It is a few weeks ago that two instructors from the CLAD Centre in Soran University declared a campaign to give support for the Internally Displaced People (IDP) of the area.
Shane Cordell and Rachel Underwood are two teachers at the CLAD Centre who felt a responsibility to help; they decided to open a campaign to support the IDPs who have arrived in Soran. Shane says "We live here; we became a part of this society, so we must help its members"
He then emphasised that "as we live in this society, so we became a part of it. We are aware of people's circumstance and we feel so sorry to see people facing such a harsh life; we feel a responsibility towards these people. That is why we decided to open a campaign to collect various kinds of aid and initiate this project
According to this teacher's point of view, the way these people had to take flight is an open wound and it hurts them so much. “We saw that when the war started, people came to this calm region and they needed help to continue their lives, so we wanted to give them a hand”
Shane said" We give different types of help, such as food, essential necessities, clothes, sleeping needs and money. We distribute them in Soran area, most of them are Kakaiye and Yezidis, and we only distribute what they need".
He also said that "some of the aid is from us at CLAD and from other people; an American organization has contributed as well."
Shane said that" this aid should continue without differentiating between religions, gender and nations. Because it is humanitarian, we should all give a hand to each other in tight times to avoid anyone feeling isolated."
Shane also declared that other foreign teachers in CLAD have opened a website for this purpose: http://www.gofundome.com/eein5w). Every day they put activities and the amount of collected support on the website and they are collecting for funding to rent houses for those people who are living in half constructed houses and on the streets. He said that “if anyone has a house to rent please contact us, we have collected US$1500 up until now with the target being US$5000.” He also said that the Soran Administration for Human Rights helped a great deal in the delivery of the aid.
Shane also talked about the role of the Peshmerga and said: "The Peshmerga saved Kurdistan and its people from this big group of terrorists. The Peshmerga had a big name and a colourful history but now they also have an international reputation. The war that the Peshmerga fought against the terrorist groups has surprised the entire world and that has persuaded America and Europe to give support to the Peshmerga forces.”
Translator: Roshna Rasheed
Reviewer: Shna LMC
Report: Twana Taha
