Today, the IVAP group split up into smaller teams  to do in-depth interviews with Iraqi refugees. Most of the discussions were held in the Iraqis’ actual homes.

These were moving, poignant experiences. My group met with two parents and their four young children. They fled Iraq after the father was threatened several times.

Then, we visited with a mother of four children. Her young son was kidnapped and held for ransom. Her husband is missing – and presumably dead.

Next, we met a 53-year-old mother of four. She had one son flee Iraq – only to have her second son kidnapped, tortured and mutilated.

Finally, we talked with that woman’s sister. She still lives in Baghdad but is staying in Lebanon to undergo cancer treatments.

Each story was different and — to some degree — horrifying. But there were common themes that ran through each of them.

Their only hopes for the future are very base and primal: to be safe. To have stability in their lives. No talk about happiness or success.

They have very little desire to return to Iraq. They basically want to go wherever their families are, be it Australia, Sweden or the US. I guess home really is where the heart is.

All of their situations are the result of the chaos that is Iraq. Surprisingly, they were not universally critical of or angry at the US, but I suspect they may have just been saying that to a roomful of Americans.

Tomorrow, we go again.

Tags: Cost of War, Intersections International, Iraqi Voices Amplification Project

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Lebanon, Photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.