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Yahya’s Playtime with a Preemptive Love Family Advocate
June 5, 2010 by Sophia · Leave a Comment
The first time I wandered onto the Preemptive Love Coalition website, I was drawn to the images. The poignant photos of sick children laughing and playing made their personalities come to life. Delicately illustrated stories depicted the reality of their conditions and the urgency to help them. Already a very maternal person, I instantly wanted to pick them up, talk to them, play with them, comfort them, and ultimately help save their lives. Before this summer, I could only imagine how beautiful an encounter with one of these children would be.
Just the other day, I experienced the first of what I hope to be many encounters with PLC kids. Shy and nestled under the skirt of his mother’s headscarf, five year-old Yahya came into the PLC office. His sweet smile was masked by a veil of bashfulness and uncertainty, and I was eager to make him giggle. Bouncing balls, coloring pictures and shooting a rubber band gun helped me break the ice. I was essentially making myself look like a fool in order to get him to laugh, but it was all worth it to see the look on his face when he realized that he could relax; that he could play.
I didn’t speak the unique Kurdish-Arabic blend of his family when I played with Yahya, but I didn’t need to in order to communicate with him. Sharing the qualities of just about every child I have ever met, Yahya wanted nothing more than to feel comfortable and at ease so that he could goof around and enjoy himself. It takes few language skills to have playtime with a preschooler.
At five years old, Yahya’s short life has been filled with little playtime. Born with some of the most complex heart problems, Yahya’s grave condition set him on a path filled with physical malformations and potential social setbacks. But while we were playing, he was just a normal little boy waiting for a lifesaving surgery.
I can honestly say that my short time with Yahya is one of the most rewarding things I have done since coming to Iraq. Yahya is a very ill little boy, and I know that my loving him cannot save him. But playtime can do wonderful things for a child!
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Our goal for Yahya today is to raise an additional $1,500 for airfare, food, housing, translation services, remaining surgery expenses and additional contingencies. Whether you’ve seen Yahya around before or this is your first time, help us go beyond meaningful play times to get Yahya the surgical therapy through which he will benefit so much! |
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Sophia Pappas, a PLC summer intern ('10), is passionate about living, loving and saving lives. While in Iraq, Sophie enjoys wandering the bazaar, trying local foods and playing with the kids. |
Leah’s Improvements Inspire Faith and Perseverance in PLC Family Advocates in Iraq
June 2, 2010 by Esther · Leave a Comment
Last week I met Leah for the first time, and it was unforgettable. Leah is scheduled to leave with our next surgery group on July 18th. The beautiful green-eyed baby was the first Kurdish child I’ve interacted with since arriving for the PLC Summer Internship. I was blown away mostly because Leah taught me a lesson in faith when I was least expecting it.
Being a Down Syndrome baby with congenital heart disease, Leah has had to fight off the problems that both of those diseases have caused. This week, she’s winning.
Leah was hardly able to roll over at the last house visit, but Leah and her mom have been working on physical exercises designed to help build her muscles and after a month of pouring effort into improving her mobility the results were worth the wait. Leah began to show off some of those hard-earned skills by kicking her feet and cooing with rings in her mouth. Leah’s non-stop action included playing with her older sister, rolling to the other side of the room and back with incredible ease, and starting to prop herself up on her elbows while lying on her stomach.
It was beautiful to see that this little girl doesn’t know what it means to accept her current circumstances as her future reality. She is dying, and yet she continues to live out her life as it is right now – daily conquering the little things that stand in her way.
And although Leah has a hope of going to surgery and living a normal, healthy life, she’s oblivious to that. As a baby she doesn’t understand what any of that means, but she does know what it means to be tired of trying. And though she has undoubtedly felt tired, she pushes on.
And I started to think about how many times I limit myself when I feel overwhelmed with problems that seem too daunting to overcome. How many times do I focus on a problem to the point that I amplify it, instead of looking past it to a more desirable, attainable future?
