Iraq Veterans for Iraq Refugees

I caught this report over at Huffington:


US Vets Return to Middle East to Help Iraqi Refugees

I'm on the first day of a rapid-fire visit to Jordan, the kingdom in the Middle East which has provided a safe haven for an estimated 750,000 refugees from Iraq who have traveled the shorter but more dangerous route to get here.


I'm traveling with a small delegation from the newly founded Iraq Veterans Refugee Aid Association (IVRAA) -- co-founders of the organization, Luis Montalvan, a former US Army captain, and former US Marine captain Tyler Boudreau, plus photographer Paul Park -- on a mission to try to assess the situation faced by Iraqi refugees, and the burden that hosting those refugees has placed on the Hashemite kingdom.


We also hope to work out what, if anything, we can do to help provide relief to either or both.

And when I did a quick google search I found this link Iraq Veterans Refugee Aid Association (IVRAA), which is placed in the quote above also.


Visiting the link you will find it's their fundraising site and more information:

A Personal Message from Physicians for Social Responsibility


The Iraq Veterans' Refugee Aid Association (IVRAA) is a newly established non-profit organization set up by two veterans of the Iraq war, former Marine Capt. Tyler Boudreau and former Army Capt. Luis Carlos Montalván.


IVRAA is sponsored by the Nobel Peace Prize award-winning organization, Physicians for Social Responsibility. Your tax-deductible donations will be routed through them to IVRAA.

Snip


The two founders of IVRAA recently co-authored opinion articles about the Iraqi humanitarian crisis that were published in:



"The International Herald Tribune"



"The Seattle Times" , scroll down just abit to read the LTE.



"The Daily Hampshire Gazette" recently wrote a piece about IVRAA



In These Times wrote a piece about IVRAA




They will author articles and hold media briefings during the trip and afterwards, aimed at boosting awareness of a side of the Iraq war that has long been overlooked, if not ignored: the mass displacement of the Iraqi people which has resulted in their loss of humanity and dignity.



Snip

Your tax-deductible donation will help IVRAA launch this first humanitarian mission, during which Boudreau and Montalván will:


** Assess the situation faced by Iraqi refugees;


**Educate the public as to the urgency of the humanitarian crisis;


**Establish workshops for Iraqis seeking asylum in the United States;


**Render assistance to Ali, an Iraqi refugee who has languished in Jordan for two years after aiding the US military as an interpreter;


**Report the findings of the mission to heighten awareness to develop new relief strategies.


Unlike missions by veterans of wars past, the IVRAA visit will take place as the Iraq war continues.

At their donation site you can Grab a fundraising widget, or grab it right here with this link, to place on your sites to help them out.



This is Tyler Boudreau's - Deeper Than War Blogspot.


Tyler Boudreau's book: Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine (Feral House) will be released in September 2008 and is now available for pre-order.

And this is apparently Their Face Book Page


Meanwhile inside of Iraq:


Squatters in Iraqi buildings fear they'll soon be on the street

Tens of thousands of Iraqis found shelter in government and abandoned public properties after the U.S.-led invasion upended their lives. Now the government has ordered many out of their temporary homes, from Kirkuk in the north to Basra in the south, worsening Iraq's already enormous problem of displaced people.

Please Give


And Visit Scotty's, an Iraq War Vets blogspot: Returning Home From Iraq

As well as one of his posts at another site: Palestinian helps Iraqi refugees

Jordan/U.S.A. - Writing this article from the third person is going to be impossible because of my experience with the subject matter at hand. I am an ex-Marine who was involved in the initial invasion of Iraq. My friend, who chooses not to have her name published, is a U.N. worker helping refugees in Jordan, many of whom are from Iraq. This article is about her experience and mine.

Veterans, doing once again what we've done before, sadly after we participated in the destruction, helping the people who's lives were destroyed, or trying to. But It Is A Great Step Forward, same step that helped alot of 'Nam Vets and the Vietnamesse people, either those going directly back to Vietnam or the brothers supporting them!!

US Vets Return to Middle East

to Help Iraqi Refugees

I'm on the first day of a rapid-fire visit to Jordan, the kingdom in the Middle East which has provided a safe haven for an estimated 750,000 refugees from Iraq who have traveled the shorter but more dangerous route to get here.

I'm traveling with a small delegation from the newly founded Iraq Veterans Refugee Aid Association (IVRAA) -- co-founders of the organization, Luis Montalvan, a former US Army captain, and former US Marine captain Tyler Boudreau, plus photographer Paul Park -- on a mission to try to assess the situation faced by Iraqi refugees, and the burden that hosting those refugees has placed on the Hashemite kingdom.

