A Kurdish boy grows up in a peaceful village in Kurdistan, Iraq. His life in his small village with a large family in their two-room mud brick home is happy and peaceful. He experiences all the joys, triumphs, and activities of a young boy growing up in the country, complete with sheep, dogs, family farming, and broken bicycles. Unfortunately, his life is systematically disrupted by military raids, the deaths of loved ones, economic government oppression, and violent prejudice against his people. These trials ignite a spark of passion for finding out the true history of his people as he strives for the peace, security, and hope that he held as a child. The new knowledge fuels the flames and drives him to assist in clandestine missions against the Iraqi Army. With new vigor, the flame bursts into a bonfire in his soul as he takes the next step to join the secret resistance forces of Kurdistan and becomes a Peshmerga, or "one who stands in front of death." He spends years resisting government oppression, sometimes winning but always walking (sometimes running). Through captures, betrayals, surrenders, prisons, and escapes, he continued to hold onto his dream that he would find the peace and opportunity that he had enjoyed as a boy. This was the one bright dream that kept his feet moving and his heart pumping when all else seemed hopeless. His years of resisting the oppression of his people in search of the dream that he wanted for himself, his family, and all the people of Kurdistan are an inspiration to those who feel that they are just one person fighting against giants. His story stands as a testimony of what happens when you believe you have a mission in life and you never give up hope.

--Dr. Kamal Bewar

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