Internally Displaced Persons Graduate from U.S.-Funded Kurdish Language Program

Erbil | May 24, 2010

Students graduating from the RRT-sponsored language course (State Department)

At a lavish and, at times, boisterous May 24 ceremony at the KRG Ministry of Culture's Peshwa Hall, Andy Snow, the Erbil Regional Reconstruction Team Leader, joined Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi and four senior KRG officials to present certificates of completion to 480 adult students.  Displaced by violence, the students completed a six-month course in the Kurdish language with U.S. support in the form of a $494,000 grant.

Iraqis, including women, of Arabic, Aramaic, Chaldean, and Assyrian language backgrounds participated in the course which was designed to provide basic speaking, reading, and writing skills to assist the students in obtaining employment and better integrate into their new communities.

In his remarks, Team Leader Snow reiterated the U.S. commitment to a long-term partnership with the Iraqi people under the Strategic Framework Agreement and praised the course's success in giving Iraqis in need access to education and training.