In this Interview with Brwa Mohamed, Sham Jaff discusses how and why she found "What Happened Last Week (WHLW)" , detailing her goals for the format.
"I wanted to talk about those things that were important to me in a different way."
International news and events are very important to Sham Jaff, but she sensed that these may be complicated for those unfamiliar, that’s why she established the WHLW weekly newsletter.
"Take my little sister for example, she would always ask these questions, why did this happen; because she didn’t understand, I felt the responsibility to have her understand."
It’s through this newsletter that Sham established another media platform, exclusive to the news and current events pertaining to Kurds and Kurdistan, called “What Happened Last Week in Kurdistan (WHLWiK)”.
"It was something that was very important to me, I wanted to cover the entire world, but I wasn’t in a position to cover Kurdistan every week."
But WHLWiK isn’t limited to Kurds only, Sham is interested in sharing information and awareness about Kurds for a much larger audience around the world.
"There are many that listen in on the WHLWiK podcast that aren’t Kurdish, because we also cover Kurdish history, culture, and perspective."
But it won’t stop there, Sham has high hopes for WHLiK. She feels as though there’s a rift between the Kurds back home and the Kurds of the Diaspora, and she’d like to mend that rift, noting that there’s a difference between what it means to be Kurdish back home and in a foreign country.
"I want it to be a platform for all Kurdish youth, including back home and in the Diaspora, I want us to be aware of one another."
