Alive in Baghdad Video Podcast
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Alive in Baghdad was formed to counter the sound-bite driven, 'Live From' news model. Through the work of a team of Americans and Iraqi correspondents on the ground, Alive in Baghdad shows the occupation through the voices of Iraqis. Alive in Baghdad brings testimonies from individual Iraqis, footage of daily life in Iraq, and short news segments from Iraq to you. Ramadan is a time of fasting and introspection for Muslims. Muslims give up vices and even fast through the day, to understand the plight of the poor and less fortunate.
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Speaking with Sahwa Leaders in Taji
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jul 21, 2008
Iraq, Baghdad / Taji – Another neighborhood in the north of Baghdad named Taji is suffering from weak security since the beginning of 2004. Taji was a very dangerous area and overrun by militias. Further, one of the largest joint US/Iraqi military bases in Iraq is in Taji. Because of this there have been many attacks on the convoys coming in and out, attacks on the trucks and drivers delivering supplies to the Taji base.
Lots of raids and firefights were happening in Taji in order to control the security situation. Until late 2007, if you will ask a cab driver to take you to Taji they would refuse because it's too dangerous for them. If they were Shi'a they may reasonably be afraid of being kidnapped by one of the Sunni militias and found dead a few days later.
The Iraqi Ministry of I established more than 100 police checkpoints in the area of Taji along with checkpoints from the Iraqi National Guard in order to control militias and unknown groups. Another well known problem in the area of Taji were the gangs. It is very common in Iraq that if you are driving a modern car and you are driving in a dangerous area such as that around Taji, there is a high possibility that you will return home on foot, if you were lucky and not killed.
Tribes in Taji such as Al-Tammimi decided to fight Al-Qa'eda and all groups that were related to them. Sheikh Nadeem Hatem Sultan Al-Tammimi, the head of Al-Tammimi tribe in Taji, asked all the sons of the Al-Tammimi tribe to fight Al-Qaeda and to join Al-Sahwa Council in order to restore security in the area. One of the first things this tribe did was to establish checkpoints to search the cars coming in and out of the area around Taji. These new checkpoints were established because there were doubts about the checkpoints belonging to the Iraqi MOI. There were many rumors about the MOI checkpoints not interfering with the work of Al-Qa'eda or stopping cars that were laden with guns or explosives.
Shops and some schools were closed due to the lack of security, students were killed as well as headmasters and teachers. Many families living there decided to stop sending their children to school in Taji in order to keep them alive. Families became especially worried after 50 students were killed on a road near Taji that lead to the area around the Taji military base. Even for students coming from colleges like Baghdad University or others used to be stopped at fake checkpoints and asked for their identity to know if they were Sunni or Shi'a. If they were found to be Shi'a they might be taken to an unknown area and killed the next day, something that happened many times frome 2006 to 2007.
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Evangelicals Celebrate Another Christmas in Baghdad
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jul 14, 2008
BAGHDAD, IRAQ – When members of the National Evangelical Baptist Church in Baghdad celebrated Christmas at the end of 2007, they were also closing their fourth year of existence in Iraq. While many news stories today focus on the dissolution of Iraq’s 2000-year old Christian communities, today there are few articles examining the activities of evangelicals. A recent report again denominated the many dangers facing Iraq’s Christians, death, kidnapping, extortion, and torture among them. However, the nearly complete absence of mention of Christians other than Iraq’s traditional Chaldean, Assyrian, and Syriac sects is telling. Although it is clear to any observer that these communities are the largest and thus those most at risk, it is also clear that there continues to be underlying conflict between Iraq’s traditional Christians and newcomers, evangelical or otherwise. One report gave a 100% breakdown of Iraq’s Christians that included only the three main groups in its numbers: “Of the remaining 800,000 Christians, 65 percent are Chaldeans, 25 percent Syriacs, and 10 percent Assyrians.” Statements such as this, and the vast disparities in total population of Iraqi Christians quoted by the many reports and articles about the dangers they face further muddy a complicated situation. The estimates of Christians remaining in Iraq since the American invasion range from 800,000 to less than 300,000. Even more dramatic, numbers of Christians living in Iraq prior to 2003 range from 800,000 to 1.35 million or slightly more. Although there have been many articles in 2008 examining the ongoing struggles of Iraq’s Christian minority, they focus almost entirely on the largest portions of the minority, Assyrians and Chaldeans, as well as examining almost exclusively their future in Iraq’s north and the potential for a protected autonomous area for Iraq’s historic Christians. It appears that Evangelicals and other newcomers have not been investigated in depth since early in the war, between 2003 and 2005. This hole in reporting on Iraq’s Christians is made even more dramatic given the veracity, if infrequence, of reporting on the repression of Iraq’s larger Christian communities. Alive in Baghdad’s depiction of Iraqi Evangelical Baptists celebrating Christmas mass and discussing their hopes and difficulties does not aim to provide a wide depiction of Christian life in Baghdad or Iraq, but will hopefully provide further insight into one of Iraq’s newest Christian minorities.
