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.

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.

Wandering Amman on Holy Friday

Mohammed my new friend offered to drive me around Amman, and try finally to get my bearings. He took me to his neighborhood where thousands of Palestinians have lived since their diaspora.

Driving past another Palestinian refugee camp near the center of Amman, Jordan.

The amount of construction going on in Amman amazed me. I have been staying in the old city so a drive into the rich area made me question whether the real estate business in Jordan has benefited by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees.

This is the construction site of the new super mall financed by the brother of Queen Noor.

Friday is the Holy and holiday in all Muslim countries. Many though not all stores are closed, government offices are closed, it’s the weekend. So today I thought I would drive around Amman with a friend of mine, Mohammed who is a Palestinian born in Qatar but is not allowed citizenship, instead he holds a Jordanian passport. He was in Qatar during the 1st Gulf War and told me how for a year most residents were not able to leave their homes. The Iraqi soldiers were brutal, they stole, they imprisoned and they terrorized the people of Qatar. He told me of how to make ends meet he would drive over 1000 km to Baghdad to buy cigarettes. On one of these trips he was stopped by Iraqi soldiers who made him give them 3 of the 10 boxes of cigarettes, it was that or come back empty handed. Finally, his family moved to Amman, Jordan where he got a job as a taxi driver and later as a bus driver for the tourism board of Jordan. He now lives alone in Qatar managing 3 restaurants, his family lives in Jordan because Qatar is too expensive.

While driving around the “new city of Amman” I noticed the amazing amount of building that is going on. It reminded me of Dubai. I asked Mohammed about this, he says that many investors do come of the Emirates.

I started thinking that it may have more to do with the influx of Iraqi refugees, the amount of money the UNHCR and other organizations have invested in the government structures such as schools, hospitals and yes housing. The amount of Iraqis renting homes fuels the real estate market here. Though yes the rent the Iraqis pay is cheap, it fuel the economy because all cheap housing is full! I will start asking around about this.

July 22, 2008 Interviews with Iraqi Refugees

Randa shows her UNHCR registration certificate in her apartment in Al Hussein, Amman, Jordan

Randas son looks out the window from his home in Al Hussein, Amman, Jordan. traumatized by the war in Iraq, this 5 year old boy will not go out of his home alone. He also suffers from constipation because he will not -go to the toilet.

Randa

Today I met up with Artry a 20-year-old Armenia refugee who has been in Amman for 5 years waiting to immigrate. She wants desperately to go to California and go shopping. She wants to be a teenager a real teenager, free to shop, to go to Starbucks, and most importantly to fully recover from cerebral palsy, which is a congenital birth defect. Artry is amazing, she is strong, and has learned excellent English. She has offered to be my interpreter. at

The first family we visited was Randa Haumis Paulus a Chalaean Christian who worked for CARITAS in Baghdad. “During the war we would go to victims of bombing, terror and try to stop the bleeding on the site, to prepare them for the ambulances,” says Randa of her service work. “I also visited victims, we gave money to Christian, Muslim it didn’t matter the organization we helped everyone. Then we started getting death threats for working for an international organization. I still don’t understand, we helped Muslims, everyone, why did they want to kill us for helping people? In our apartment building the Music store was bombed, there were rockets flying across the sky. The areas were so unsafe.” She went on to say, “we were rich, we had enough money, now it’s all gone, we spent it all coming here.”

Randa is married and has a 6-year-old son. “My son is traumatized from the war and suffers from severe constipation because he will not go to the toilet. He will not go out of the house without his me,” says Randa of her sons condition. “As far as government schools go, I will not send my son, I know that the Iraqi kids are called names, beaten up and this would only traumatize my son more.” Randa began crying when as she went on to say, “my son wants to play, he wants toys, he cries because he wants to have a normal life, he just wants to be a kid.”

The day we visited Randa had just received a refrigerator from a family who was able to immigrate. A few days ago he got a cupboard to put her clothes in and a bike for her son. The Iraqi refugees who do migrate give away their meager possessions to those left behind.

Randas family is also registered with the UNHCR but have no residency or guest visa. Randa is terrified because she works as a waitress in a club that caters to marriages. She earns 5JD a day and works from 4pm to 1am. She complains that the customers treat her badly, call her bitch and are very rude. She is tired and desperate and finds it difficult to sleep due to the stress and worry she faces everyday.

July 19, 2008 Osama Community Center

Iraqi, Palestinian, Jordanian women learning English at the Osama Community Center in Amman, Jordan.

Iraqi children playing at the Osama Community Center in Amman, Jordan

Today I went to the Osama Community Center (OCC) in the Al Muhata'ah refugee camp near the Ragadan bus station in Amman. Here I met volunteers from Taiwan, England and Germany teaching English to Iraqis, Palestinians and Jordanians. The Osama Community Center is sponsored by World Vision and is run by a British woman married to an Iraqi priest and Mr. Osama, the sheriff as he refers to himself with a great huge smile, leasing the building.

It’s now the summer session with limited classes: Monday to Thursday 9-12pm childrens’ classes, Sunday and Thursday night 6-8pm adults classes. In the adult classes I saw only women, it was explained that in the summer the men are too tired to come to class after working menial jobs in 39 degrees heat! I can’t say as I blame them! I found that all rooms were full of motivated students using their time to learn as much English as possible so they will be ready for life in America, Canada, or Australia. I offered my services but unfortunately there were no new classes and summer school finishes at the end of July, so instead I helped out by buying a new white board and markers.

