Haifa’a: Sight and hope

1

dp

I met Haifa’a for the first time two months ago. She was very sad, and she was desperately worried about her future, because she couldn’t see, and because of her other injuries. With no children and no husband to help her, she didn’t know what to do, alone in Jordan except for her sister. Haifa’a’s daily routine has for months consisted of praying, crying and waiting for a miracle to see again.

One day she told me, “You can’t imagine how it is difficult for a pretty woman to become suddenly ugly, with huge wounds that have destroyed her face. But this thing is nothing compared with being suddenly blind. I can’t do anything by myself, and I have to wait for others to help with with even the smallest things.”

Then she cried. I saw tears come out of the socket where her eye used to be, before it was destroyed by the gunshot wound that also corroded much of one side of her face. For a second, I thought that the eye was still there.

The DAI team decided to do everything we could to help her. A victim of the violence and war that plagues Iraq, she is a member of the Mandean entho-religious minority group, which according to Human Rights Watch face genocide as a result of the chaos. She was shot because she didn’t obey the edicts of a fundamentalist militia in the area where she lived.

A few days ago, Haifa’a had surgery to restore the vision in her one remaining eye. The subsequent doctor’s assessment said that the operation was a great success. Since she had already had reconstructive surgery to replace the bones in her jaw and eye socket, this surgery means that her journey of physical healing is nearly complete. Most importantly. Haifa’a can see again, and her vision is improving every day.

Haifa’a is grateful to everyone who helped her to regain her sight, from the people in the United States who donated money to the people who shared her case with DAI team members in Amman, to the DAI US team who made the arrangements to cover all expenses. She will stay in a temporary housing facility until she has fully recovered.

I know from my work with Direct Aid Iraq that many American people feel responsible for what’s going on in Iraq and they want to do their part to carry the burden of this responsibility. Iraqis we work with notice this, and many of them realize as a result that the American people are not the American government. Each family we reach brings us closer to a time in the future when Iraqis will be able to heal, and to forgive.

This channel of relationship with each other can, I believe, help bring peace for all. And all of us, Iraqis and Americans, miss this peace and need it.

I hope someday soon to see the same level of responsibility from the British people, whose forces continue to be involved in the occupation of Iraq. We would welcome their participation in the work of Direct Aid Iraq.

Najlaa Al-Nashi

Amman, Jordan

Read DAI’s first post about Haifa’a’s case here.