For Baby Leah - and for all of us - obstacles exist to be overcome.
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SHARE OF SURGICAL EXPENSE
Enter the amount of your choice below to make a tax-deductible donation and get Leah on her way to lifesaving heart surgery this July.
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Esther Perez, a PLC summer intern ('10), is spending this summer managing the daily blog and telling the stories of Iraqi children affected by congenital heart disease. The die-hard Texan loves spending her time learning local languages, talking about soccer and swimming. |
Nivar Plays Soccer in Iraq and is Reminded Daily of Her Need for Surgery
May 29, 2010 by Joshua · Leave a Comment
From the day I first met her in our office, what I remember most are her eyes. In the land of dark skin and eyes to match, Nivar and her hopeful, green eyes separate themselves from the rest.
Nivar is a young girl who feels the effects of her heart defects, a girl who is reminded daily of her need for surgery. Unlike some of our kids, who can live lives without many outward signs of their inward battle, the results of her defect is evident.
I went with Awara to visit Nivar and her family in the volatile Iraqi city of Chamchamal and was again reminded how I hate seeing the innocent suffer. While Awara stayed inside to talk with her family, I was outside with Nivar and her brother, playing with their futbol, as has become the norm.
We started to kick it around, allowing the futbol to distract us from the pain of this situation. We forgot about thoughts of her failing heart; that she was different from me and her brother. We forgot this until Nivar walked away from us and lied down on their swing.
At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of this. Did she just not like futbol? Did she not like me?! What was it? I asked her to come back and play with us, and she quietly replied, “Natwanim, helakim” (I can’t. I’m tired).
Then it hit me. She really couldn’t keep playing. Her heart couldn’t handle it. She had no choice but to sit and rest.
And this is when I again started to grieve. What did Nivar do wrong? I long for restoration, when bodies no longer fail; when children no longer fear their hearts; when all is made right. I look into Nivar’s strikingly green, innocent eyes and need someone to blame.
This isn’t fair; it isn’t right. I am weary of child after child being brought to us by hopeful parents, praying to God we can save their son or daughter. Today, I just need someone to blame.
Is this Saddam’s fault, like so many claim? The chemical attacks, the gassing of thousands, the testing of primitive nerve gas agents on abducted Kurds − is this all his fault?
Those bombs he dropped; those slow-falling bombs filled with chemicals designed to savagely destroy all things living − what about those? Can I blame them? Are they the root of these issues? Did those weapons ever realize their deadly poison would be seeping their way into the heart of a little girl named Nivar years later?
Could Saddam have looked into these green eyes and continued to follow through with his attacks?
Many say it’s his fault. There’s no way to say it conclusively. Today, needing someone to blame, I blame Saddam. But even this is not complete.
No, we must go further than Saddam. For even he was driven by something. I can blame only sin. As a follower of GOD, I grieve the effects of our rebellion. I acknowledge these things also break GOD’s heart, and I long for things to be restored. I come to GOD hopeful, believing his promises that he loves his children, like Nivar, far more than I am ever able to.
And so, I hope.
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SEND NIVAR TO SURGERY! Nivar has a four-fold set of heart defects known as Tetralogy of Fallot. At eight years old her growth has been stunted by lack of oxygen in her blood and subsequent lack of energy, activity, etc. But a total corrective surgery can still free her up for on-time development as she moves into her ninth birthday in September. Her father has gathered $3,500 from savings, friends, and family to help send Nivar to surgery! We need less than $2,000 to send her in July! Donate the amount of your choice below to get her on her way! |
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Joshua Gigliotti is a PLC Summer Intern ('09) turned short-term staff who spends a majority of his time with PLC taking exceptional photos of children in Iraq in an effort to humanize Iraqis and portray them as people full of dreams and hope. When his camera is not in-hand, Josh is often found in local tea houses with friends and also enjoys traversing the great outdoors. Follow Joshua on Twitter: @JoshGigs. |
“There are Few Things More Satisfying” - Reviewing a Year of Family Advocacy in Iraq
May 27, 2010 by Joshua · Leave a Comment
For those of you who have been following our blog this last year, you’ll remember this little guy! We went to visit him last summer in Chamchamal (the border city of Kirkuk) to talk through what was, at that point, his prospective surgery. Well, he had his surgery this past November and he’s doing great! We went to visit him the other day to check up on him and to visit with the family. Man, I love this little guy!
