“Who asked you America to be God on Earth? Stop it”

“Look, no dishes, food! Nothing! You have to help. I cannot provide for my family.”

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These are some of the things we hear from the Iraqi refugees we are interviewing. I am continually struck by both the simplicity of their request and the complications it presents: a home. All they ask for is a place to call home, which is infuriatingly hard to accomplish.

They all have different situations, different specific reasons for leaving Iraq, different horrific events they’ve endured, different feelings towards America—but they all have one thing in common: a desire for a stable home in which to raise their families and live their lives. That’s it.

We had an amazing day Wednesday, met so many incredible people-both working for and maneuvering through the system. We met the head of UNHCR in Lebanon–Stephen Jacquemet. He is everything you want in someone in charge of a mess lke this. He spoke of his fear of a developing fatigue on the part of the US in this matter. He felt that without the US–the refugees are lost. We met amazing social workers and community center leaders who put their heart and passion out there every single day to make a difference in even one person’s life, which makes all the difference in the world.

Iraqi women and children wait at the UNHCR Registration Center

And lastly, we met with amazing refugees: one denied entry into the US with his wife and the rest of his family because of an ankle injury (yes, an ankle injury), one who recited to us a love poem he wrote, even after suffering unbelievable torture and one who wore a bright blue shirt and danced a piece of his history and of his heart that I will never forget.

I am grateful for the generosity with which these stories are shared. Amazing, really.

Oh, and lastly, feel free to post any specific questions you’d like us to ask the refugees and I will do my best to get an answer and post it right here on this blog. It’s interactive!!!

Tomorrow some of us are travelling to a house of a former boxer/painter.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 11:07 am and is filed under Jordan. 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.