Category — Media Highlights

In October, an independent filmmaker filmed Noah Baker Merrill’s presentation in Des Moines, Iowa, at an event organized by the Central Region of the American Friends Service Committee and many other local groups.

Watch this ten-minute film, below.

The event was a fundraiser to support DAI’s crucial aid and advocacy work with and on behalf of Iraqis in the Middle East.

Click here to join those who attended in making a much-needed donation.

David Smith Ferri is a core member of the DAI team, an award-winning poet, and a long-time advocate on behalf of Iraq and Iraqis. Read David’s new article here.

In it, David reflects on his experiences as a part of an Iraqi-American partnership building bridges of solidarity and direct aid with Iraqis in need — an investment in peace for and with Iraqis.

And if you like David’s article, click here to visit his website and buy his popular book of poetry “Battlefield without Borders” — 100% of proceeds from the sale of his book benefit the lifesaving work of Direct Aid Iraq.

A recent half-hour interview with Najlaa Al-Nashi and Noah Baker Merrill conducted by an independent journalist has been posted online.

In it, Najlaa discusses the current challenges facing Iraqis in Jordan and the broader situation in the region. Noah and Najlaa address the history and goals of Direct Aid Iraq, and what people who support our work for a future of peace for Iraq can do to help.

Listen to the Interview with Najlaa and Noah

We’ve just found a new audio archive online featuring David from DAI being interviewed on the show “Talk Nation” on his involvement with DAI and his work through Voices for Creative Nonviolence, and reading one of his poems, “If Irony Were Justice”, which tells the story of Mustafa, one of DAI’s first and ongoing patients and friends.

The interview is from last year, but David’s words are still relevant, clear, and powerful. The program is one half hour, and David is one of those interviewed.

Click Here to Listen

Click here to go to the archive page where several formats are available

A second segment of the interview is available in different formats here, this time including both David and Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Click here to listen to the second segment

While Barak Obama was in Iraq and then in Jordan meeting with government officials and US military commanders, DAI’s Noah Baker Merrill was in Amman meeting with Iraqi refugees and with DAI team members. Noah was interviewed by Pacifica affiliates KPFT in Houston and KPFA in Berkeley.

KPFT Interview 7/22, part one

KPFT Interview 7/22, part two

The KPFT Houston interview was split into 2 parts and aired on two consecutive days. In both of these sound files, the segment in which Noah is interviewed (about Barack Obama and the ongoing crises in Iraq) are somewhere in the middle. If you use iTunes or Windows Media Player, you can skip around to find the relevant section.

KPFA interview on Flashpoints, 7/28

Flashpoints is a one hour news show. The interview with Noah begins at 33:44, and runs for seven minutes.