There’s something really beautiful about being here for a longer period of time− longer than the two-month summer internship which first brought me here in 2009. Now, almost a year later, I feel much more like a father, or an older brother, to these kids. I’m with them when they’re sick. I’m in their homes. I see them off to surgery. I welcome them home when their hearts are no longer broken. But what’s really important to me is that I watch them grow up, watch them as they live out the lives their repaired hearts now afford them. Kids like Danar really hit me.
He’s one of the ones I’ve been able to track the entire time. I was there when his family first brought him to our office. And I was there when we first visited his home.
And now, I’m here as he grows up finally able to do the things his heart once prevented him from doing. And there are few things more satisfying than this! I am part of a coalition. The coalition is not just the people in Iraq; it’s all our supporters. We’re all doing it. I am here because of our shared vision for the future of Iraq and on behalf of the Danars of this country.
The ability to track these kids through the whole process pushes me on − to see them back in their homes running and jumping after their hearts have healed. This is why we work.
For more information on how we plan to create this sort of impact in the lives of 30 children this August, please click to learn more about our Remedy Mission - a team of surgeons, doctors, and nurses we’re bringing into Iraq to perform surgeries and training this August.
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Joshua Gigliotti is a PLC Summer Intern ('09) turned short-term staff who spends a majority of his time with PLC taking exceptional photos of children in Iraq in an effort to humanize Iraqis and portray them as people full of dreams and hope. When his camera is not in-hand, Josh is often found in local tea houses with friends and also enjoys traversing the great outdoors. Follow Joshua on Twitter: @JoshGigs. |
Adventuresaurus Collective - Advocates of the Week
May 19, 2010 by Joshua · Leave a Comment
Meet Kelly Nowels and the Adventursaurus Collective.
Ironically, I’m introducing to you to the very one who introduced me to the Preemptive Love Coalition. Kelly and I both went to Cedarville University where, given the small nature of the campus, we eventually met. I remember him one day wearing a shirt that caught my eye. It read very simply: Buy Shoes. Save Lives.
I was intrigued. I asked him what it was about and it was then I first heard about the work of the organization I find myself working with today.
Kelly and two friends - Sammy Starr and Michael Beight - are preparing to bike through Europe to raise money to save the life of Mohammad Fwad. It’s a pretty big undertaking, so we were eager to name them our ADVOCATES OF THE WEEK. Here is my interview with Kelly:
PLC: Who is Kelly Nowels?
Kelly Nowels: I’m an ordinary man but I have an extraordinary maker.
PLC: What is the Adventuresaurus Collective?
Kelly Nowels: The Adventuresaurus Collective formed in the spring of 2009 when Sammy, Michael, and myself started brainstorming our next big adventure. We would ride our bikes down to the town bakery every week and eat doughnuts and muffins while we dreamed of the possibilities. We joined together because we couldn’t stand the thought of living an ordinary life. We wanted to squeeze all the energy out of youth and smear today on our faces until the stories run down to our feet and the setting sun is extinguished by the distant mountains.
The cool thing was, as soon as we decided we were going to ride bikes across Europe, that was it. There was no uncertainty about our commitment. Nobody said “well that sounds fun let me check my schedule.” It was more like, “Yes we’re going, done. I’ll build my schedule around this.”
This journey will be our first official project, but we’ve had plenty of adventures together before. Sammy and I have camped at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in a thunderstorm and driven across the country in a car with a broken window. For New Years eve the three of us ventured to the eastern-most point in Maine, shot fireworks over the ocean, slept in a collapsed tent under six inches of snow and woke up for the sunrise.
