Sahar Alnouri's blog

Egypt's recent revolution has plagued Cairo's Zabbaleen community and other marginalized groups with uncertainty about their place in a quickly-changing society. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

With all the excitement and newness surrounding Egypt’s January Revolution, it can be easy to forget that Egyptians have been working for change in their country for decades. I recently met Marie Assad, an Egyptian woman in her mid-80s who has been working to help her fellow Egyptians for more than 50 years.

When asked about her take on the revolution, Marie said, “Egypt is a very old country with a new life.”

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Although I don’t have any statistics on this subject, I feel pretty confident that Mercy Corps is probably one of the only international organizations in Iraq whose Baghdad Office was primarily opened and established by women.

I am the last of the original Baghdad women, and I will be leaving Iraq this week. I wanted to thank my national colleagues for their trust and support over the last two years; and for their patience as we set up office systems and procedures along the way. I’d also like to thank them for helping us to create a warm and open office, with a lot of laughter and fun in spite of the incredibly challenging environment where we live and work.

Some of the women of Mercy Corps Baghdad: (from left) Liza Baran, Emily Gish, Ghelda Chrabieh and Jill Morehead. Photo: Sahar Alnouri/Mercy Corps

I’d especially like to take a moment to celebrate the amazing expatriate women I have worked with over the last two years, some of whom are still with Mercy Corps and many who have moved on to new challenges. Liza Baran, a Ukranian, was the first Mercy Corps woman based in Baghdad. She set up and managed Mercy Corps’ Governance Promotion through Conflict Management program during its first year. This program is continued by Alto Lubetubun and, through their combined efforts and their amazing staff, the program has successfully negotiated more than 90 conflicts in Iraq.

In March 2009, Liza was joined by Jill Morehead, an Iowan who almost single-handedly managed the relocation of our Baghdad office that July and who, through sheer spunk and determination, laid the foundation for our emergency programs in Baghdad governorate. Jill trained a talented team of Iraqi program staff (I called it "Jill’s Boot Camp") who after a year with her are true humanitarian professionals.

Emily Gish — from Lexington, Kentucky — moved to Baghdad from our Sulaimaniyah office in August of 2009 and took on the daunting position of Baghdad head of office and deputy country director. Among many other things, Emily was our fearless leader and the main person responsible for the safety and security of the entire office — not a small responsibility in Baghdad.

Ghelda Chrabieh, of Lebanon, was our regional finance manager — not even Iraq staff — but she spent so much time here with us in the early days helping to get our finance and compliance systems in place that we considered her part of our team. I’ve never met another person who slept so little and completed such volumes of work so quickly. Ghelda is a powerhouse and was a wonderful source of support and guidance while we were all figuring out our roles in the Baghdad office.

As for me, I am a New York native of American-Kuwaiti decent who moved from our Sulaimaniyah office to Baghdad in July 2009. I am Mercy Corps’ Iraq gender program manager and I’ve been the acting Baghdad emergency program manager for the last few months.

Some of the highlights of my time in Iraq have been meeting US Vice President Joe Biden, staying in Baghdad during the 2010 national elections and designing a process to help incorporate illiterate Iraqi women’s needs into community development processes. My biggest accomplishment by far was contributing to the development of the Mercy Corps Baghdad team.

Although I am very sad to leave our Baghdad office, I know that I am leaving behind passionate and dedicated Iraqi staff, as well as an outstanding team of expatriate men and women to continue managing our programs and empowering our staff and the Iraqi people.

To Liza, Jill, Emily and Ghelda — I would like to say thank you. You each taught me a great deal about strength, perseverance, patience and never giving up. I will carry these lessons with me for the rest of my life.

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Iraqi women represent 25 percent of members of parliament — they vote, they work and they have found ways to survive and maintain their families during the very difficult last seven years. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

I’m blogging again today to wish you all a Happy International Women’s Day.