What I liked best about the Osama Community Center is that it offers classes to all nationalities favoring no particular ethic group, gender, age, or religion. Christian, Muslim, Iraqi, Palestinian, Jordanian are all able to study for free. Drawing from my previous experience in the Middle East I find this absolutely necessary because giving preferences could lead to problems within the camp and draw negative attention from the Jordanian government. Most of the teachers and administration are Christian and affiliated with the Al Nami Church which is located nearby. The Al Nami Church is run by Iraqi Christians, mostly Assyrian and Chaldean. LINK Mr Osama invited me to attend the Sunday service and I have decided to attend.

July 18 Al Muhata'ah Refugee Camp

A view of a window in Al Muhat'ah refugee camp, just a 10 minute taxi ride from the center of Amman, Jordan.

Assan and his wife joking as they show their UNHCR registration papers.

I arrived in Amman the 14th of July and after much acclimatization and fact-finding I decided it was time to meet the Iraqi refugees. Mohammed, a police and security officer who I met at the Taj hotel, came as my translator. We went to the Al Muhata'ah Refugee Camp, a 10-minute taxi ride from the center of the old city of Amman. Originally a Palestinian refugee camp it now houses several hundred Iraqi refugees. The camp is similar to those in the West Bank, cramped living quarters, narrow winding streets, over populated, poor and unkempt, yet because its been home to refugees for more than 40 years there is a cross section of dilapidated and prosperous housing. The feeling I got from the Palestinians I met was that most everyone gets along and the Iraqis have been welcomed into the camp.

We went to the home of Assan Hamudi, a 23 years old Shia Iraqi refugee from Al Karmia, ( the district of Bagdad where Saddam Hussein was executed.) and his 18 year old Sunni wife Rusel Adan. They met in Amman and have been married for one year. Assan looks at his wife with a smile and tell me, “see Sunni and Shia can get along.”

Assan has been a refugee in Jordan for 4 years and Rusel for 9. Assan nonchalantly tells me of how he joined the Mehdi army when he was 19 but left after only 2 months because he was scared and appalled at the killing and destruction. He was scared of the Al Madi army, Al Qaeda, the Sunnis the Shias the Americans of everyone. He saw over 400 dead in the aftermath of the bombing of the Ashara Mosque. Then a couple months later his uncle who worked for the Americans was kidnapped by unknown terrorists and cut into pieces. It was the fear of insecurity and horror of the situation in Iraq that made Assan leave Baghdad for Amman.

Assan and Rusel are both registered with the UNHCR as refugees but have no residency or working visa. King Abdullah recognizes the plight of the refugees and at first allowed Iraqis to cross the border as guests. But due to the shear amount coming (up to 750,000 last year) the border is now closed. In January of 2008 King Abdullah granted a limited immunity for Iraqis who had overstayed their “guest” visa. He made into law that if they wanted to stay they had to register with the UNHCR and get a guest visa. If they could not pay, they would be given a period of a month to do so. Many have tried this but were not accepted and left for Syrai. In Jordan if any Iraqi is caught working they will be arrested and immediately deported to Iraq. Rusel told me about her mother who worked illegally in a sewing factory to support her family. Her mother was caught one year ago and deported to Iraq. Her father is still in Jordan.

“I am just happy to be alive, its better to stay here and be safe, no mujahdeen. Fear of kidnapping is very real, and it’s not just the terrorists it’s criminals. It’s Shia, it’s Sunni it’s everyone and everywhere, you never know when you leave your home if you will come back. Okay I have little hope and wait daily to immigrate anywhere but at least I am safe and my wife is safe and we can go and meet friends and talk,’ says Assan with his beautiful young wife smiling at his side.
As I was leaving the Hamudi home, Diad, a friend of Assans came for a visit. Diad told me a bit of his story. Diad escaped Iraqi 1 year ago with his younger brother. His mother was killed when heavily armed masked criminals entered a bus, stole the passengers’ money then shot everyone. Some of the passengers survived but his mother did not. Roughly 1 year later his father left their apartment one morning and never returned. Diad visibly shaken told me he doesn’t know if his father is alive or dead, his body was never found, and he was never heard from again.

Diad

Diad is also registered with the UNHCR and like all other Iraqis waits for the phone call either asking him to come for his interview or telling him he has been given asylum. Unfortunately, Diad is risking deportation and separation from his younger brother by working odd jobs. Diad tells me he has to, he has no option, he only gets a few Jordanian Dinar from the UNHCR, its not enough to pay his rent or food for his brother or himself. His biggest fear now is that he will be separated from his younger brother either by deportation or if both of them are not sponsored together by immigration. “I can’t go without my brother,” he says, “he is the only family I have left.”

July 17 walking around the old city of Amman

In Amman finally, walking tour the first day, went to the area where they sell Nargillas. The variety is amazing, the owner of the shop personally gave me a lesson in which Nargillas come from which country.

Sitting on the street with Iraqi sellers the bus came by and I snapped this photo.

Got hungry for fallafal, at first these guys were reluctant to have their photo taken, but later agreed. The fallafal was first rate!

Needing a break and seeing no women in any of the street coffee shops I finally found this cafe on the top of a roof next to Al Hussain Mosque in the old city of Amman, Jordan. Here gathered men to have a quiet nargilla and game of cards.