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Militias Still Threaten Security
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jul 07, 2008
Damascus, Syria - The Mahdi Army, is an army that was created by the Sadr Movement in Iraq and the name "Mahdi" refers to the Imam Mahdi whom the Shia Islamic texts expect will return before Judgment Day. The Mahdi Army consists of more then two hundred thousand fighters all over Iraq. They are distributed around Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, and Basra, as well as elsewhere in the country. The main purpose for the creation of the Mahdi Army is to support Imam Mahdi when he appears. The Sadr Movement established offices all over Iraq and in most of Baghdad's neighborhoods, the main purpose of these offices is to recruit young Iraqis to join the Mahdi Army, in order to increase the control of the Mahdi Army within the capital. Many Iraqis have been found dead after being tortured, they were found without identification. Many Iraqis have accused the Mahdi Army of killing these Iraqis. The reason for these accusations came after the blasts that destroyed the Imam Askariya Shrine. Many Shia militias related to the Mahdi Army threatened to avenge those explosions, and withing days of the attack, many Sunni Iraqis were kidnapped and found dead. Some eyewitnesses claimed that the kidnappers wore a black uniform that is similar to the uniform of the Mahdi Army. Muqtada Al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadr Movement and the Mahdi Army declared in early 2007 that the Mahdi army is clean from killing any Iraqi Sunni in Baghdad or elsewhere in Iraq, and there are groups taking the name of the Mahdi Army that have been recruited by a separate force from outside Iraq to keep the security situation unstable. However, many families in Baghdad living in areas such as Al-Khadar'a, Ameriya, and Karrada have received death threats from groups such as " Al-Hussein Brigades," or "Sraiya Al-Imam Ali " asking them either to leave theor house and move to another neighborhoods or face death, and both of these groups have been connected to the Mahdi Army. The Iraqi government in the year 2007 asked the Mahdi Army to drop there weapons and become a non-armed group. The Sadr Movement refused to give up their weapons and they asked the Iraqi Government forces to remove their weapons from Basra in early 2008.
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Neighbors Invite Shia Back to Adhamiya
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jun 30, 2008
Baghdad/Adhamiya, Iraq - It became common in Baghdad that if a Sunni family lived in a Shia neighborhood they may be forced to leave and vice versa. Many families were forced by militias to leave their homes if they lived in a neighborhood that was predominantly made up of the other sect. Some of them lost a family member by the hands of militias which pushed them to leave their neighborhood or fled to a nearby country such as Syria or Jordan. The Iraqi government has been working on assisting some of these displaced families to return to their houses either by providing them an amount of money, or utilizing the growing Iraqi military and police to provide security in the neighborhoods they used to live in. So far the efforts of the Iraqi government have yielded only small results. It remains to be seen whether the current security situation will remain stable. Due to ongoing worries about their security, thousands of families are still living far from their neighborhood and many continue to reside outside of Iraq. One of the many areas hit hard by internal displacement is Adhamiya. More than 1000 families have been displaced from this neighborhood under the threat of death. Most of them were Shia but some of them were Sunni. The Shia families there were given the choice to become Sunni or die. For some Sunni families the reasons were different. Perhaps one of their family members worked with the Iraqi government or the United States, in some cases simply working with any foreign NGO may cause displacement. Organizations such as the Muslim Scholar's Association and the Sahwa or "Awakening" councils are endeavoring to find their own solutions to the problem in Adhamiya. The Sahwa Councils are attempting to provide security and eliminate the control of other militias or insurgents within Adhamiya, in order to provide a safe place for displaced or threatened families and encourage them to return home. The current situation in Baghdad appears to be better than it has been between 2006 and 2007, but continues to be haunted by the worries of its residents. After years of violence and uncertainty, it seems that many people simply don’t have much faith that their government or other groups, whether the United States, Sahwa Forces, or others will be able to keep the peace. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won’t find anywhere else, please consider becoming a paying subscriber, or making a donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts and DVDs to spread the word!