We also hope to work out what, if anything, we can do to help provide relief to either or both.

SNIP: Read rest Here

Please Give


Veterans, doing once again what we've done before, sadly after we participated in the destruction. But a Great Step Forward!!

'Surging' McCain - Parts 1&2

McCain campaign hides secret of Iraq surge "success" (Pt 1)



Part 1 of this report examines McCain's position in relation to the Iraq war, his decision to hedge his bets regarding the success of the surge and his interpretation of the surge's "success." Analyst for The Real News, Pepe Escobar compares McCain's interpretation to the many overlapping political and military facts on the ground in Iraq before and during the surge.

"There will be other wars" Part 2

How the surge has energized McCain



Senator John McCain's presidential campaign runs on a single theme: the US surge in Iraq has succeeded. Part 2 of this report examines how the alleged success of the surge energized not only McCain but all proponents of the Iraq war, and asks whether McCain really understands the complex situation in Iraq.

From Ilona Meagher - Combat PTSD

These are a couple of recent posts from Ilona. The first looks to be a Very Interesting Online Tool to use for information and citizen research and much more, I'll let her explain:

New Google Knol on Combat PTSD

Google has just launched a new online product called Knol (short for 'knowledge'), some say to compete with the ever popular Wikipedia. While there are some similarities, there are notable differences as well -- chief among them the ability to produce and control your own page of original content.

I've just created my knol on Combat PTSD (beefing it up with additional sections in the weeks ahead), and invite you to head over to read, rate and/or review it. You're welcome to leave comments and recommend changes, too.

And this:

Online Classes Help Everyone Learn More About Combat PTSD

Since you're online right now and have found your way to this blog, perhaps via a search engine or another link, you're most likely someone that's pretty comfortable with using the Internet.

It's a powerful source of information.

You can read the rest at the link above with the information and backlinks

Book reveals secret Iraq mission and more

Suskind unravels what he calls "America's diminished moral authority"

In Ron Suskind’s bold new book, “The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism,” the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist critically examines the Bush presidency and addresses what he calls “America’s diminished moral authority.” To coincide with the book’s Tuesday release date, Suskind appears live on TODAY on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the revelations contained within the book. Tune in at 7:10 a.m. both days to catch Meredith Vieira’s interviews with Suskind.

SNIP

The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism

GOP Gimmicks

This:



Or This:



As a 'Nam Vet and Consumer who needs a vehicle to carry my tools, I'll take a tire pressure gage, to check inflation and save fuel, called 'Common Sense', rather than a 'Purple Heart Bandage' the GOP Enjoyed Laughing About, While Spitting On All Purple Heart Recipients, thus Spitting on All Who Serve!!!!!

Want more to read on this Visit Avenging Angel's Diary over at DKOS.

The photo's Speak all the Words I need!!

Letters from Afghanistan

Beth Richards returns from Afghanistan and shares her letters home.

In the latest, her third letter home, Beth Richards discusses Afghanistan television, the Bollywood dialogs, the Iranian bizarre triangle head puppets teaching about HIV and AIDs.

In the second Journal offering, Letters from Herat: Taxis, Kabul Jokes, and the Bazaar, Beth Richards reports on the day-to-day aspects of life in Afghanistan.

In her first, she describes the city of Herat, her project at the university there, burqas and the call to prayer.

Read this latest, the third one on the Journal, and post your responses here or email her.

Original source post at ePluribus Media

The end of Rakan's war

Life asked far too much of Rakan Hassan, the Iraqi boy brought to Boston in 2005 for treatment after a mistaken shooting by American troops. The next chapter of his story is hard to write.


Rakan Hassan flashed his famous smile during a physical therapy session in Boston in November 2005. Rakan Hassan flashed his famous smile during a physical therapy session in Boston in November 2005. (Globe Staff Photo / Michele McDonald)

We were standing on a dusty road in Mosul, Dr. Larry Ronan and I, and he had just left us.

It was January 2006 and this boy named Rakan had driven away in an Opel sedan identical to the one he was riding in when his life changed forever a year before, and so we stood there, with this odd mix of hope and apprehension, and waved goodbye.

Rakan Hassan had been shot and paralyzed, his parents killed, when American soldiers panicked and opened fire on the family car as it sped toward them in the fading light of dusk. Ronan and other doctors and therapists in Boston had put Rakan back together, and I had watched the whole process, to write about it, and then we brought Rakan back to the war zone where he was nearly killed because that was what Rakan and his family wanted.


As we waved, and the car driven by Rakan's brother-in-law disappeared into the dust, Larry Ronan must have felt what I was feeling because he put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eye, and said, "Don't worry. We'll see him again."


We never did.

SNIP Read Rest Here