Sunday, November 8, 2009

The Age of the Feminine - 2010 Calendar - English Teachers in Taiwan


The Age of the Feminine
2010 Calendar

Foreign English Teachers is coming to TAIPEI!!!

WHERE: Sappho De Base
WHEN: November 14th, 2009 9pm-3am
ADDRESS: B1, No. 1, Lane 102, An-He Road, Sec. 1 Taipei
台北市安和路一段102巷一號B1
2700-5411

COVER CHARGE: 200nt donation and you get a free raffle ticket
CALENDAR COST: 500nt

Thank you for your kind support and interest,
Kloie



以 『女性時代-外籍老師在台灣』 為主題的2010年曆是『跨越國界』募款計劃之一,所募得之款項將捐給為戰爭而流離失所的伊拉克和巴勒斯坦難民。『跨越國界』創於2007年,是由 KLOIE PICOT(自由攝影師,目前在台灣為一名英文老師)所發起的一項募款計劃。籌集的資金募至今已為分佈在約旦,黎巴嫩及敘利亞的伊拉克難民,提供住房和基 本生活需要。Kloie為這項計劃貢獻出畢生餘力,為的是長期受到戰爭迫害的難民們爭取基本生活能力。
這項 『女性時代-外籍老師在台灣』 為主題的2010年曆 之募款,將在敘利亞建立起一座社區學習中心,以提供多樣化的教育及服務來幫助難民。『跨越國界』的最終目的是能提供實質上的幫助,以及希望注入教育理念和自給自足的能力。

這所社區學習中心將提供下列服務,
1.兒童及成人英文課程,提昇語言能力,提昇在全球市場中的競爭力。
2.購買布料,縫紉機,教導製作手工製的購物袋,出口至全球市場。
3.教導男性『服務性質』技能,讓他們能夠在服務業,增加就業機會。
4.招聘以及為志願者提供住房,讓許多志願者願意留下教導學習技能,如:語言,藝術,商業。
5.學者及記者實地訪查以了解難民真正生活的苦樂。

For more information or any questions regarding Ms. Picot’s work please feel free to contact her at the following;
Phone: 0910878917
Website: www.kloie.com
Email: crossingborderlines@gmail.com

For more information about the project please visit:
http://hiddeninplainsightexhibition.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

THE AGE OF THE FEMININE - 2010 Calendar





The Age of the Feminine
2010 Calendar

Foreign English Teachers is coming to TAIPEI!!!

WHERE: Sappho De Base
WHEN: November 14th, 2009 9pm-3am
ADDRESS: B1, No. 1, Lane 102, An-He Road, Sec. 1 Taipei
台北市安和路一段102巷一號B1
2700-5411

COVER CHARGE: 200nt donation and you get a free raffle ticket
CALENDAR COST: 500nt

Thank you for your kind support and interest,
Kloie



 以 『女性時代-外籍老師在台灣』 為主題的2010年曆是『跨越國界』募款計劃之一,所募得之款項將捐給為戰爭而流離失所的伊拉克和巴勒斯坦難民。『跨越國界』創於2007年,是由 KLOIE PICOT(自由攝影師,目前在台灣為一名英文老師)所發起的一項募款計劃。籌集的資金募至今已為分佈在約旦,黎巴嫩及敘利亞的伊拉克難民,提供住房和基 本生活需要。Kloie為這項計劃貢獻出畢生餘力,為的是長期受到戰爭迫害的難民們爭取基本生活能力。
這項 『女性時代-外籍老師在台灣』 為主題的2010年曆 之募款,將在敘利亞建立起一座社區學習中心,以提供多樣化的教育及服務來幫助難民。『跨越國界』的最終目的是能提供實質上的幫助,以及希望注入教育理念和 自給自足的能力。

