by Michele Naar-Obed

Located at the end of a long, dusty road in Iraq’s Nineveh Province, Makhmoor Refugee Camp is home to over 11,000 Turkish Kurds.  These refugees fled across the southeastern border of Turkey into Iraq following a military crackdown against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 1996.

The Makhmoor camp is also home to nine “Mothers for Peace.”  These Kurdish women are part of a larger organization of mothers − over 1000 strong − who have lost children in the armed conflict between Kurdish rebels and the militaries of Turkey and Iraq.  All of them call for the laying down of arms and for the establishment of political and diplomatic means to guarantee Kurds their basic human rights.

“We want neither the Turkish mother nor the Kurdish mother to cry again,” Amin tells CPT.  “We have seen our children tortured and killed and we know that Turkish mothers have seen their children killed,” she continued.  “It is time for reconciliation, forgiveness and peace.”

Septermber Supper Fundraiser

Will you host a dinner party for CPT?

CPT really needs your support in raising $10k in September. Unfortunately, we are behind our financial targets and need your help. We want to dedicate the month of September to bringing people together around the dinner table. You can choose the date, who you invite and what you cook (though our teams have some great recipes prepared!) We’d love to hear if you’d be interested. 

There’s no commitment needed at this stage.

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