Michael Beight is [the] thoughtful and resourceful member of the group. I love his easygoing nature about things. Sleeping on park benches doesn’t faze him and I think I’ve never heard him complain about the circumstances, even when they might be pretty crummy. Mike worked 12 hour graveyard shifts at a factory last summer to save up for this trip. A picture of the Alps taped up at his work station was sometimes the only thing keeping him going. I can’t get enough of Mike’s enthusiasm.
Sammy Starr is our wonderful engineer friend. He’s the kind of guy who makes you mad because he’s good at everything he picks up. Sammy might come off as shy but don’t let the quietness fool you. His wit is razor sharp and his subtle humor has had the whole room laughing more than a few times. I love Sammy because he’s always up for a scenic detour. Take the long way round to see Devil’s Tower? [Y]es. Stop at an overlook to see an epic view of the Grand Tetons? Absolutely. Of the 43 states I’ve been to, I’ve been to 35 of them with Sammy.
PLC: Why choose the Preemptive Love Coalition?
Kelly Nowels: It’s an investment in the future. To me it’s like a man who plants a tree. An Oak tree takes 50 years to reach full size. The man who plants it won’t get to enjoy it, even his kids won’t be able to climb it, it will be too small. But his grandchildren will see the benefit. They’ll hang a swing from its branch and climb to the top. That Oak tree might live 500 years and generations of kids will enjoy its shade but the man who planted it never lived to see the fruition of his work.
With every kid the PLC saves, they’re planting little trees. Who knows how those trees are going to grow up or if any of us are even going to live to see their fulfillment? Each kid who lives grows up with a story of peace and love. It would be great to see those stories outlive us.
PLC: How did you first learn about the Preemptive Love Coalition?
Kelly Nowels: A couple years ago I found myself at Cody Fisher’s first gathering for PLC in California after he returned from Iraq. I was struck by the way PLC was showing love on a personal scale to these children and their families while spreading the message of peace on a global scale. Cody was fresh from his trip to Iraq and really fired up. I was inspired to see a recent graduate engage his world and dream big. I knew I wanted to be that fired up about something after college too.
I love the way PLC encourages people to think outside the box and get creative. It’s all about doing what you love and doing it for the kingdom [of God]. You want to ride bicycles across Europe? Sail around the world? Climb Everest? Good. Go do it to save a kid’s life.
PLC: How has your news to bike across Europe for the children of Iraq been received by friends, family, local news, etc?
Kelly Nowels: It’s been great for the most part. I love seeing people come out of the woodwork finding ways to get involved. It’s so encouraging. Our families are behind us, churches, and dear friends… with that, we can do anything.
The other thing is we get a lot of people saying “I wish I could do that” or “I’m so jealous.” And I always want to say “then do it!” Seriously, I don’t think there’s as much holding us back as we think there is. Trade a little of that comfort for experience, trade some of that security for a risk, trade that new TV for a plane ticket, and see what you end up with. I doubt it will be regret.
PLC: What would you say to Mohammad if he asked why you were helping him?
Kelly Nowels: “You are loved. There is so much bad in this world but your creator is good. He saved my life and I want him to save yours. You are living in the middle of a spectacular story. I want you to have a shot at living long enough to share that story with everybody you meet. Together we’ll create a story that will change hearts and minds and bring peace and love to a broken world.”
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Donate the amount of your choice by entering it in the field below. All donations will help send Mohammad (and any others in his group) to life-saving heart surgery. We did not choose this picture to make you sad… it’s just the only picture we could capture of Mohammad during his recent trip to our office in Iraq and he wasn’t very happy that day. We hope to post more pictures soon! |
You can learn more about the Adventuresaurus Collective at their website on on Twitter.
