CityDance and Kim Schultz perform together at the gala.

On June 10th, Intersections hosted its first annual Intersector Awards Gala. The event was held at the Altman building in midtown Manhattan. A major theme for the night was celebrating the artistic works to come out of the Iraqi Voices Amplification Project. A gallery featured photographs of Iraqi Refugees by Alissa Everett and Paul Emerson. Each photo told the story of a different aspect of the refugee experience, from the effects of religious targeting to the dangers of working illegally in a host country. Michael Jordan premiered several of the ad campaigns he has been working on, including a print ad that compared the Iraqi refugee crisis to the crisis in Darfur.

Photos of refugees shot by Alissa Everett and Paul Emerson are displaced at the Intersections Gala

But the spot light was stolen by a first ever joint performance of excerpts from Kim Schultz’s new play, No Place Called Home, directed by Sarah Cameron Sunde and CityDance Ensembles, Wishes of the Sailor. The ten minute piece featured segments of No Place Called Home, which tracks one American woman’s experience with Iraqi refugees as she accidentally falls in love with one of them. Wishes of the Sailor grew out of the experiences of CityDance’s Kathryn Pilkington and Paul Emerson. Using the stories they heard during the IVAP trip, they set the dance, whose title comes from an Iraqi proverb “Sometimes the wind blows against the wishes of the sailor,” in a refugee resettlement waiting room, where there is too little to do, too much time to wait and an endless sense of how life has been upended for all of them.

A scene taking place in a UNHCR waiting room.

Through dance, the retelling of refugee stories and Kim’s experience as an American through whom these stories are told the audience went on a brief emotional journey exploring the realities of Iraqi refugees. Many in the audience found themselves in tears after the performance. “Wow! Not only was I in NYC at Intersection’s gala, but a part of me was also in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the lives of these refugees,”  said gala attendee Scott Thompson. ” Thank you Kim for the gift of letting us know their stories more.”

No Place Called Home opens in New York City for a nomadic run in October.  Check back for more details soon!

In some respects, then, Adab came to Syria for less than typical reasons.  In other ways, though, her story was all too familiar.  Halfway through high school, for instance, she left Baghdad (and her family) and went to Basra to finish studying there.  Why?  Because during her sophomore year, a militia and the U.S. Army got into a massive gunfight at her school.  Militia violence at schools is tragically typical in Iraq, but this particular incident was so bad that the school actually shut down.  (In a sense, Adab was lucky, not only because she survived the gunfight but also because she was able to continue her education.  Many Iraqi kids I talked to had stayed home from school — had, indeed, barely left their homes — for months or years.)

Adab was fifteen when the gunfight happened.  By then, she told me, she had already come to school more than once to find decapitated bodies on the doorstep.  (After the first time her then-six-year-old sister witnessed that, Adab told me, she didn’t speak for a week.)  On other days, the entrance was splattered with — here she had to ask me for help with the word in English — innards.

I supplied the word, but who can really translate the experience?   This is the question I’ve been grappling with throughout my time in the Middle East.  In fact, Adab and I talked about it, too, because it turns out that she wants to become a journalist as well.  As she put it, she wants to spend her life covering important issues and bringing the truth about them to the world.

“The truth” and “the world” are the kinds of concepts you look at a bit skeptically after a decade or so as a practicing journalist.  As often as not, both are way too complicated and multifaceted to be reduced to that single unitary “the.”  Still, Adab’s sentiment was an honorable one, and in one form or another, it is the underpinning of conscientious journalism.  The reality about the Iraqi refugee crisis is that no one but Iraqis will experience it firsthand, and precious few people will experience it even secondhand, as I have.  Much as I often want to, none of us can bring the world to the truth — meaning, bodily drag every person on earth over for two or twenty or two million cups of tea with the two million Iraqi refugees.  As a result, those of us who have had the privilege of meeting some of these people bear the responsibility of bringing a part of their reality back home with us (since we also have the privilege, as they do not, of going home).  As the old and rather apt saying goes: if Mohammed won’t come to the mountain, the mountain must go to Mohammed.

The IVAP Artistic Team, which was assembled by Megan Hoelle and C. Eduardo Vargas, includes: Michael Jordan, Kathryn Schulz, Paul Gordon Emerson, Tim Frakes, Kathryn Pilkington, Kim Schultz, Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston, and Alissa Everett.

After months of planning and interviewing a highly competitive pool of applicants, Intersections is pleased to announce the delegation of artists that will travel to the Middle East in October for the Iraqi Voices Amplification Project.

The delegation, which was assembled by Megan Hoelle and C. Eduardo Vargas, includes: Michael Jordan, media messaging expert and advertiser; Kathryn Schulz, writer and former magazine and newspaper editor; Paul Gordon Emerson, choreographer, artistic director and co-founder of City Dance; Tim Frakes, videographer and international video producer; Kathryn Pilkington, dancer at City Dance; Kim Schultz, actress, writer, teacher, improviser and stand-up comedian; Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston, singer and performer; and Alissa Everett, documentary photographer and writer.

