We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV MOSUL CHARCOAL – Kawa Omar
HEADLINE: Iraqi ‘Charcoal Families’ Continue Tradition of 200 Years
TEASER: In the Iraqi city of Mosul, some earn their living through work that has remained the same for two centuries
PUBLISHED AT: 5/19/2022 at 4:57p
BYLINE: Kawa Omar
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Mosul, Iraq
VIDEOGRAPHER: Kawa Omar
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS:KE; Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __
TRT: 2:11
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
Video Source: https://app.frame.io/player/49ba9fa4-64d6-4feb-9548-c020f9c490ba
((Please return to Rikar Hussein when done))
((INTRO))
[[In Iraq’s city of Mosul, a few families earn a living through the 200-year-old tradition of making charcoal. For VOA, Kawa Omar has this report, narrated by Rikar Hussein]]
((NARRATOR))
This traditional way of making charcoal has been practiced in the Iraqi city of Mosul for about 200 years.
It involves the simple method of burning wood in an enclosed mud and sand pile to reduce the oxygen supply and remove all the moisture.
((Sead Mahmoud, Charcoal Maker)) ((Male in Arabic)) [00:41-00:54]
“We begin this process of charcoal making, as you can see, by first collecting wood. We bought this wood. We burn it in a closed-up dirt mound. It is done in four stages.”
((NARRATOR))
In these modern times, this time-consuming method has become less popular in Mosul.
But a few families, known across the city as the charcoal families, continue the tradition and still manage to earn a living.
((Sead Mahmoud, Charcoal Maker)) ((Male in Arabic)) [01:10-01:54]
“We work from 8 a.m. until evening. The work affects our health. No one else wants to do it because it is filthy. It is filled with dust and smoke. But it is very easy work that anyone can do.”
((NARRATOR))
The workers sell their products to local restaurants, which use it to make kabobs.
But they say it is becoming harder to find customers because most restaurants now use imported charcoal.
((Ahmad Yasin, Charcoal Maker)) ((Male in Arabic)) [01:58-02:32]
“Some restaurants use charcoal imported from abroad because it is better quality, and it is cheaper. This is because foreign charcoal makers are supported by their governments. Our government should also support us to improve our products. Our method so far has not changed but remained the same as our ancestors’.”
((NARRATOR))
The charcoal families say their work is becoming even more challenging because of a wood shortage in Mosul.
In a city already suffering from high unemployment and devastation caused by the 2017 battle to drive Islamic State out, the families say they are not sure what else they can do if they can’t continue to make their living this traditional way.
((For Kawa Omar in Mosul, Iraq – Rikar Hussein, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsEconomy, Business and Finance
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 19, 2022 17:06 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
