Erbil – The Brazilian flag hanging in the stand of the Brazilian embassy in Iraq, at the Erbil International Fair, in the Iraqi Kurdistan, is worth more than a thousand words. The Brazilians at the event do not speak Kurdish, nor do the Kurds speak Portuguese or English, but what really matters is taking pictures beside the flag.
On the fair’s third day, the secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, has already lost count of how many Iraqis have stopped to take a snapshot beside the flag. "It is the hit of our stand," said Alaby. Groups of friends take turns and pose for pictures. Those less equipped record the moment using their cellular phones, others bring photographic cameras and set the zoom and the framing.
Visitors who stop by the stand are not just businessmen – there are also children, adolescents and even the event’s security guards. The joy in the face of Iraqis while standing beside the Brazilian flag has them risking a few words, such as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká and Robinho, or even samba and Rio de Janeiro.
Faced with the Brazilian receptiveness at the stand, the Iraqis go further and ask the Brazilians there to join them for a picture. In the case of the Iraqi Saad Awakim, an engineer who has worked in Brazil, the joy was such that he even invited the Brazilians to go to his house in Erbil. Before leaving the stand, he said "now, one more photo for me to show my son."
In addition to taking pictures of the flag, the Iraqis, who take a shot at speaking English, stop by the stand to request information on getting Brazilian visas. They ask whether there is a Brazilian consulate, embassy or office in Kurdistan – which there is not – and give thanks for the information.
One curious aspect of the multisectorial fair in Kurdistan is the people who attend it. In addition to businessmen, distributors, importers and storeowners, the fair is open to the general public and attracts hundreds of families with children. The fair ends up being the talk of the town in Erbil.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
