A New Year's Photo Essay:

Ordinary Iraqis Talk About Hopes and Dreams for 2016, Regrets of 2015

Love, prosperity and peace.

The two biggest topics in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2015 are not just matters for analysis and debate. The financial crisis and the security crisis caused by the extremist group known as the Islamic State have had an impact on everyone here, from teenagers selling tea on street corners to schoolteachers and florists. Local photographer Hawre Khalid asking locals on the streets of Kirkuk, Chamchamal and Sulaymaniyah what they wished for in 2016. Their answers reflected current events in Iraq – but they also wished for what everyone else in the world does: love, prosperity and peace.