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Joshua Gigliotti is a PLC Summer Intern ('09) turned short-term staff who spends a majority of his time with PLC taking exceptional photos of children in Iraq in an effort to humanize Iraqis and portray them as people full of dreams and hope. When his camera is not in-hand, Josh is often found in local tea houses with friends and also enjoys traversing the great outdoors. Follow Joshua on Twitter: @JoshGigs. |
Shwan Is Growing So Fast Now That His Heart is Repaired!
April 29, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
Photo by Heber Vega
It’s been awhile since we visited Shwan in his village near Ranya in northern Iraq after sending him to a much-needed surgery in May 2009. He has officially “graduated” from our Family Followthrough program and has grown a great deal, re-engaged in school, and increased his activity out in the streets and parks with other boys his age. He’s a soccer (football) fanatic - he even brought his favorite trading cards with him to surgery last May!
The free flow of oxygenated blood throughout his body now that the hole in his heart has been closed has allowed for much more physical energy and brain energy. He seems to really enjoy school now - his father is a mathematics teacher!
We do not do our work her so that we will be thanked or praised. But it sure does feel nice when people appreciate the efforts expended on their behalf and for their well-being. That’s one of the reasons that it is such a joy to visit Shwan’s family: they are genuinely grateful and it shows.
Photo by Heber Vega
The occasion for our visit had a lot to do with our friend Lawan Hawizy in London and his efforts to run in the Paris Semi Marathon to raise money for other kids like Shwan. Lawan’s brother, Salan, traveled with us to inspect our work and our relationships with the families so that he could help inform Lawan’s fundraising efforts and work himself as a Kurd in northern Iraq to raise money for some of these children. After our visit Lawan went on to run (and finish!) the Paris Semi and raised $2,000 for our February Surgery Group.
Many thanks to all who have given so that dear children like Shwan can enjoy their childhood, can see firsthand the benefits of learning to give your time and resources away so that others might benefit, and can learn of a world where hate is not the only option.
NEXT IN LINE FOR SURGERY
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Unlike so many kids we see, Bawar has a condition that makes him a great candidate for a total correction. If we are able to send him to surgery in the next three months, he has a great chance of living a totally normal life. Bawar will hopefully be the 62nd child for whom we’ve provided surgery with your help! As you’ve seen with Shwan above, you really can make a profound difference in his life!
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| Do you intend on volunteering your time in the near future? May we suggest three ways to volunteer your time with the Preemptive Love Coalition to save children’s lives in Iraq: | |
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1.) Sign up for our newsletter to stay apprised of news and ways you can advocate on behalf of Bawar and others to save lives in Iraq. |
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2.) Write a blog post, email, or old-fashioned snail mail letter to your friends alerting them to the situation facing Bawar and let them know that there are solutions available that yield results as fantastic as Shwan’s! |
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3.) Send out a “tweet” or a message about us on Facebook, suggesting your friends check out Bawar’s opportunity to receive lifesaving heart surgery. (HINT: You can also use the “SHARE” button below. |
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For more volunteering ideas send an email to cody@preemptivelove.org.
To give, please use the fast and simple form below. |
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Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney. |
The Discipline of Listening
April 28, 2010 by Jeremy · 1 Comment
“Iraq will become a country, if it has not already done so, where it is advisable not to have children,” says the Iraq Minister of Women’s Affairs, before speaking of a gravedigger in Fallujah who digs 4-5 graves daily for children, most of whom are deformed. While official numbers say the overall incidence congenital birth defects is only up “2-3 per year,” there is strong evidence to the contrary.
What should our response be when scientists and medical professionals suggest the chemicals comprising Coalition weapons used throughout the war left behind a legacy of newborns with scales for skin, two heads, spina bifida, or wreckage where the heart should be? It conjures memories of Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical weapons on the Kurdish and Shi’a populations of Iraq, which also left a heightened incidence of birth defects still prevalent today. When we add intra-family marriage and underdeveloped prenatal care to the equation, the questions of value-based impact in Iraq become overwhelming:
What constitutes high-impact for children born with congenital disorders? Are palliative, non-corrective interventions an advisable investment? Is a policy that selects only those who are most-likely to receive a “total correction” preferable? Is that fair? Is it right? Does it say something about our values when we invest in one over another?
