraglide.
The area provides fertile ground for the sport, with the Goyzha and Azmar mountains overlooking the city.
The free-flying sport has gained popularity in the region with paragliding clubs sprouting up in different areas, like Dohuk, home to an established paragliding club.
Fatah and his friends are members of the Sulaimaniya Air Club, a local club that meets on the mountainside at least once a week.
Tackling wind speeds and heights, the sport isn't for the faint hearted. But those challenges aren't the only things that the men are up against.
They say their equipment is old and tatty, and call on the government to support what was once a popular past-time in the country.
''The parachutes which we use are too expensive. We appeal to the government to help us buy new ones. We are unable to buy such parachutes as we are still students. We bought these parachutes with the assistance of businessmen, traders and some companies. We asked so many officials to help us buy parachutes as the ones we use have become old and tattered a matter that constitutes danger on our life,'' said Lawand Jaya.
''I started practising this game 16 months ago. I was able to obtain a certificate in two months with the assistance of my colleague Jaya. We are unable to buy such parachutes as I am jobless. Our team is not affiliated to any party, we are domestic team. We call upon the government to help us for developing this kind of sport so that we can improve our performance,'' added Rasheed Fatah.
On average a new parachute alone costs $7,000, an unaffordable expense for many. But their request for state support comes at a time when Iraq's economy is in crisis.
The country relies almost exclusively on oil revenue, and the economy has been battered by a drop in crude prices and the costs associated with the war against Islamic State, which seized a third of the country in 2014.
As the war rages against Islamic State in Mosul, these young men are determined to continue with their own fight in saving their paragliding club and the sport in the country. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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