這所社區學習中心將提供下列服務,
1.兒童及成人英文課程,提昇語言能力,提昇在全球市場中的競爭力。
2.購買布料,縫紉機,教 導製作手工製的購物袋,出口至全球市場。
3.教導男性『服務性質』技能,讓他們能夠在服務業,增加就業機會。
4.招聘以及為志願者提供住房,讓許多志 願者願意留下教導學習技能,如:語言,藝術,商業。
5.學者及記者實地訪查以了解難民真正生活的苦樂。

For more information or any questions regarding Ms. Picot’s work please feel free to contact her at the following;
Phone: 0910878917
Website: www.kloie.com
Email: crossingborderlines@gmail.com

For more information about the project please visit:
http://hiddeninplainsightexhibition.blogspot.com/































Tuesday, March 24, 2009

ACROSS BORDERS Photo Exhibition - Medecins Sans Frontieres



While in Amman, Jordan, I was able to contact Medecins Sans Frontiere and through this honorable organization was able to visit Iraqi victims of war sponsored for medical treatment in Amman, Jordan. I want to thank Enass who helped me arranging interviews and providing interpretation.

The exhibition features photography on the reconstructive sugical project for Iraqi wounded in Amman.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sufferance Iraqi Children

Kidnap, murder, soldiers, explosion, army, militia, ambush car, refugee; these words are the pattern of vocabulary of Iraqi children growing up in mayhem.

Iraqs’ children have lost their youth to car bombs, missiles, mortars attacks. They are the war wounded, the displaced, the fearful, the new workforce, yet they bear their wounds of war with determination and a patient shrug; for today in Baghdad, Sadr City, Anbar, Basra, Karbala, Kirkurt, Najaf, Diyala Sulaymaniyah, Qadisiyah, Babil, Dahuk, Arbil, Tam’mim, Salah ad Din, Amman, Damascus, Beirut; sufferance is the badge of all their tribes.

In Iraq, the tens of thousands of war victims are faced with endless, often insurmountable obstacles to get even basic medical attention. After years of conflict, the Iraqi health-care system is overwhelmed by the constant influx of wounded patients who flood the hospital on a daily basis. Because of the violence, threats and kidnappings many doctors have left the country, many have been targeted or killed. The remaining ones must tend to the most urgent, life-threatening cases first.

Iraqi refugees wait anxiously inside their apartments in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, for the phone call from the International Organization of Migration (IOM) telling them they have been selected to resettle in America, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Iceland. The children with nothing to do wait also.

In Jordan hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated by the UN and various humanitarian organizations to expand schools so Iraqi refugee children can attend classes yet, few are. Constant bullying and beating from Jordanian and Palestinian children understandably make the Iraqi child want to stay indoors. Even going outside to play may become a battleground between the “locals” and the “foreigners.”

In Syria and Lebanon there are very few organizations that help the Iraqis. If a childs mother or father is caught working, they will be arrested and deported. Often the children are made to earn the money that supports the rest of the family.

Iraqi refugees are putting not only a strain on their current situation but lessening the chances of “resettlement” by giving birth to a new generation, a generation in exile.

But, what does the next generation of Iraqi children bearing not only physical but psychological scars hold? Will they in 10 in 20 years be able to patiently shrug off the sufferance of their tribe?



A young Iraqi child whose parents were targeted because his mother is a Sunni, his father a Shiite, wears the hat he made at a childs center in Amman, Jordan. He and his parents refused to show his face as even in Amman, they fear for their lives. August 2008.



An Iraqi girl shows the photo of her brother who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in Iraq. Her family was repeatedly threatened and finally left Iraq in June, 2008. Her father was also shot, he survived but is physically and mentally handicapped. She now begs for food and money and lives with her mother, father and younger brother in the Saida Zainab district of Damascus, Syria. September 2008



Hanna Hadi is a typical outspoken, fun loving 13 years old except that she suffers serious burns on her face, head, and body from a suicide bombing in 2004 in Al-Nafaf, Iraq. Hanna initially received treatment in Iraq, but after repeated surgeries she was still unable to eat properly, see, or breath. A doctor in Iraq recommended Hanna be accepted in the MSF program in Amman, Jordan. She has lived in the Kaser Jeddha Hotel for a year and has had several maxillofacial as well as plastic surgeries. She will undergo more plastic surgeries in hopes of gaining a resemblance to the young beautiful girl she once was, before returning to Iraq. September 2008.