“I am thrilled with the passion, artistic caliber and creative energy we will be taking with us in these artists,” said Hoelle. “I am confident that we will be able to shine a light on this important issue.”

“It is our hope that through programs such as IVAP, we will be able to amplify the voices of displaced Iraqis and influence people of good will to pressure our government to do more to help those that have been displaced,” said Vargas.

Vargas was part of a trip Intersections staff made to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria in August 2008 in order to explore how to bring the stories of Iraqis back to the United States. “We saw many Iraqis refugees, without much hope of being resettled abroad, who were struggling to survive in the countries they were living in,” he said. “[They] were adamant about not returning to the violence of Iraq.”

The delegation will meet at Intersections’ office in New York City Sept. 13-14 for a planning session, and will work in the Middle East from Oct. 2 through Oct. 17. You can follow the artists on the trip on the new IVAP blog, coming soon. Once the artists return, they will develop a multimedia production that captures their experiences and highlights the stories of the Iraqis they meet.

Intersections hopes to mobilize public interest to improve the situation of Iraqi refugees. Find out more about Iraqi Refugees and the IVAP project by contacting C. Eduardo Vargas at cevargas@intersectionsinternational.org.

Colonel Michael J. Meese, Director Robert Chase, Megan Hoelle, Kirk W. Johnson, Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, Moderator Damian Bednarz and C. Eduardo Vargas

On Thursday, April 2, Intersections concluded its conversation series, “The Cost of War at Home & Abroad,” with a panel discussion, After the Surge: Ethical Exit Strategies From Iraq.

Panelists included Cynthia P. Schneider, former U.S. Ambassador to The Netherlands and Georgetown University faculty member; U.S. Army Col. Michael J. Meese, Ph.D.; and Kirk W. Johnson, The List Project founder and director. The conversation explored American strategies of withdrawing from Iraq while fulfilling political, military and humanitarian obligations.

“From the military perspective, the importance of the ethical withdrawal is to turn over security in a way that minimizes the chances of a return to sectarianism,” said Meese. For that reason, the military method is to “thin forces and continue to maintain transition teams.”

Johnson noted that some 3,000 Iraqis have contacted him in fear for their safety because they aided U.S. efforts. “I am praying and hoping that the people [developing the exit strategy] are taking into consideration what happens to these Iraqis who have helped us, because if we abandon them, I don’t see how we can ever claim any mantle of an ethical withdrawal,” he said.

“I think it’s so important that we define this beyond military security, that we define it in terms of a viable life for people in Iraq,” said Schneider. This means “economic development, education, adequate health care, water, power grid, electricity [and] restoration of their cultural institutions.”

The “Cost of War” series “raised awareness about how the global war on terror has impacted different sectors of our society in ways that people are unaware of,” said Eduardo Vargas, Intersections’ project manager.

To hear an audio recording of the presentation, please visit www.intersectionsinternational.org/costofwarlectures.

See below for a highlight video from this discussion.

Saad (right), an Iraqi refugee, receives feedback on his resume from two volunteers

On Jan. 19, 2009, Intersections, along with The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies and CAMBA, hosted a job training workshop for Iraqis resettled in the New York City area. The goal was to assist them in their transition to the U.S. job market. The workshop was held on Martin Luther King Day as a part of President Obama’s call for Americans to renew their commitment to volunteerism and join forces for a national day of service.

In addition to receiving information on job placement and training services, more than a dozen dedicated volunteers were on hand to offer one-on-one resume critiques, mock interviews, and break-out sessions for professional networking. The day was full of excitement for both the refugees and volunteers.

Jennifer Kouvant, volunteer coordinator from WATCH-NYC, gives instructions to the volunteers before the refugees arrive

“This day of service really inspired me,” wrote volunteer Nadira Narine. “The one-on-one engagement actually opened my eyes to all of the consequences that are affecting refugees … In addition, I walked away from the day of service feeling like I helped to contribute to the mission of the organizations involved in this day’s work.”

In the fall, Intersections will travel back to the Middle East with a group of artists and storytellers to launch the Iraqi Voices Amplification Project (IVAP). For more information about IVAP, as well as to hear the podcast interview, please visit www.intersectionsinternational.org/amplifyingiraqirefugeevoices.

To protect the identities of the Iraqis participating in our discussion, only their first names were used. Assad was a translator in Iraq, now living in Ithaca, NY, where he teaches Arabic at Ithaca College. Ameer has a Bachelors in English and is currently living with his family in Dearborn, MI. Ehab, who made it to the US with the help of the List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies, now works with one of the law firms handling the immigration cases of Iraqi refugees.