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Brigadier General Discusses Triangle of Death
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jun 23, 2008
Lutufiyah, Iraq - Although there are competing theories about Iraq’s current status, rarely does the public hear from the soldiers or officers themselves. This week Nabeel Kamal speaks with Brigadier General Ali Al-Furaiji, a spokesman for Iraq’s 25th Brigade of the 6th Division of the Iraqi Army, formerly known as the 4th Brigade of the 6th Division. Al-Furaiji discusses his frustration with Arab media’s portrayal of the Iraqi Army, despite what he considers to be many huge successes during 2008. The army has been accused of being involved in massacres and complicit in violence against civilians. Although it appears few if any detailed accounts have surfaced which clearly demonstrate the complicity of the army, rumors have a long life in Iraq. In the US media the portrayals of Iraqi soldiers are no more detailed and complex, but primarily that is because they are few and far between. Although there has been a resurgence of Iraq coverage in line with the resurgence in violence, it tends to focus on statistics and death tolls, with the personal stories of military life generally focused on the experiences of American soldiers. Admittedly, it is difficult to interview Iraqi soldiers about their personal experiences, and dangerous to travel with them on patrol. This week we have brought you an interview with the spokesman, which carries the weight of potential propaganda. We have endeavored, however, to provide a personal look at one high-ranking officer of the Iraqi military, and hope it will provide an insight which might otherwise be missed. Just as we have begun to bring you more accounts of the Sahwa forces than are easy to find elsewhere, we hope also to begin shedding light on the personal stories of Iraqi soldiers working to defend and rebuild their country. For another recent interview with Brigadier General Ali Al-Furaiji, you can read this recent article from Time Magazine.
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Displaced Iraqis Face Eviction
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jun 16, 2008
[Editor’s Note: We are happy to announce the marriage of Brian Conley, the founder of Alive in Baghdad, to Eowyn Rieke. As they are currently celebrating their recent union, we ask that readers and viewers please excuse any delays or website issues over the next two weeks.] Mujahideen Khalq Iran (MEK) is an organization that was established in 1965 by educated Iranians after the fall of the Shah government. In the year 1979 the Islamic Revolution Movement (IRM) became the ruling government of the country. IRM executed many leaders of MEK inside Iran, and the conflict between the Iranian government and MEK became worse. By the year 1980, many of MEK’s members were executed and the remaining members of the organization were lead by Mas’od and Merriam Rajaowi. In 1980 MEK moved outside of Iran to surrounding countries, such as Iraq, in an attempt to fight back against the Iranian government. In Iraq, they established a military base in Diyala (north of Baghdad) and seized some buildings as offices. After the fall of Baghdad, MEK was afraid of being removed from Iraq or labeled as a terrorist organization. They left all the buildings and the places used during Saddam Hussein’s rule, and consolidated in Diyala. Families from all over Iraq moved into the vacated buildings to flee death and violence from the war. MEK has since been recognized as not being a terrorist organization, and wants to return to their buildings in order to reopen their offices again. However, the current Iraqi government did not approve the removal of families occupying the buildings, and there is no clear sign that the families will be moved out. Hyperlinks: MEK 1979 1980 Considered as a terrorist organization Sources: Muslim scholar association *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won’t find anywhere else, please consider making a recurring donation, or one-time donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts or DVDs to spread the word!
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In Syria, Gay Iraqis Seek New Life
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jun 09, 2008
Damascus, Syria - Maybe one of the of most difficult situations that an Iraqi could be in is to be gay, the Iraqi society in general discriminate against the gay and transsexual people, normally they consider them as people who left their gender and changed for sexual want.
