The grey London skies can get to you, but the sandy clouds dusting Erbil in a yellowish shade can be far worse. If the wind picks up and blows from the south the sand storms can be so bad that you can’t see a thing and can’t drive, my friend Ahmed tells me when we’re driving to a restaurant. He assures me I haven’t seen anything yet, when I’m asking him about the overcast sky.
 
In recent years, since the American-led invasion of Iraq, the sand in the North has become worse. People blame the war. The heavy American artillery, tanks and trucks, conquering the country from Kuwait didn’t take the motor way. They made their way through the dessert, rustling up the sand in their tracks. The thick, hard layer of sand was more or less ploughed over and disturbed the fine eco balance. The seeds in the ground spread and won’t sprout. The sand has free rule. The storms are a recent phenomenon, courtesy of the Americans, hailed by the Kurds as their liberators. The Kurds have in effect a semi –autonomous state since the Americans installed a no-fly zone above North Iraq after the Gulf War in 1991.