We are extremely lucky to be working with an awesome team in Kurdistan for the Choman-Rawanduz Expedition. Here’s a quick look at the players in the field.
Nabil Musa is more than the Iraq Waterkeeper, he is the heart of the operation for us here in Kurdistan. Without Nabil’s incredible attitude, endless connections, and boundless energy we wouldn’t be able to make any of this happen.
Danyar Abdulla is Nabil’s “go-to” man in a crunch, and has brought his tremendous resourcefulness to bear to solve every manner of challenge. As our chase driver, logistics manager, and voice of reason, Danyar is pretty darn busy trying to keep us in line and keep the show on the road.
Dlzar Qadir has amplified the voice of this expedition through his work as the Public Relation Officer at Halgurd Sakran National Park. There’s no way we would have been on every television station in Kurdistan and CNN without Dlzar’s hard work.
Karwan Azeez has been our primary connection and translator at Halgurd Sakran National Park, and is always at the right place at the right time with a good story or to make sure that we know what we’re talking about when the cameras are rolling.
Speaking of cameras, Anna Ferrarie is the documentarian on this expedition and is shooting a comprehensive record of our journey for use in a documentary film to be produced over the coming year.
Andreas Bleiker is one of our Expedition Paddlers. As the Operational Manager of Majestic Heights, he has the local knowledge of the area that is essential to our success.
As the Expedition Leader, I’m theoretically in charge of this traveling circus. My main job is to make the paddling look easy and hang out with kids. It’s awesome.
This expedition would never have been possible without the incredible effort put forth by Anna Bachmann. While she’s not with us in the field, she is the reason we are all able to be here.
Needless to say, we’re all having a great time, and while this is our core team, there are many others who are jumping in to help us at every turn. We would especially like to extend our very sincere gratitude to Mayor Gwany of Choman, Head of Halgurd Sakran National Park, for all of his support and assistance.