Dear Friends and Loved ones,

On Tuesday we drove 8 hours to the Turkey/Iraq border through mountains, winding roads, and numerous checkpoints.  My smile that has rescued me from several traffic violations came in very useful while answering questions regarding our activities up north! I even snapped a few photos at one checkpoint with the anti-war and IVAW banner, stupid, yes…but oh so difficult to resist such a powerful photo opportunity – you can yell at me when I return home

In the region of  Erbil we stopped at a massive grave site.  The grave is the final resting place to approximately 10,000 bodies buried under 500 unmarked tombstones. The victims were murdered in the South around Baghdad during then Anfal Campaign, a genocide that took place against the Kurdish population of Iraq in 1988.  The campaign was under the leadership of Ali Hassan, Sadaam’s cousin, aka “chemical Ali" - 75,000 Kurds were deliberately murdered by chemical attacks, Ariel bombing, and mass executions.  Their remains were transferred up North and now lay to rest at this site.

Dear Friends and Loves Ones,

This morning I woke up to the sound of children playing at a school across the street and the smell of coffee brewing in a french press.  This was an overwhelming feeling of peace compared to the hectic arrival into Iraq last night!

Our team caught a flight into Suleimeniya at midnight.  I have never been a very good flyer, so this particular experience ranked as one of my worst.  I am not sure if it was the smog from the volcanic eruption in Iceland, the fierce lightening storm over northern Turkey, or just the anxiousness of flying into Iraq over the Turkish border, but the flight was truly unnerving for me.  I was thankful to arrive safely, and our team of 6 plus 2 additional Iraqi teammates piled into a pick up truck as the rain soaked our luggage in the back.  Yes, we fit 8 passengers in a 4-person vehicle, we have become a very friendly team!

Thank you to each of the groups that have allowed for this trip to commence. Without these organizations the good work that Tracey Harmon is doing wouldn't have been possible.

LOLA

Dear friends and loved ones,

I arrived safely in Istanbul last night at about 7pm.  Our flight was a few ours longer due to the volcanic ash that hovered over Europe and delayed nearly 6,000 flights.  It’s not the kind of headline you want to read at the airport before boarding an 11-hour Turkish Airlines flight to the Middle East!  Regardless, I met up with the team at the airport and we took a 30-minute train ride to our hostel in Old Town Istanbul.

I am traveling on a team with 5 other peace delegates – a man from Japan whose lifework is the education and protest of nuclear weapons in the U.K; an American woman who has spent 20+ years working with Palestinian refuges in the West Bank; a young Canadian woman who works out of London; a “Hoosier” from the cornfields of Indiana who teaches English to Spanish speaking residents in the Inner City; and our team leader, a young Turkish woman that is preparing for long term service in the KRG.   We are quite a diverse team!