What We've Been Up To...

September has been a busy month for TLP!

We kicked off this month with a 9/11 Benefit Concert in NYC, where artists such as Ray Gerber, Laura Thomas, Amir El-Saffar and Nellie McKay played to raise money for our cause.  About 100 people joined us at DROM, a trendy lounge located in the East Village and helped us raise money that will go directly to those Iraqis in need.  The List Project team can't thank you all enough for your continued support.

In addition to exciting events and conferences that TLP has been part of, we have been actively working on building support for the Iraqis in the U.S. at the community level.  In its 3rd month, Netroots is bringing together so many who want to make a difference in the lives of Iraqis in their area.  The List Project is working hard to bring together those Iraqis who have made it here and the Netroots Chapters.  We hope to make introductions very soon!

Beginning this month, TLP will highlight a Netroots Star to showcase how one Chapter or member has made a difference.  The September Star is...the List Project D.C. Chapter!  With Tara Swords as the Chapter Head, the List Project D.C. has worked diligently to bring its members together to create a strong network of support.  For those of you who have not had a meeting or who are trying to find ways to give a boost to the work you are doing, the List Project D.C. has found many ways that seem to be working.  By organizing the Chapter into three committees (fundraising, advocacy and sponsorship--as found in the TLP Toolkit), the List Project D.C. is effectively addressing ways to focus their efforts.  Please check out the group page to get ideas for your Chapter!

Finally, as many of you know, the end of the holy month of Ramadan is approaching and this is a great time to put together a fundraiser or a meeting.  The List Project D.C. has been the first to arrange a fundraiser around the 'Eid al-Fitr (falling on Wednesday, October 1 this year), which marks the end of Ramadan.  'Eid al-Fitr is the fast-breaking holiday where many Muslims are asked to give to those less fortunate.  The List Project D.C. is using this time to approach the Muslim and Arab Communities in the D.C. area to donate to our cause.  This would be a great time to hold a fundraiser, where the money raised is given directly to Iraqi refugees in the U.S.

So, go ahead and plan something in your area and be our Netroots Star next month!

Please check out Netroots to join a Chapter near you or to start one in your area! Don't forget to invite your friends and remember we have something for every age group---check out the List Kids!

New Voices to the List Project Blog

In the coming weeks, you'll begin to see some new voices here at TLP's blog. We have invited several Iraqis who have successfully made it to the United States to begin sharing their experiences thus far (positive and negative!). They'll be writing about what brought them to flee Iraq, what they thought life in America would be like, and how their time has gone.

I've also invited Ehab, a dear friend who was one of the first former Iraqi colleagues of mine from USAID to make it here. He has endured much to make it to America, including torture in a dismal Cairo cell, and no one would have faulted him for leaving the trauma of Iraq behind...now he wakes up each morning to work at the List Project, in order help more of our Iraqi allies make it through the labyrinthine process. Based in NY, he helps manage the cases alongside the incredible attorneys at Proskauer Rose LLP, who have committed thousands of pro bono hours to help the Iraqis on the List.

Finally, I've asked Dana Choi, an attorney at Holland + Knight LLP who has personally helped a great number of Iraqis make it to the U.S., and her son Sky, of List Kids fame, to start posting about their stellar contributions to this cause.

We'll also be posting more regular updates on TLP's progress, and commenting on developments in the plight of Iraqis who have helped us.

Here it Strikes again…

psychology In Iraq is unlike any other field of medicine, was always a dark spot….in the era of the pan-Arabism dictator Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi government didn’t work on improving psychological medicine, due to fear that it might open wide doors to a nation horrified by wars, and will expose the deep devastation in the Iraqi society.
The only allowed therapy in that time was Electrical shocking (electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) which was banned from many parts of the world -except Iraq- due to the extreme severe pain that it uses to heal the chemical activity of the brain, which is considered ethically impossible to use.
At that time people who have depression or any psychological disorder would hide it to avoid the harsh treatment and to avoid being put in ( Ibn-Rushid) psychiatric Quarantine Hospital, which is a nightmare for any human being…
This concept led Iraqi people to have a fixed idea that to see a psychiatrist is insane, … what can a therapist do to you, you are not crazy , you are an Iraqi ( here comes the macho part) …Iraqis seen a lot , nothing will hurt you anymore…you are a man ( here comes the sexist-religious part) only women get problems becomes they have no brain… and a LIST , but a stupid list unlike our LIST, of reasons to not think about it in the right way, this has made Iraqis have this dull concept about psychological problems

When dealing with Iraqi refugees we must expect a PTS in addition to depression and anxiety or other issues, but most important and the first step is that we must make them realize that going to a therapist is like going to the Dentist, you have to get your brain checked just like your teeth, its not a shame , not a sign of insanity( and if it is then its fine, you could be even elected as a president one day, look at Bush)… its also not a sign of being a woman( as if this is the worse thing that could happen to you…look at Britney Spears)
Depression is like diabetes, there are levels of depression, the most dangerous type is the one that strikes for moments, it’s a severe and dangerous type that is not very common among many people in the US, but could exist in some of the Iraqi refugees who arrive to the US because of what they have passed through… this depression if not controlled could lead to suicide, even if the person is not suicidal…. It hits when the person is alone, it could last between seconds to an hour, it starts with an idea that comes as a flash that looks like a speedy bus horning in your ear, then the breath becomes abnormal the eye pupil widens, hyper light-sensitivity, severe pain in the chest and in the neck, and when it ends, the person feels noxious and that he needs to use the toilet so fast. Some people decide to spend the whole attack time in the bathroom with lights turned off…. This phase will last for one year, and if not treated the brain will think that it’s a good technique to deal with high levels of abnormality that it suffers from, and the case will develop into becoming strikes when people are around, until it reaches the phase that it will become a daily life, and then the person will go banana..
Iraqis need to understand that its NOT Ok to have depression, actually its dangerous, and that it is not true that going to a Therapist , is a western thing of luxury… therapists could be available free of charge at many excellent universities… and they need to understand that the human unconscious brain is very smart, smarter than us , once it realizes , that we are safe and sound in the US, it starts to deal with what it had to let go for us to survive a very brutal life, I mean after all, we passed through many years of endless wars and economical sanctions and terrorism, being refugees…and now the worst nightmare of all, to see Bush as our president

Repatriation: Public Relations Coup or A Sincere Effort?

