11/30/2006

“I was kidnapped and nearly died because I am Shi’a”
In August 2006, Ali was driving from Beirut to Baghdad and was stopped by a militant group near Fallujah. He was kidnapped when his Iraqi papers were reviewed and identified him as a Shi’ite religious leader. He was then sold to a Sunni militia, where he awaited execution with dozens of other Shi’a, told by his captors that killing a Shi’a got them closer to heaven. After two months in captivity, the Iraqi National Guard raided the compound, freeing Ali. He returned to Lebanon in November of this year to reunite with his family, who were told that he had been killed. Suffering from mental trauma, Ali can not work. His wife Nada is beginning beauty school to support the family, and they hope to raise $10,000 to buy fake documents to move to Europe. In the meantime, they live in a small apartment in Beirut, and lack electricity because they cannot afford it. Their two children are in school thanks to the generosity of neighbors who are taking collections to pay for uniforms and school supplies.

“Our two sons were kidnapped. As Sunnis, we were told to leave or die”
Hussein, Alimah, Bashir and Fadi moved to Damascus, Syria in November 2005, fleeing religious persecution and financial extortion in Baghdad. In 2003, Bashir, the family’s oldest son, was kidnapped by a local criminal gang and held for ransom. Hussein sold one of the family businesses to raise $40,000 to pay the ransom, and retrieved his son. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Syria for three months seeking safety. They returned to Baghdad in 2004, hoping their lives could return to normal. In November 2005, Fadi, Bashir’s younger brother, was kidnapped and again held for ransom. The family again sold assets to save their son, and he was returned with a shattered hand due to abuse during his captivity. When Fadi was released, the family received a warning – as Sunnis, they should leave their neighborhood or be killed. The family gathered the few resources that remained, and fled again to Syria. They now live in a poor neighborhood of Damascus, and none of the family members has been able to find work. They have paid for multiple surgeries for Fadi’s hand injury from their savings. As a result, their resources are being quickly depleted. Two younger children are not currently in school. They vow never to return to Iraq, and hope to be resettled in a third country where they can work.

“As a Christian painter, my life was at risk in Iraq”
Khalil and Dalal moved to Damascus in December 2004, fleeing religious and professional persecution in Baghdad. Khalil, a Chaldean Christian, is a painter, and taught classes in Iraq in addition to opening a gallery for his prize-winning art. In 2004, Khalil began to receive threats from an unknown man who objected to his painting of a woman, calling it blasphemous. Khalil was also threatened because he had been asked to paint portraits for American troops in Baghdad. He was beaten near his home because of his art, and three weeks after receiving the first threat, his gallery was burned to the ground. Shortly thereafter, Khalil and Dalal’s house was also attacked when a firebomb was thrown into their living room at 2 am, as they slept in their bedroom upstairs. It took them two months to organize their papers and sell enough possessions to raise the money to leave. They cannot imagine returning to Iraq, especially as the Christian community has been decimated by flight and violence. Khalil and Dalal have taken on the informal role of community activists in Damascus. Khalil teaches classes at the local church, and Dalal helps orient new arrivals from Iraq to life in Syria. Dalal is featured in this picture with the photo of a nephew who was killed in Iraq. Khalil was afraid to be photographed for fear that his attackers would know he is now in Syria.

“I was shot three times because I worked for western NGOs”
Yasir, Afya, and Malik moved to Amman, Jordan in July 2006, fleeing professional persecution. Yasir worked in Baghdad as a security officer for international NGOs working in Iraq. As organizations began to shut down their operations in Iraq because of security concerns, Yasir found it increasingly difficult to find work. In January 2006, he was let go from his third international NGO, and could not find work for a number of months. On July 27, Yasir was outside his house with his son Malik, washing his car. An unknown car came speeding down the street, and shot ten rounds at Yasir. Though he was able to keep Malik from harm, he took three bullets to the body, none of them fatal. He is confident that he was targeted for working with international organizations seen as being part of the occupation of Iraq.

Yasir learned through neighbors that his attackers knew he survived the attempt on his life, and four days after the shooting, Yasir moved his family to Jordan. He immediately approached his former NGO employers and asked for help finding work, or in being resettled to a country where he could work. None was able to offer him any assistance. In October, Yasir sent Afya and Malik back to Iraq because he could not afford to support them any longer in Amman. He is planning on staying in Amman until the end of the year, and if he cannot find work, he will return to Iraq, despite Afya’s objections. Yasir knows he will likely become a target again in Iraq, but feels it is the only way to continue providing for his family. Yasir is also considering purchasing fake travel papers to get himself to Europe, where he could work and raise enough money to bring Afya and Malik to join him, but is hesitant to go without them.

“I was threatened and my workplace was destroyed because I am a hairdresser”
Fatima moved to Damascus in 2003, fleeing professional and gender persecution. A secular Shi’a, she lived in Baghdad with an aunt and uncle, working as a hairdresser. The salon where Fatima worked began to receive threats from armed groups because they were cutting women’s hair in a public place. Shortly thereafter, the salon was attacked, and Fatima quit her job out of fear for her safety. Her uncle similarly began to lecture her on the inappropriate nature of her work, so she moved out of their home to a building in Baghdad where single women lived. Unfortunately, militias soon began to threaten the building, believing that women should not live alone. At this time, women began to be kidnapped and killed around Baghdad, further raising Fatima’s fears.

She decided to sell her jewelry to raise money, and together with three other single women, she left for Syria. In her three years in Damascus, Fatima has found herself isolated in a society which is skeptical of single women. She has been able to scrape by cutting hair for neighbors, but has been unable to find steady work. She feels that she could settle permanently in Syria, but is desperate to work in order to support herself. As Syria does not give work permits to Iraqi refugees, she is considering moving anywhere that will take her.


“Being Palestinian is a death sentence in today’s Iraq”
Suleiman, Fatima, and their family fled Baghdad in May 2006, after being targeted because they are Palestinian.Seen as supporters of Saddam Hussein, numerous militias have issued calls for their supporters to kill any and all Palestinians found in Iraq. In April 2006, a note was posted on the family’s door warning them to leave the country. A few nights later, a bomb went off in their living room as the family slept upstairs. Fatima fell ill as a result of the attack, and the family was forced to continue sleeping in their destroyed home until Fatima came home from the hospital. During this time, another note was left on their doorstep, threatening worse violence if they did not leave the country immediately. On May 10, the family hastily left the country, headed towards Syria. When they arrived at the border, they were told that they would not be allowed entry into the country because they are Palestinian, and have since spent the past six months living in an impromptu refugee camp set up for Palestinians in a No Man’s Land between the borders of the two countries. Along with 372 other Palestinians, they live in a tent with few belongings, and have limited access to fresh food, water, and basic sanitation.

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