Update from Iraq and Jordan

Friends,

A brief update on some of the developments for DAI’s work in the Middle East. Since late March, DAI team members David Smith-Ferri, Noah Baker Merrill, and Najlaa Al-Nashi have been in the Middle East, working together with our other Iraqi and American colleagues to plan next steps for DAI’s work in Jordan, the USA, and Iraq.

Now,  Noah is in Iraq, in Sulaimaniyah, Erbil, and elsewhere for meetings with UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and Iraqi contacts, with a special emphasis on people displaced as the result of the recent and ongoing violence. On April 9, the anniversary of the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein, he visited a camp for internally displaced people who had been forced to flee Baghdad. There, more than 60 families are still without houses, sufficient clean water, or hope for the future.

David and Najlaa, now joined by two new DAI volunteers who will be in the Middle East for three months, continue their work in Amman, meeting with families, planning next steps, and assessing the developing conditions for Iraqi refugees. In recent days, they have visited families who fled under death threats, leaving all of their possessions and homes behind. They’ve recorded testimonies from people who have endured torture, extortion, kidnapping, and violence. And they’ve continued to seek guidance from Iraqi colleagues and other allies on setting directions and priorities for DAI’s evolving work. In doing this, we seek to be a part not only of Iraq’s today, but of Iraq’s tomorrow – in partnership with Iraqi civil society.

More updates will follow soon.

In service for peace,

the Direct Aid Iraq team

Don’t forget, if you’re in the DC area, that Noah and Najlaa, along with longtime DAI friend and advisor Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, will be speaking on April 29 at the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq.

If this event speaks to you, please consider joining us there.