IRAQ UPDATE: 16-30 November 2010

On team during this period were Bud Courtney, Rosemarie Milazzo Carol Rose, and
Chihchun Yuan.

The ‘Eid began on the morning of 16 November, virtually closing down the city
for four days as folks met with family and friends, asking forgiveness and
sharing chocolate. The team was invited to the homes of good friends on the
first two evenings.

 On 18 November, the team traveled to Halabja to see the city.  They visited the Tragedy Museum, which
commemorates the atrocities that the Iraq government has committed against the
Kurds.  The following day, the team
visited friends from MCC ( Mennonite Central Committee) outside of Erbil hoping
to open some doors to different groups.

 The next day Bapir ( representative of displaced people) and
Khaled (head of Rania Youth Center), visited the team and discussed its work in
the area.  Khaled wanted the team
to work on some projects with the youth center in Rania.

 The team returned to the Suleimaniyeh Youth Activities
Center after a week off on 24 November.  English language ability varied widely in the first
class.   Students in the second class were more fluent, but the range of
language ability has varied from week to week.

On 25 November, the team attended a meeting of NGOs looking to organize around
a recent law passed by the Parliament restricting demonstrations and
assemblies.  The group hopes to put a delegation together to meet with
Parliament and President Barzani, and encourage them to amend the bill.