Hoshyar Ali

The Hero of Kurdistan

Meet Hoshyar Ali, a 58 year old amputee from Kurdistan who has cleared more than 750,000 landmines in 104 villages along the Iran-Iraq border, despite having lost both legs.

Hoshyar’s hometown is Halabja, the site of Saddam Hussein’s deadly chemical bombing campaign that killed 5,000 people including Hoshyar’s parents in 1988. Growing up, Hoshyar was an athletic kid “I was really good at football, they called me ‘the rocket’” but when his 9 year-old brother was killed by a landmine, his life changed forever. In 1986 Hoshyar joined the Peshmerga, the Kurdish branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, and stated deactivating mines from the Iran-Iraq war. His daring feats gained him public attention.

In 1989 Hoshyar lost his right leg to an Italian landmine, and then his left leg to another mine in 1994. Neither accident slowed him down.When the United Nations established a safe zone for the Kurds in 1991, people returned to their villages but risked hitting landmines if they farmed their lands. Recalling stories of Hoshyar from his Peshmerga days, locals started reaching out for help. "I gave anyone my phone number who asked for it.”

Hoshyar's work has restored the livelihoods of rural communities who can safely farm their land again. He's a local hero, with schools and villages named after him as well as a police station and a mosque.

Hoshyar’s mission however has cost him dearly- as well as losing both legs, he’s lost his eldest son, another brother and two cousins to landmine work. Driving around in an SUV with a red flag on his antenna, Hoshyar prefers to work independently to avoid safety protocols. Without protective clothing or technology, he has pulled over a million pieces of explosive armament out of the ground with his bare hands and is determined to keep going until all Northern Iraq is de-mined and safe.

"Every time I defuse a mine I feel like I have saved a life. I think about everyone I saved-not only the people, but also the animals. As long as I still have my hands, I will not stop this work. Not even for a moment."