Even though most gay people of Iraq have managed to live their lives, being born gay is almost the same as being born with an assurance of death. Most Iraqis don't accept that homosexuality is something you're born with, or which is assigned by your genes. Due to the Iraqi cultural and religious beliefs, homosexuality is forbidden and considered a mortal sin, and in many cases the penalty of death is assigned as the solution for it.
Some of the Iraqi homosexuals used to live in the Karrada neighborhood, practicing there life normally but still in secret. Although before the war as well they could not show that they are gay, due to the risk of being attacked verbally by the neighbors or the people they live with.
No Iraqi organization or NGO was taking care of gay Iraqis before or after the war. Many of them were killed by the hands of militias after the war, some militias were considering killing gay people as a great thing you can do to satisfy God. Because of this many homosexuals and transsexuals tried to leave Iraq, and some managed to flee to countries with less violence against gays, or to Europe.
International organizations such as Amnesty International are working on helping the gay and lesbian Iraqi people, other Iraqis outside the country have created Iraqi organizations that are trying to help gay Iraqis like the Iraqi LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender), this organization used to have about 40 members in Iraq but after the attacks and raids on these groups in Najaf, Kerbala, and other areas by militias these organizations lost most of their contacts inside Iraq.
The three Iraqis now living in Syria interviewed by Alive in Baghdad are just a few people affected by prejudice and hatred aimed at gay and transsexual Iraqis and those who dare offer them assistance.
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Another College Year in Baghdad
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, Jun 02, 2008
Baghdad, Iraq - Some of the people among Iraqi society most affected by the war are the students; there are about five million students all over Iraq. These students are facing a great danger because they go out in the streets regularly, heading to their schools, colleges, or universities. The girls are facing the risk of being kidnapped or attacked if they don’t wear a veil or scarf, the boys facing the risk of being kidnapped by the militias controlling the area around their school. Unfortunately many accidents happened between the years of 2004 and 2007, such as the blast that took place in the Mustansariya University and killed 22 student and left more than 40 wounded, or the blast that took place at Al-Nahrein University and killed 15 and left about 50 wounded. The other problems facing the students is transportation. For some students living in areas like Abu Ghraib or Ghazaliya, it’s too difficult for them to get to Baghdad University or any other university in the middle of Baghdad, because sometimes the roads are blocked due to the constant problems happening in those neighborhoods, such as car bomb attacks or battles occurring between insurgents and the US military. When an attack happens, normally the US military or the Iraqi forces block the road or the neighborhood after a car bomb attack or a battle as a security and safety measure. In this situation, the students have to wait until the road is open again in order to continue on theri way to school. It became normal for a student to miss the first and the second class of the day due to the difficulties of the transportation and the road blocks. Some students fled Iraq after they received death threats or were kidnapped by one of the militias. Some of them were lucky and have been able to continue their studies in Jordan or Syria. The majority were not because most of them could not afford it or lost their high school or college certificates. Some projects such as the Iraqi Student Project are helping Iraqi students to get full scholarships in the US in order to continue their studies in the United States. The security condition now in Baghdad appears to be much better than before. The Sahwa forces have helped with restoring security in some neighborhoods in and around Baghdad, and that helped the students improve the chance to go on with their studies. However there are still a large number of students whom cannot reach their school, due to where they live in Baghdad or what school they are attending now. For example the schools in Sadr City are still controlled by the fear of being attacked or the risk of explosions and ongoing operations there. Overall, the situation appears to be improving, and as this school year ends many are hopeful that the autumn will bring a more stable and comfortable learning environment. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won’t find anywhere else, please consider making a recurring donation, or one-time donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts or DVDs to spread the word!