Hanan is a quiet and sincere 13 years old who suffered serious burns to her chest and neck area from an explosion when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Al Najaf, Iraq. She now receives plastic surgery in Amman, Jordan in a program sponsored by MSF. September 2008



Somaya is 7 years old and from Nasereya, Iraq. She suffers from facial burns and broken bones, caused by an ambush car, which exploded near her home. The wounds lead to facial infections because of inadequate treatment in Iraq. Somaya now receives maxillofacial and plastic surgery medical treatment in Amman, Jordan through MSF. September 2008.



Haneen is 10 years old. In 2006 a car exploded near her house causing severe burns to her back, shoulder and arm. She was initially treated in Iraq but the severity of her wounds allowed her sponsorship in the MSF program for plastic surgery in Amman, Jordan. September 2008.



Elaf only 7 years old has severe burns on her right leg and lost her left leg when a missile exploded in her home in Nasereye in 2007. She has been fitted with a prosthetic leg and receives treatment for her burns in Amman, Jordan. September 2008.



Zenab exercises in the hallway under the concerned supervision of her mother at the Kaser Jeddha Hotel in Amman, Jordan. Zenab lost 10cm of bone from her right leg when a bomb exploded in a market place in Baghdad, Iraq. Her left leg and right arm were also burned. August, 2008.




A Shia Iraqi family taking care of their newborn twins at their home in the Dahiyeh District of Beirut. The man of the house was a professor in Iraq, but fled with his family to Lebanon 18 months ago when he was repeatedly threatened. Refugees like this family, waiting to be resettled, are now expanding their families while in exile. August 2008.



An 8-year-old Iraqi refugee works selling toys to tourists in the Al-Hamidieh market in Damascus, Syria. Iraqi refugees all across the Levant are not allowed to work, if caught by the authorities they will be arrested and deported. With savings spent, and very little assistance given by the UN, it is often up the refugee children to shoulder the responsibility of earning a living for their families. September, 2008.



Iraqi Sunni children hold a childrens’ Christian Story Book given to them by a group of Christians who run an Iraqi church in Amman, Jordan. Their mother died from blood poisoning last year in Amman. The children regularly attend educational programs sponsored by the church. Their interest in Jesus has caused great concern for the father who fears retribution from Muslim neighbors for allowing his children to attend these courses. The Iraqi refugee community remains divided even outside of Iraq. They do not confide in each other for fear that there maybe spies amongst them.
July, 2008.



A young Sabean Iraqi boy looks out a window of his family apartment in Amman, Jordan. Iraqi children are regularly bullied and beaten by Jordanian and Palestinian children whenever they venture out of their apartments. Iraqi parents have no legal rights and fear the attention any complaint against Jordanian citizens may bring to them and their status as refugees. Consequently, Iraqi children tend to stay indoors to avoid any trouble playing may cause to them and their family. July, 2008.



A teenage Iraqi girl in her bedroom in Amman, Jordan. She was molested by the mullah of the mosque her family went to for comfort. She no longer leaves the apartment for fear of neighborhood gossip.. She and her sister now stay inside all day long. Both hope someday to go to America, where they believe they will be safe - or as her family says, be able to confront anyone who tries to harm them. July 2008



Sara feeds her child, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy. Her daughter's health has steadily worsened since arriving in Damascus, Syria one year ago. Sara goes from one charity to another trying to get medical attention for her child. September 2008.



Living with his refugee family in Beirut, this Arabic-speaking Iraqi boy stays home from school and plays video games. In the school system he attends, classes are conducted in French or English, only - yet another disadvantage for those awaiting resettlement here. August 2008.