The first International Women’s Day was celebrated 35 years ago, in 1975. The political and social landscape of the world we inhabit has changed dramatically in the last 35 years — old countries have disappeared and new ones have been created; the Internet and other technologies have transformed the way we work and live; and the role of women has grown and changed all over the world.

This year, the United Nations selected “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities” for the International Women’s Day theme. In Iraq, this is a theme we can celebrate proudly.

Article 14 of the Iraqi constitution declares that “Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, origin, color, religion, creed, belief or opinion, or economic and social status.” Iraqi women represent 25 percent of members of parliament. They vote, they work and they have found ways to survive and maintain their families during the very difficult last seven years.

Iraqi women have not made these strides alone — each of these achievements was accomplished with the support of Iraqi men.

Mercy Corps’ Women’s Awareness and Inclusion program in the south and our Protecting Women through Education programs in north and central Iraq are examples of how we are supporting equal rights and equal opportunities. Access to basic education is a constitutional right for both Iraqi men and women. It is also one of the first steps towards helping women to recognize and access other opportunities.

In my opinion, celebrating International Women’s Day is not about separating women from men. It’s about taking a moment to recognize that women all over the world frequently struggle to survive, to care for their families and to achieve equal rights and equal opportunities in environments that don’t provide them access to their basic needs and rights. It is about recognizing that the barriers women struggle against to achieve those basic needs and rights are often different from the barriers that men face.

To me, it is about understanding that it will take the efforts of both men and women to level the playing field for our daughters, sisters, wives and mothers.

Please, take a moment today to recognize the women you work with, the women in your families and in your communities. Also acknowledge the men who support the women in your workplace, in your families and in your communities. It is only by working together than men and women throughout the world will achieve equal opportunities and rights for all people.

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Here are some our Baghdad staff who participated in yesterday's elections. They are proudly displaying their purple index fingers, which signifies that they voted.

Photo: David Evans/Mercy Corps

Photo: David Evans/Mercy Corps

Photo: David Evans/Mercy Corps

Photo: David Evans/Mercy Corps

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Living and working in Baghdad these days seems to be about waiting. People are waiting to see if there will be violence during the elections, waiting to see the results of the elections on March 7 and waiting to see if those results will be accepted peacefully — or if the country will be plunged back into conflict.

Mercy Corps is committed to staying in Iraq and helping the people who need help the most, which means working in places like Sadr City, Diyala and Kirkuk.

In preparation for the elections, we launched a series of lectures in our women’s literacy centers on Democracy, Governance and Elections in nine governorates, reaching about 15,000 illiterate women. We didn’t just want to teach women how to vote — we wanted to explain to them what happens when they vote and how the Iraqi democracy is designed to function.

In Muthana governorate, 63-year-old Um Mohammed looks through Mercy Corps’ Democracy, Governance and Elections booklet. Photo: Mercy Corps Iraq

Yesterday, we got the results back from the pre- and post-tests that we did with a sample of women who participated in the Democracy lectures in four governorates in southern Iraq. The results are outstanding: in ThiQar province, only 39.9 percent of the women surveyed before the lecture thought that in a democracy more than one person is involved in decision making. After the lecture, 81.6 percent of the women understood that, in democracy, decisions should be made by the people.

In Muthana governorate, only 69 percent of the women thought that boys and girls had equal rights to education before the lecture, but 95.9 percent understood that boys and girls have the same right to education during the post test. When women understand that their daughters and sons both have the right to receive an education, they are more likely to advocate for that right on behalf of their children.

While this is only a small step in encouraging women’s participation in Iraq’s democracy, I think it’s an important one. International Women’s Day is on March 8, and I can’t think of a more fitting contribution than helping Iraqi women vote in their elections.

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I met with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden last Friday in a small roundtable discussion to discuss reconciliation in Iraq. Three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were represented — Relief International, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting and Mercy Corps. One Sheikh from a city south of Baghdad was present. General Odierno, the current Commanding General of Multi-National Force Iraq was in attendance, as well as U.S. Ambassador Chris Hill and the temporary United Nations ambassador to Iraq.