All three shared stories of their desire to work with the Americans in 2003, as they believed they were helping to build a new life and brighter future for Iraqis. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and as the occupation wore on with little of the promised improvements to infrastructure materializing and a continuing escalation of violence, Ehab, Ameer and Assad were in ever growing danger. “The Americans inherited Saddam’s position in the minds of the Iraqi people. So whatever happened in Iraq the Iraqi people blamed the United States for it, but then they couldn’t see the Americans, the Americans were behind the green zones, they could see me Ameer and Assad and we were very obvious…we were the collaborators, we were the ones making the Americans work in Iraq… So we were the ones to be blamed.”

Eventually all three made it safely out of Iraq, but not without significant hardship. Ehab’s journey took him more than a year and took him through India, Syria and Egypt before he made it to Arizona. Assad is still getting used to the snow in Ithaca, but is grateful for the warm reception he has received there. “I think they understand we have suffered a lot, we were very welcomed.”

While the future of Iraq is uncertain, all three Iraqis shared their hopes that their country will be rebuilt and that young people will feel like they have a future there. It is clear that this can not happen without the participation of the Iraqi people and that political realities and timelines for withdrawal are extremely complicated. In the meantime, America is deeply honored by all the Iraqis that risked so much in helping us and Intersections extends them a warm welcome.

To hear an audio recording of the presentation from this discussion, please visit us here.

Click below to watch excepts of Ehab’s story.

Megan Hoelle and C. Eduardo Vargas meet with Mr. Guirgis I. Saleh, General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches

During the month of August 2008, Megan Hoelle and C. Eduardo Vargas traveled to Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to explore future projects in these countries aimed at amplifying the plight of Iraqi refugees. Intersections is dedicated to advocating for the needs of Iraqis who have been displaced due to the current conflict. In particular, Intersections is exploring projects that would bring the individual stories of Iraqis back to the United States, in an effort to mobilize public interest in improving the Iraqi situation. As Vargas stated, “many people in the United States view the Iraqi conflict from a purely political and military perspective, however we seek to show the human side of this engagement and will work diligently to help those Iraqis displaced as a result of it.”Fruitful meetings and site visits with such organizations as Caritas Internationalis, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, The Middle East Council of Churches, UNHCR, and the U.S. State Department helped Hoelle and Vargas gain first-hand knowledge of the current situation in the three countries. Currently, there are an estimated 50,000 Iraqis living in Lebanon, a market-oriented country that does not provide free social services to its citizens. Iraqis living there are viewed by the government as illegal migrants and are subject to arrest at any time. Lack of legal status for refugees in all three countries is a major concern, interfering with the possibility of obtaining local employment, thereby making the refugees completely dependent on personal savings and humanitarian assistance.

The situation deteriorates the closer one is to Iraq. It is estimated that between 400 – 500 thousand Iraqis are living in Jordan. In this kingdom, the government allows Iraqis to enroll in public education; however due to complex regulations, fear of being deported and lack of degree recognition by other countries, many Iraqis opt not to attend school and are kept out of the workforce.

Hoelle outside UNHCR in Amman, Jordan: As of July 2008, UNHCR Jordan had registered over 54,000 individuals. An estimated 500,000 Iraqis are living in Jordan.

In contrast to Jordan and Lebanon, Syria has been a more welcoming country for Iraqi refugees. Although legal status as refugees has not been conferred and employment opportunities are few and far between, the government and security forces turn a blind eye to their Iraqi “guests” and they are able to participate in quotidian Syrian life. Here Iraqis tend not to live in the same fear as their counterparts in Lebanon and Jordan. However due to the limited resources this country has, and their tight control and inhospitable attitude towards international humanitarian organizations, the refugees have less access to the humanitarian aid received in other two countries.Hoelle and Vargas also met with Iraqis to hear first-hand accounts of the violence they experienced before leaving Iraq, the challenges faced as urban refugees in these new countries and their hopes of being resettled to a third country to start life anew. Hoelle summed up the refugees’ stories by relating how “shocked I was by how commonplace stories of rape and abduction were. Almost every family had experienced some sort of atrocity and were now stuck in a state of suspended animation, waiting to be resettled-an option that only a few of them will be lucky enough to receive-and wondering when they would be able to start really living again.”

For more information about Intersections work with Iraqis, please visit our website.

To see pictures from our trip to the Middle East, click here.

To read more about the current situation of Iraqi refugees, see the links below from the organizations that we met with.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees
www.unhcr.org http://www.unhcr.org/country/jor.html
http://www.unhcr.org/country/lbn.html
http://www.unhcr.org/country/syr.html
http://www.unhcr.org/country/irq.html

Caritas Internationalis
http://www.caritas.org/
http://www.caritas.org.lb/en/homepage.html
http://www.caritas.org/worldmap/mona/lebanon.html http://www.caritas.org/worldmap/mona/jordan.html

Mercy Corps
http://www.mercycorps.org/

http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/jordan

The Middle East Council of Churches
http://www.mec-churches.org/

Catholic Relief Services
http://crs.org/ http://crs.org/Lebanon/