Specter of ISIS in Iraq lingers for Kirkuk's Kakai minority
In Daquq, there are 39 Kurdish villages, over a dozen of which are Kakai. Nine of these have been completely evacuated, local resident Bourhan Braim recently told Kurdistan 24.
According to Braim, life is stressful and dangerous in Daquq, where one must be careful not to tread too far from one's home village. He explained that his family has a large farm further south, but have abandoned it in fear of the ongoing implicit threat of the Islamic State.
“If the situation continues as such, demographic change will occur,“ Kakai activist Rajab Kakai warned in an interview with Kurdistan 24 in late February. “That's why we are in great danger and we do not know if the Kurdish political class has sensed it or not."
Despite this, the population's resilience in the face of security uncertainty is palpable.
One example is a rural school where a limited staff continues educating children from a Kakai village. Saad Kakai, the headmaster of the Qilkhani elementary school, explained that it is common for roadside bombs, “planted daily,“ to detonate as vehicles pass. This, he said, is something he risks daily during his commute to and from school.