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.

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.

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.