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Baghdad, City of Widows
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, May 26, 2008
Iraq, Baghdad/Abu Dsheer - This memorial day, as citizens of the United States, and perhaps elsewhere, are remembering the fallen soldiers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as previous conflicts, Alive in Baghdad asks you to remember the civilian fallen as well. It's been estimated that 1.3 million women have been widowed in Iraq due to war, ranging from the Iran-Iraq war to the most recent conflict which is still going on today. Although its difficult to be certain if this number is accurate, or to know just how many have been widowed in the most recent conflict, Iraq's acting Minister of Womens' Affairs, Narmeen Othman, suggests that at least 70,000 women have been widowed due to the most recent war. However, these numbers are disputed widely, and while a government committee on women's affairs has claimed there are just 1.3 million widows in Iraq, others have reported drastically different numbers. One source in the Ministry of Women's Affairs told an NBC staffer in 2007 that there were 3 million widows in Iraq due to the various wars of the last two decades. Despite this already shocking number, the United Nations news service, IRIN, reported in 2006 that there are 8 million widows nation-wide, with upwards of 330,000 in Baghdad alone. To put that in perspective, if true, it would mean that as much as 6-7 percent of Baghdad's population may be made up of widows, suggesting that the number of children with only one parent left is likely to be double, or triple this, if not more. The primary cause for women to be widowed today is sectarian violence and terrorism. Areas such as Abu Dsheer, Hawr Rajab, and other tumultuous districts that have seen some of the worst internecine fighting understandably have some of the most prevalent populations of widows and orphans. Abu Dsheer has been considered one of the bloodiest conflict areas in Baghdad, due to the influence militias have held there. Abu Dsheer is located in the south of Baghdad near Al-Saha neighborhood. Since 2004, Abu Dsheer was controlled by Al-Qa'eda on one side and the Sadr Movement on the other side, Many people was assassinated due to their sect whether they were Sunni or Shi'a. The Iraqi government tried many times along with Coalition forces to restore security in Abu Dsheer with no success. In 2006 there were many bombings taking place in Abu Dsheer, in addition to the battles between the Iraqi or Coalition forces and the militias. The civilian casualties were very high in Abu Dsheer, and the families living there faced grave financial difficulties due to the bad security conditions which prevent them from going to work or looking for jobs within Abu Dsheer. There are NGOs trying to help the people living there, by providing them with medical and financial aid according to their abilities. NGOs such as Al-Tathamon Social Organization (Social Solidarity Organization) are trying to fix some of the problems in areas like Abu Dsheer. The Organization was created on the 10th of July 2007 in order to help families or individuals whom having medical or financial problems. They also help the families whom lost there provider, like the father of that family or the mother. The Social Solidarity Organization has offices located in several areas such as Kadhimiya, Sadr City, Al-Husseiniya and Al-Nahrawan, as well as Abu Dsheer. Due to the difficulty these organization have finding funding, many such as the Social Solidarity Organization and Al-Yateem Charity, which help the women interviewed by Alive in Baghdad, receive support from the Sadr Movement. Although they claim to have sought financial support from the Iraqi government, both the organization, and the widows interviewed by Alive in Baghdad say they have not received any support from the government. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won’t find anywhere else, please consider making a recurring donation, or one-time donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts or DVDs to spread the word!
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Refugees Return By the Busload
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, May 19, 2008
Baghdad, Iraq - The number of Iraqi refugees in Syria and elsewhere surpassed 2 million refuges in the last few years according UNHCR statistics. They began to move to Syria and elsewhere after the security situation in Iraqi became exceedingly difficult to endure, beginning with the rising insurgency in 2004, and the number increased steadily until late in 2007. Although there have been claims by the Iraqi government that Iraqis are returning in large numbers, the latest report by UNHCR suggests that entirely the opposite is true. According to UNHCR’s report, only 4 percent of those interviewed are planning to return to Iraq. Most Iraqis were unable to find jobs to support their lives in Syria, due to the difficult economic situation that Syria is experiencing. Many of them decided to leave between the years of 2005 and in particular 2006 while Iraq was still undergoing a very bad security situation. Now many are returning simply because they could not afford to continue living in Syria without work. Given the reports that the Iraqi government was offering one million Iraqi dinars to any refugee family that returns to Iraq, it begs the question whether some returned to Iraq for a short period to collect the money, visit family, and immediately returned to Syria. Other reports suggested that Iraq was not yet ready for a massive repatriation of its citizens, and the UNHCR appeared to agree. In the middle of 2007 the Sahwa forces started to control some of the areas in Baghdad and the western governorates, restoring at least the appearance of security in many tumultuous and predominantly Sunni areas of Iraq. These events encouraged a great number of Iraqis to return to their homes and attempt to regain some semblance of their normal lives. Although the Iraqi government has claimed that many returned home, the UNHCR recently declared that there are still more than 1 million refugees in Syria, and that the Iraqi government is not doing enough to support internally-displaced Iraqis, much less those abroad. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won’t find anywhere else, please consider making a recurring donation, or one-time donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts or DVDs to spread the word!
