So, it’s been almost a month since my return to the states, and I still feel half in the Middle East. The voices still follow me and the responsibility I have to share their voices still calls. I want to do right by the Iraqis. I owe them that. So I write. And write and write and will hopefully have a show that will transport you all to a world where you can experience and hear the stories like we did.

The one thing that resonates most with me these days is that as I ease back into my life and my routine, most of the Iraqis we met are in the exact same spot, same chair, same empty fridge, same waiting, same fear, same hopelessness, same homelessness that they were in when we visited them. Nothing changes for them. I go back to Starbucks and get my mani/pedis and think about Christmas shopping. And there they still sit. Waiting.

I’m afraid I’ll forget. I am trying not to.

Tags: Cost of War, Intersections, Intersections International, Iraq, Iraqi Refugees, Iraqi Voices Amplification Project, Lebanon, Refugee Story

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