Friday, August 1, 2008

Raad The Hero - Healing with Happiness

It was Raad (right) who kept insisting that Ahmad (left) pose for the camera, I took the shots in low light, hiding the severity of the facial injuries. Ahmad was pleased.


Raad and Ahmed outside the physiotherapy room at Kaser Zedha Hotel, where MSF is hosting over 40 victims of war and their companions, often close family relatives. MSF doctors perform the operations at the Red Crescent Hospital. Raad has already had 4 operations on his hands and is waiting for his hand to heal before continuing with the reconstructive surgeries.


Raad and Ahmed having fun posing for photos. These are two great guys, we joked, imagined them in Canada, laughed til we cried.

A car exploded in a busy part of Kirkuk. Raad Sahad a tailor by profession ran to help, that’s when the second explosion occurred. Raad suffered severe burned on his face, arms and hands. He is now sponsored by MSF and has lived in the Kaser Zedh Hotel since August 9, 2007. He has had 4 operations and with a laugh tells me is now has moment in his hands.

Raad is one of the most remarkable people I have met during my stay in Amman. Though he suffered a huge tragedy he keeps everyone at the Hotel laughing. He is optimistic that he will be able to hold scissors again, to make clothes, to start a business, to do anything he wants, as soon as he gets full movement in his hands.

Raads’ close friend at the Hotel is 22 year old Ahmad Hukala. Ahmad suffered severe burns in an explosion in a mosque in Mosul. When I see Ahmad I see the pain and longing of a young man to have a normal life, to visit friends, to have girlfriends, to get married. Ahmad unlike Raad is embarrassed about the way he looks, he envies his friend Raads long thick hair. When I see Ahmad alone he is quiet, sullen and depressed. Then along comes Raad and Ahmad is at least for the moment transformed into a smiling joking young man enjoying talking with a good friend.

Bomb at Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad

“My hopes are to walk, continue my studies, get married and have a future.”


The prosthetic hand of Hasanen Basim Khudier.


Hasanen Basim Khudier puts on his prosthetic hand during a trauma session with resident MSF phychiatrist Yousef.

In 2004 Hasanen Basim Khudier was a 21 year old a mechanical engineer student at Al Mustansiyra University in Baghdad. He was in the hallway of the university when a Katusha rocket hit. From the explosion he lost the muscles in his left thigh, 20cm of bone from his left shin, and 4 fingers from his right hand. He saw his best friends head explode.

He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, but there was no treatment, facilities or medicines available. The doctors did what they could and sent him home. Eventually he was fitted with a prosthetic hand. In 2005 Hasanen raised US $10,000 from private donors to come to Amman for reconstructive bone surgery. The operation failed.

He is now sponsored by MSF and has had several operations, including bone transplants. To straighten his leg the doctors have attached a platinum external brace. They are waiting to see if the bone will develop, it’s a slow process, but Hasanen is determined to keep his leg and eventually walk again.

Waiting, waiting, waiting

“There were many threats and terror by the Muslims against the Sabeans, but it was hidden, no one talked about it, we were all scared,” said Amir Hadar of the situation of Sabeans in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein.


Amir, his mother and 2 sisters show their UNHCR refugee status.

In 2000, Amir a single man, now living with his mother and 2 sisters in Amman worked as a cameraman for a TV station owned by Oday the much-feared son of Saddam. Odays’ guards would tease and threaten Amir making his life miserable, “it was like a sport for them,” said Amir of his ordeal. “I couldn’t take it anymore, so in 2001 I fled to Jordan and applied for asylum.”

Amirs’ father died (a natural death) in Iraq in 2003 leaving Amirs mother and 2 sisters to take care of themselves and the huge home which had been in the family for generations. Then came the threats. It got worse and worse until one night masked men broke into their home, pointed a gun at the eldest sister and the mother and told them to get out or they would kidnap them. The 3 women left as soon as they could get a passport taking nothing but a bag with them to Amman.

“ We cannot go forward and cannot go backwards, we are in a prison,” said the sister of Amir.