Of all the NGO representatives there, I was the only woman participating in discussion, and the only U.S. citizen.

Vice President Biden was interested in hearing our thoughts on the role of development in reducing tension between Arabs and Kurds, and in reducing sectarian violence within Arab Iraq. He also inquired on the effectiveness of U.S. assistance in developing Iraq — whether the lack of provision of basic resources to Iraqi people was a result of a lack of resources available to the Iraqi government or poor management. He also inquired about our view of the security situation in Iraq after the pullout of U.S. troops from the cities.

On the first topic, I said that while I thought economic development could have a big impact on sectarian violence, I did not think it would play a big role in reducing the tensions between Arabs and Kurds — except in situations where there are internally displaced people (IDPs) in host communities. The UN Ambassador agreed with me.

On the second topic, I brought up Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). I talked about the importance of community involvement in the development process, and about the Community Action Program (CAP). I talked about how Mercy Corps embeds themselves in communities and strives for the participation of all people — including women, the disabled and youth. I said that, without community involvement and contribution, projects are not as effective and are rarely sustainable.

I also said that PRTs find this process challenging, partially because they are wearing uniforms, which alienate a lot of the people they are trying to assist. I softened the statement by saying that, while their hearts are in the right place, PRTs cannot be as effective as
NGOs because of their uniforms, their security protocols and the fear of the military that exists in the civilian population.

On the third topic, I responded by saying that poor management was resulting in a lack of resources. I expanded by saying that poor management was resulting in a supportive environment for corruption, which was rampant in Iraq. I also said that while there may be a resource issue, realistically, more people should be able to access government resources than the number that currently receive assistance.

In terms of security, I talked about Mercy Corps' no-arms policy and how we rely on community acceptance to accomplish our goals. I said that we'd been in Iraq since 2003, and that we operate in some of the most challenging and insecure areas in the country.

I gave the example of my recent road trip from Suleimaniya to Baghdad as an example of how the improved security has opened our options. I also talked about going to Al Rashad to conduct focus group discussions and work directly with the community. I made a big point of saying that Mercy Corps employs more than 180 Iraqi staff, and only 18 internationals. I
highlighted that it is the Iraqi people themselves who do a lot of the work, take ownership of projects and work for peace and stability.

After the discussion, Biden walked around the table to me to thank me for Mercy Corps' participation. General Odierno also approached me, thanked for my comments, and said that he agreed with what I said. He said they've been frustrated by their inability to connect with communities, and that they've made a lot of mistakes.

I responded by saying that development workers have made a lot of mistakes over the last 60 years, but we've had time to learn from them and adjust our methods appropriately.

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Sahar Alnouri is part of our Jerusalem-based team.

My colleague Cassandra explained how our first shipment of food got from Jerusalem to the Kerem Shalom crossing and into Gaza on Thursday afternoon. Here's what happened on the Gaza side.

Our driver, Dafer, began his 40-kilometer journey from Gaza City to Rafah at 6 a.m. Thursday morning to pick up the food and take it to our warehouse in Khan Younis. Before the recent conflict, it took about an hour to make this trip. But yesterday, due to damaged roads and checkpoints, Dafer and the rest of the trucks in his convoy did not reach the checkpoint until 3 p.m.

The truck drivers were nervous about traveling through Rafah because two truck drivers were recently killed by Israeli fire after receiving permission to pass by the Israeli Defense Forces, according to the UN.

After waiting for permission from the IDF to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing, and then loading up the trucks with food and bottled water, it was almost 6 p.m. This meant braving the journey back in the dark, a dangerous proposition in a war zone. Regardless, Dafer made it as far as the Mercy Corps warehouse in Khan Younis.

And that's where he stayed for the night, because the IDF forbade him and the other drivers from returning to Gaza City at that time.

So in total, it took Dafer over 24 hours to make an 80-kilometer journey from Gaza City to the Kerem Shalom border crossing and back. But thanks to his efforts, the first distributions of food for 2,000 hungry Gazans will start tomorrow in villages east of Khan Younis.

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