When financial and human resources are limited, we are thrown quickly into a life-and-death discussion in which we not only triage children; we triage our very values.
Most everyone agrees “women and children first.” But if every child cannot be served, how should we spend our finite resources to make the most significant impact? What values should guide us?
It’s a highly personal question. But it should also be a communal question. We should not be left to our best individual guesses, nor guided by our whims and fancies. We should not fail to think about impact, priority, and purpose in our giving and serving. Research shows that most give for personal reasons before giving for the sake of others (and, I’d suggest that there is little wrong with that… see article one, two, and three). I might give to assuage my guilt or to be a part of something significant. I might give because I believe it is fundamental to my faith. I might give because I want my children to be marked by a character of deference. And, yes, I might even give because I want children in Iraq to live; to know that I was a part of that; to know my life matters.
But in order for me to really know my gift matters - that is, to be sure that my gift is significant beyond making me feel significant - I must understand the context of the problems I seek to solve with my giving. That is why the Discipline of Listening is crucial for any act of giving to be an act of love. The impulse to give may arise first in my heart from my need to feel significant, but an act becomes truly loving when it moves beyond personal preference and seeks to maximally benefit the recipient. And in order to know what benefits the community of recipients, we have to listen well.
In Iraq we face this every day. In whom should we invest our limited resources: (a) the child with the best story, (b) the child with the highest urgency, (c) the child with the greatest likelihood of long-term vitality? We’ve arrived at our values through years of listening to the community we serve–and we are constantly reevaluating them. So when it comes to selecting a child for lifesaving heart surgery, we live in the tension between our impulse to be “last chancers” and our instinct to be “long termers.” But we prioritize according to a regularly scrutinized impact matrix derived from the Discipline of Listening.
When facing 24,000+ children in Iraq waiting in-line for lifesaving heart surgery*, there is great risk in rushing to action, which can lead to an unnecessary duplication of services, redundancy of resources, and - most critically - the failure to leverage indigenous passion toward long-term, local solutions.
But when we practice the discipline of listening in our local and global communities, we increase the likelihood that our actions will not only be well-intentioned, but that they will actually be effective and loving.
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Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney. |
Leena Returns to Iraq without Surgery
April 27, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
An shot from Leena’s catheter procedure revealing a misdiagnosis and heightened risk for surgery and post-operative course.
It was not an easy decision - and only the second time we’ve ever made it - but a misdiagnosis in Iraq brought us to a fork in the road in Istanbul: (a) take on a high-risk, complicated surgery with a long post-operative course or (b) use the limited resources we have at our disposal to provide a higher impact, less risky surgery for other children waiting in line.
These are not decisions that are easy enough to summarize in a few sentences. These are not “one-for-one” tradeoffs and the complexities can bring otherwise decisive, Type-A people to a complete deadlock. Leena is dear to us, irreplaceable to her family, and precious in the sight of GOD. But there are times when providing surgery for one feels like an act of treason against another. In our case, Leena was a last minute, highly urgent, highly complicated surgery who applied in the midst of our attempts to fulfill previous commitments to less complicated, less risky, more predictable children.
It broke our hearts and we made the decision slowly over 4-5 days through many tears and prayers. But in the end, we sent Leena back to Iraq.
We contacted our friends at Shevet Achim and asked them to consider Leena for surgery and found out that her cardiologist and Kurdistan Save the Children in Iraq had already made the appeal as well. We are very grateful to them for filling in for the family at a time when we were unable.
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Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney. |
In Tribute to a Fallen Friend
April 19, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
I learned yesterday that the man on the right (above) was assassinated in Baghdad by the Mehdi Militia of Moqtada al-Sadr. The man above is a friend and a partner in our efforts to wage peace in Iraq. In fact, it was his efforts to bridge gaps and stand down oppression that earned him the array of bullets and bombs that finally took his life at the hands of his enemies.
