TO: CPT
Family & Friends
FROM: Weldon D. Nisly, CPT Iraqi Kurdistan Team
DATE: June 30, 2022
RE: CPT Iraqi Kurdistan Update -- https://cpt.org/programs/kurdistan
I arrived home in Seattle a week ago after serving on the CPT Iraqi Kurdistan team from April 5 to June 22. I have adjusted to the 10-hour time difference and the differing worlds of Northwest U.S. and northern Iraq.
This spring was intense and challenging for our partners in Iraqi Kurdistan and for the CPT IK team. Encounters of joy and celebration intersected with moments of sorrow and distress. War and political oppression cause much stress and suffering for many people in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Every week I intended to send an update to you on my CPT Family & Friends mailing list. And every week too little time and energy caused me to postpone sending a message. Nevertheless, to fulfill our CPT IK team’s commitment to amplify voices of our partners and friends who are impacted by war and oppression, I am now sharing some photos and captions with you.
Badinan Prisoner Sherwan Taha (center
kneeling) was released this spring after serving almost 2 years in prison. He
was falsely accused of being a spy for the U.S. because he was working on an international
education project which took him to several cities in the U.S. CPT attended his
trial last October and supported his wife Jwan (kneeling 2nd from
right with one of their two children between them). On April 20, Sherwan and
Jwan welcomed CPT to celebrate his release from prison in their family home in
Duhok. The celebration also included Sherwan’s sister (kneeling right), father (standing
center back), and grandmother (sitting lower left). Tragically, Sherwan’s
mother died of a heart attack triggered by deep grief over her son’s unjust
arrest and imprisonment.
Top photo: Family in Shiladze whose son/brother is one of the Badinan Prisoners. A
few years earlier the husband/father, who was an independent journalist, was
killed by the Kurdish regime. In April, CPT visited 6 families in Shiladze
whose sons/brothers are Badinan Prisoners. In mid-May we attended the trials
for 5 of the Shiladze prisoners.
Second photo from top: A view over central Shiladze toward the mountains to the north where
Turkey has military bases. Any hour of the day or night Turkish military drones,
helicopter gunships, and war planes fly over the city. I took this photo from
one of the Shiladze homes of a Badinan Prisoner when we visited this family on
April 19. Not only is their son/brother a political prisoner unjustly arrested
and imprisoned by the Kurdish regime, but they also told us that living in
Shiladze is like living in a prison due to Turkey’s military threat and presence.
Above photo: Our CPT Iraqi Kurdistan team met with independent civil activist Aram Mala Nury (black shirt 2nd from left) from Kalar. He was attacked on February 26th and was stabbed 17 times for his peaceful activism work against political corruption and injustice. We visited him in his tea shop in Kalar on April 11, and sipped tea as we listened to Kak Aram tell us about being stopped, pulled out of his car, beaten and stabbed by 4 masked men.
Editor's Note: One picture was omitted from this correspondence with Weldon. It was not compatible with saving photos on IPN's computer. It was a picture of the CPT delegation May 29- June 10, the first short-term delegation since the COVID pandemic.
Above photo: Berivan (left) was the only woman of the 81 Badinan Prisoners. Following her sham trial in February and after numerous delays, she was finally released in April. In early June, Berivan came to Sulaimani to thank CPT for supporting her during the ordeal of nearly 2 years of unjust imprisonment. Berivan and longtime CPT partner/friend/women’s rights activist Parween (right) both shared their stories with the CPT IK delegation on June 7.
This is a
transition year for our CPT Iraqi Kurdistan team. Our Australian teammate
Rebekah concluded her 3 years on the team at the end of last year to get
married in April. This is my last year as a half-time member of the CPT IK
team, with my final stint being September to November this fall. I will
continue to be involved with CPT in the coming years, including short term
assignments, leading delegations, giving CPT presentations, writing articles,
and any other way that I can offer to support CPT and encourage your support
for CPT!
Please
follow and support CPT:
To contribute financially to CPT, please go to:
https://cpt.org/campaigns/earth?form=FUNPYEFKSTL
No comments:
Post a Comment