The scenes of Iraqi refugees de-planing Prime Minister Maliki's official jet on red carpets and shaking the hands of Iraqi officials would, to the reasonable person, seem nothing short of a public relations coup by the Iraqi government. Since August 11th, the Prime Minister has dispatched an official jet that has repatriated about 1,000 Iraqi refugees from Egypt, a country in which they were undoubtedly unwelcome.


According to a recent article in the Washington Post, the Iraqi government is giving $800 to each family to settle back in Iraq. This economic incentive is compelling considering that many refugees have depleted their savings as they are prohibited from working, receiving social services, and enrolling their children in public schools in Egypt. Contrast this situation with the Displacement and Migration Minister's, Abdel Samad Rahman, characterization of their repatriation as "voluntary."

However, there are signs that the Iraqi government is serious about permanently resettling refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). IRIN, a UN news service, reports that the government is cracking down on squatters who dwell in houses that rightfully belong to IDPs. According to the article, the plan includes giving squatters a one month grace period to vacate and may also include a one time payment to squatters for USD $1,5000. The article also relates that the government plans to pay IDPs willing to return to their rightful property USD $850. Furthermore, each IDP family qualifies for a payment of USD $145 for three months while they are displaced.

The Mother of All Lists

Since Kirk Johnson turned my life into his List, I started to organize everything, even my feelings in Lists (:Here I wanted to share with you some of my lists.

I know that I am still a resident in the US, but for many reasons I already feel like an American, here are some of the reasons to why I think anyone should feel an American , IF:

1- The Greek lady in your area Dinner knows how you like your eggs and bacon in the morning

2-Someone in your neighborhood waits for the time you come back from work to smile at you, everyday.

3-You feel angry if Aljazeera Channel tries to criticize the US, although deep inside you, you feel that they have a point in some issues.

4-You shout Wahoooo when the US team marshes in the Olympics with a refugee from Darfur originally, is carrying the flag in Beijing.

5-You go to the Irish Pub in your area and enjoy listening to Uncle Tim, singing in a loud voice while he is drunk and you clap even if deep inside you, you are singing ( killing me softly with his songs…killing me softly).

6-You have many friends who are Americans, and one of them makes your heart pump more blood into your body, when you meet together ( ; .

7- You pay third of your salary as taxes
and the List goes on and on ..................................


So since I have grown up such a feeling that I am an American, now let me tell you MY LIST of what makes me love the idea that I am an American. Some of the many reasons are:

1- I know no one can arrest me and put me in jail to be tortured unless I do something wrong and even then no one will torture me or beat me with wooden racks.

2- Americans unlike other nations don’t ask refugees, when you will go back to your country, we hate refugees! Instead they tell you: Welcome to America! We are happy that you are safe here.

3- I know that when I go to the hospital, doctors will not see me as Sunni or Shiite, or Muslim, or … they see me as a HUMAN, and I get the best medical treatment regardless of my origin.

4- No body has the right to intervene in my personal life as long as I didn’t hurt them, I can do whatever I want as long as it’s legal without worrying about the neighborhood making me the chewing gum for their gossips.

And The List goes on and on …I even dream about Lists, oh my God lists everywhere, I should List a List for my Lists , loll

Housekeeping and Updates

Sorry for the silence on our end, friends! We are currently assembling a large roster of volunteers and colleagues who will be posting more regularly, about the crisis, our work, and the road ahead. Stay tuned for some new voices here.

In the meantime, some worthwhile links:

• Prime Minister Maliki has been engaging in some political theatrics on the refugee issue lately, sending his personal jet to Cairo to fly Iraqis back to Baghdad, where the cameras await. So far, a few hundred Iraqis have returned, but the remainder of Egypt's estimated 70,000 Iraqis haven't taken him up on his offer. The UNCHR recently reported that the overwhelming majority of Iraqis (94%) do not have plans to return home anytime soon. While we at the List Project believe that resettlement is NOT an option for the millions that have been displaced (indeed, these Iraqis need to be able to return to Iraq one day), the Iraqis who are running for their lives because they helped us feel as though the stain of collaboration is long-lasting.
• For a sanguine analysis on the crisis, please read Elizabeth Ferris' most recent Brookings paper: "The Looming Crisis: Displacement and Security in Iraq." Ferris recently discussed her research with List Project founder Kirk Johnson in a Brookings event in late August.
• The List Project's grassroots efforts are taking shape at netroots.thelistproject.org. In its first month, over 500 Americans across the country signed up and are now joining or creating chapters nearby. Chapters can choose from a range of meaningful activities through which they can start taking ownership on this critical issue: some are raising funds for recently-resettled Iraqi families, others are undertaking advocacy efforts to teach other citizens about our obligation to these Iraqis, others are donating to the List Kids, which sends regular care packages to the children of recently-arrived Iraqi families.

We hope to see you all on Netroots, where you can always catch the most up-to-date news on the Project, meet hundreds (soon to be thousands, we anticipate!) of other Americans who care about our moral obligation to U.S.-affiliated Iraqis, and take charge of the issue yourself!

The List Project Team