"Transitions"

From left to right, Abdel Mounem Ahmad on the qanun, Fadi Fares Aziz on the ney and Salim Salem on the oud.

Iraqi refugees release captivating album online
A trio of refugee musicians from Iraq have released their first album on some of the world's leading music-sharing sites and have agreed to use the profits to help financially strapped compatriots in exile.

"Transitions," comprising 15 tracks put together by Salim Salem, Abdel Mounem Ahmad and Fadi Fares Aziz with the support of the UN refugee agency, made its online debut Thursday on iTunes, Napster, Amazon, Amie Street, IMVU, lala, ShockHound, Rhapsody and emusic........>>>>>Rest Here

Listen to samples from "Transitions" at emusic. Profits from the purchase of the album will support Iraqi refugees through programs of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Syria.

"On this World Refugee Day, let us remember that refugees too are real people with real needs. Helping them to rebuild their lives and their communities benefits us all."

- UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres

'Abandoned at the Border'

Iraqi Refugees in the United States

Talk of the Nation, September 3, 2007 · Retired Gen. Joseph Hoar talks about his op-ed that appeared in The New York Times on Friday {8-31-07}, in which he argues that the United States needs to open its doors to more Iraqi refugees.

Listen in to the discussion

Retired Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Hoar, is the former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command.

In the Generals op-ed he writes:

FOR more than a year, men and women in our armed forces have been urging the United States to bring to safety the Iraqi translators and others who have worked beside them and are now the victims of retaliation.

And adds the obvious:

It is shameful that more than four years into this war, Iraqis working at our embassy cannot count on the United States to protect them or to help them find a new home when their work with us has made it impossible to survive in their own country.

And another obvious:

Similarly, it is both cruel and foolish for the United States to ignore the plight of more than two million others who have fled and are struggling to survive in Syria and Jordan.

Shown in this video, from the UNHCR, found at their site:

Iraq's Exodus of Pain


As well as this video:



And a few of the reports posted there as well:

Iraq: Rate of displacement rising
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis -- to whom quoted text may be attributed -- at the press briefing, on 28 August 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR and UNICEF issue joint appeal to get Iraqi children back to school
Friday 27 July, 2007
GENEVA -- UNICEF and the UN refugee agency today issued a $129 million joint appeal aimed at getting tens of thousands of uprooted Iraqi children back in school.
Warning that a generation of Iraqis could grow up uneducated and alienated.

More can be found on the plight of the Iraqi refugees at the UNHCR Website.

The General goes on to add this obvious as well:

Dealing with the refugee crisis is vital to the national security of the United States. Continuing indifference to suffering that we had a strong hand in causing will turn our Muslim supporters against us. More important, it repudiates the fundamental values of our country and costs Iraqis their lives.

For those that just don't seem to get those points what more can one say to convince you of the already known facts of what has been happening, in the present, and what occurred in the past, and not the past of just that region, but the meddleing of the so called powerful in that and other regions of this planet!

The general ends with this:

As a key part of that strategy, the United States must reach out to Iraq’s neighbors — including Syria — and demonstrate a willingness to help support and take in refugees, starting with those who risked their lives to stand with us.

We must not only reach out to Iraq's neighbors on the issue of the refugee's, which must start Now, but also all the region to help stem the growing sectarian violence that is occurring in Iraq. We, for we created this destructive mess, must sit down with the leaders, political and religious, and ask for their help in attempting to quiet the growing hatreds within Iraq, this should have been started Long Ago!

We broke it and the only way to attempt to bring about the stability needed can be found Only with the help of the Entire Region!