This is not a post to celebrate the Preemptive Love Coalition, me, or anyone other than the countless thousands of brave men and women in Iraq who face down these petulant bullies every day and get virtually no credit; no headline stories; no Facebook pages dedicated to their efforts; no trending topics on Twitter; no books written about their peaceful hearts or comparisons to Mother Teressa or Mohandas Gandhi.
I knew him as Abu Namis or “The father of Namis” - a typical way to be known in Iraq. So it was immediately striking. When I learned of his death, I thought of Namis, now fatherless because his dad worked across the aisle with a vision that far exceeded the atrophied imagination of his opponents.
The photo above is taken from my first meeting with him. The other two men in the picture - who are currently alive & well today الحمد لله - are sheikhs with whom we have worked to help children receive the heart surgeries they’ve needed. All three of these men are Sunni, but like so many un- and under-reported similar groups in Iraq, these men do not bow to the minority who argue for violence between Sunnis and Shi’as.
In that first meeting the man second from the right seemed stand-offish and suspicious. This photo itself seemed more an act of obligation than something born from a genuine desire to mark a memorable meeting after forging the beginnings of a partnership to take children to Turkey in conjunction with their Baghdad-based organization. But when the camera turned off, I put my hand on his shoulder and apologized for the things that had happened to his children, his neighbors, and his countrymen here in Iraq.
We frequently talk about the need to avoid lazy generalizations. All Arabs, Muslims, and Iraqis are not this way or that way. Nor am I America or Christianity. But I can apologize for myself - and I can do it honestly - because the truth is that I didn’t initially have many objections to a lot of the terrible things that happened in Iraq. But that was before “these people” had real names, real stories, and real lives in my eyes.
In an instant, that apology seemed to unlock his heart.An hour has passed inside our poorly lit apartment office and then - for the first time - he took off his glasses. He had seen me for an hour - but I had not been allowed to see him, hiding under a keffiyeh and sun shades. But now I was allowed in. I was still an outsider - but at least an outsider with a heart. And with the glasses off he looked at me and said “Thank you” as tears started coming down.
I’m not trying to be dramatic. But an assassination of a man I knew to be kind and who genuinely desired peace for his people is, in and of itself, dramatic! My main goal here is to honor his memory. To say what the newspapers likely won’t. And to let Abu Namis stand as a representative of so many other unsung Iraqi heros. There are too many to celebrate. And like Abu Namis, many of them pay the price every day.
In the Fall we will begin our first tour of America. We will be talking more about these stories, about Iraqi peacemakers, Muslim peacemakers, and Christians peacemakers; and about how these principles are deeply relevant to your friendships, your marriages, and your engagement with the world around you, and about how you can live a similar life - even when the stakes may not seem as high.
Until then, may GOD do something to amazing and unpredictable to intervene in the current course of events in IRAQ. Peace was GOD’s idea long before it was ours.
Peace from Iraq,
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Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney. |
Baby Leena Leaves Iraq for Urgent Surgery in Turkey
April 14, 2010 by Jeremy · Leave a Comment
It was about mid-morning on Sunday when Leena’s dad came into our office, frantically looking for help for his daughter who was dying before his eyes from her congenital heart defect.
We contacted our partners in Istanbul at the Anadolu Medical Center and they concurred: it might be too late for Leena, now 50 days old, but if there was any remaining chance she should come immediately.
With unprecedented speed we worked with Leena’s father and their extended family to get Leena to surgery. The family and friend network rallied quickly sold their car and rallied with a total of $10,000. Within just a few hours we were able to get our local staff, Leena, and her mother on the very last seats out of Iraq on Tuesday’s flight to Istanbul.
The picture above is Leena’s last moments with her father before leaving him to go back to the village where he is 8 year old Mohammed Star’s elementary school teacher, whom we sent to surgery in November 2009.
Are you looking for a way to get involved? Let us suggest the following three actions:
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Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney. |
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