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Locals Bring Security to Adhamiya
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, May 12, 2008
Baghdad/Adhamiya, Iraq - After Al-Qa'eda controlled several places in Iraq such as Fallujah, Ramadi, and several neighborhoods in the west of Baghdad, there were many atrocities committed by Al-Qa'eda. This caused the people living in those areas to vehemently reject them. Some of the actions done by Al-Qa'eda were to ask the young men not to wear short trousers or colored T-shirts, or any other shirt with English writing. As for women in these regions, they demanded that they wear a headscarf, or a veil, and never go out of their houses without covering their head, and those who didn't obey the strict instructions were facing the threat of being beheaded, killed, or otherwise assassinated by the several militias that were controlled by Al-Qa'eda. The Sahwa Councils were first created in Anbar after some Iraqi tribes agreed to work together with the US forces against the actions of Al-Qa'eda, and in order to wipe out all the elements of Al-Qa'eda in their areas. The first Sahwa council was created under the leadership of Abu Risha. He claimed to organize the first Sahwa council in Anbar against Al-Qa'eda. After Abu Risha's example, other Iraqi tribes were inspired by his work and created Sahwa councils in their areas in order to eliminate Al-Qa'eda cells in their neighborhoods. Some of the areas where Sahwa councils were formed are Mosul, Kirkuk, Diyala, Tikrit, Hawr Rajab, and several neighborhoods in Baghdad, such as Ameriya, Adhamiya, Al-Khadra'a, and Ghazaliya. And what made those councils more dedicated to fighting Al-Qa'eda was the assassination of Abu Risha because they started to consider him a symbol of the fight Al-Qa'eda. The Sahwa Council in Adhamiya After assassinating a huge number of men in Adhamiya due to the things they wear or who they belong, few people agreed on creating a Sahwa council in Adhamiya in late 2007, the Sahwa council was lead by Reyad Al-Samarra'ie at the beginning, whom was assassinated by two suicide bombers in the north of Baghdad which killed 14 Sahwa members along with Reyad Al-Samarra'ie. After the murder of Al-Samarra'ie Abu Al-Abed was took the place of A-Samarra'ie as the leader of the Sahwa Council in Adhamiya, some families claimthat the situation calmed down in Adhamiya after the creation of the Sahwa council.
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Among Iraq's Children, Orphans Suffer Most
Author: Alive in Baghdad
Mon, May 05, 2008
The number of Iraqi orphans increased in the last few years due to the war. According to official Iraqi government statistics released in December 2007, the number of Iraqi orphans had reached at least five million over the last three years. Many due to the Sunni-Shia conflict. There are several social organizations caring for a small number of these Iraqi orphans, such as Child Aid International. There are approximately 26 orphanages that Alive in Baghdad has been able to locate around Iraq. Eight orphanages are in Baghdad and another 18 are distributed all over Iraq and generally they accept kids between the age of 6 and 18 years old. One of the biggest scandals that happened in the history of the Iraq conflict is the one that happened in Al-Hanan orphanage. There were many pictures distributed online and by television of Iraqi orphans lying on the floor naked, with no food for weeks, sick and nearly dying. After this the Iraqi government began to show more attention for the orphans, there were many stories being reported regarding Al-Hanan Orphanage, like sexual abuses and bad treatment of the kids living there. Al-A'ssal House is one of the rare orphanages that still take care of the young children who have a dead father or who are orphans due to losing both parents. The house has a special method and it's opposed to the toy guns due to Iraq's situation and the reason behind it, which is the constant conflict that Iraq is undergoing. Another organization was also created by this house, and it's called the Sazan organization. This organization is taking in orphans for free, with no payment at all. Also this house employs Iraq widows in order to help the Iraqi women support themselves during the war. Despite all their hard work, this orphanage has not yet received any funding from the Iraqi government or sponsorship by a bigger humanitarian aid organization while other orphanages such as Al-Hanan orphanage received funds from the Iraqi government without oversight. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won’t find anywhere else, please consider making a recurring donation, or one-time donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts to spread the word!
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