TIn the town of Qaim, on the Iraqi-Syrian border near the Euphrates River, in a spacious building with six rooms and a large hall near the central market, Alhan al-Salmani, a man with six children and a tragic past, runs his kitchen, Al-Aiz.
It was full of women. 12 people in a vast TanurA traditional clay oven. To the right, a pot of rice and meat is simmering on the fire. The sunlight illuminates the scene. Qubba The Iraqi dish “kubba,” made of rice stuffed with minced meat, is a visual treat. It takes time to prepare, with around 200 servings made and shipped daily.
Salmani, 50, the manager and chef, stands by, offering friendly guidance. Al-Aiz is Qaim's first takeaway food shop, and it serves farmers, PMF militiamen and other soldiers, nongovernmental organization workers, and the town's 3,000 families, mostly headed by widowed women. People order by phone and then pick up their food or hire a taxi driver to collect and deliver it.
Kitam Hamad, who works for the International Rescue Committee and gets lunch from Al-Aiz, said: “Alhan's cooking reminds me of my grandmother's cooking.”
The cook starts work at 7am. Timmen Kuuji – Braised lamb and rice cooked over a fire – and Dolma The dish consists of grape leaves and vegetables – eggplant, zucchini, onion, tomato and peppers – stuffed with a flavoursome mix of rice, meat and herbs. Salmani works 10-hour shifts in the kitchen. “I don't get tired,” she says.
When Salmani was 15, her father pulled her out of school to marry her off. “I loved going to school and reading and drawing,” she says. “I dreamed of being a teacher one day.”
Instead, she began cooking, cleaning and eventually caring for her own children while watching over other girls her age as they continued to attend school.
Salmani was widowed at the age of 30 when her husband, an army officer, was killed in the Battle of Baghdad at the start of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. She was left to raise her three children, Abdullah, Mohammed and four-month-old Omnia, on her own.
“In my family, being a widow is a stigma,” Salmani says. “I didn't choose to be a widow, but my brother beat me because he wanted me to remarry.” She was forced into another marriage, this time as a second wife.
She began to suffer from anxiety, depression and loneliness, but, she says, “this was God’s will. AlhamdulillahThank God.”
Ten years later, Iraq faced another invasion, this time from the Islamic State. In 2014, Salmani was pregnant when the Islamist group attacked Qaim. With little food, she stayed home while Iraqi forces fought against ISIS. “The long, dark nights were full of fear, and during the day we ate only bread. That was the life that lasted for six months.”
The family finally escaped, fleeing at night to Baghdad. “It was a hard time. I lived with my wife in a modest rented house, and my husband had no money.”
Salmani learned to cook from her mother and like many Iraqi women, she would spend hours in the kitchen preparing food for her family. This was the beginning of a new journey. She persuaded her wife to join her and they sold fresh, homemade food made in their kitchen to nearby shops and schools.
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In 2017, Qaim, one of the last places in Iraq to be liberated from ISIS, announced to her husband that it was time to return home. When the family returned to Qaim, they found their house destroyed. “When life is hard, you have to try harder,” Salmani said. “I rebuilt our house and started a project called Al-Aids Kitchen. I never gave up.”
Al-Aiz means dignity and the kitchen is a successful business, employing women who might otherwise struggle to find work, but Salmani has also founded the Al-Gharbia Women's Group, which collects donations to prepare and distribute meals to Qaim's widows.
In March of this year, the organization delivered food to 125 families in Qaim. “I know how difficult it is to be a widow,” she says. “I see my purpose in life as being able to help widows in my community. I try to help them through providing employment opportunities at Al-Aids Kitchen and through volunteer food campaigns.”
Salmani has resumed the studies she was forced to interrupt as a child. She is pursuing a degree in fine arts and has ambitions of one day opening a wedding hall. “Al-Aiz Hall,” she says with a smile.
But as she speaks, the woman, who never tires, receives an order and returns to her team to prepare the food that will soon be delivered to many Kaim homes.
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