Jordan, Day 6 (Monday)
We visited The NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq today, an NGO helping coordinate activities with other NGOs trying to help Iraqi refugees. I will not give their location or other details because of the constant threats these people have against them. The policy both here and in Iraq is to lay very low because as soon as you are noticed you are targeted.
Things were much better for Iraqis in Jordan a few years ago because there were not such overwhelming numbers of them. Iraqis were even permitted to work here at one time. Now there are about one million Iraqis in this small country and they are no longer permitted to work or to live here legally (or at least very few of them are). The Jordan border shut down to refugees in 2005 when there were several explosions in Amman set off by Iraqis. War was spilling over into Jordan and Iraqis became unwelcome, but somewhat tolerated, guests.
Due to the recent UN conference in Geneva on the refugee crisis refugees have been bombarded by the media. This backfired on the refugees and caused more tension locally. Now everybody is talking about helping but nobody is doing anything because they are not allowed. Groups actually trying to help have to stay undercover.
Our interviewee states there are three types of groups in Iraq: intelligence groups, extremists and victims. The involved governments are completely politicized and care nothing for the people. One leader of Al-Qaeda stated that if Afghanistan is the school for terrorism then Iraq is the University and open 24 hours a day every day!
Our interviewee also said everyone wants the U.S. out. Sure there would be some problems left, but the majority of them are caused by the American occupation. If the U.S. would leave, he believes, the civil war would stop. There are plenty of private security details, mercenaries hired by international corporations. He says this war is mostly about control over the oil fields in the south, not just to get the oil but to keep certain neighboring (enemy) countries from getting it. Soon these international corporations will not only own the oil but will have whatever government left sign over complete control of these areas.
Next we met up with Zahra and she and Charlie went to the Ministry of the Interior (on behalf of Amal stranded in Bagdad), who sent them to the Intelligence Department in another location. After only a few minutes they were done. They were told the situation was being investigated already, which seems pretty much like a blow off.
Zahra then took us to see a Sunni Muslim family. We met Hanna, who was very outspoken and spoke English well. At first she was suspicious of us and wanted to know who we worked for and what were our intentions and we explained. Then she began telling us how miserable the U.S. government has made them. She said, "We lost Saddam in Iraq and now we have Saddam in America." She also said, "Just take the oil. We want peace." I recorded some of her speech.
Hanna and Zahra took us to visit another refugee, Ishrak, her three children, and her brother or husband (we never got that clear). They lived just around the corner in a much smaller place. The three young children have contributed art for an exhibition in the U.S. to help raise money for refugees. Zahra is in charge of this project and it is a large part of the reason she will be in the U.S. on a visa. The man of the house, Amer Khideer, began to pull out scarves he had hand painted. I asked him how much and he said to pay whatever I liked. Five J.D. was suggested but I gave him ten. Charlie bought a garment for seventy J.D. Obviously we were trying to help and the man was trying to make some sort of living.
