ZPATKY DOMA // BACK HOME

jsem doma, aklimatizace neni snadna,,
zbytek cesty byl OK, potkal jsem moc super lidi,, me srdce ale zustalo v Kurdistanu.
Kurdove nam vypraveli sve pribehy a prosili nas abychom je vypraveli vam,, dosti zoufale doufajic v pomoc z nasich stran,,
jiz to zacalo,, ceska tv hned druhy den po mem navratu odvysilala reportaz v udalostech v regionu
http://www.ct24.cz/vysilani/10122978233-udalosti-v-regionech-ostrava/
13.05. je to hned 2.zprava po asi 2min.
co bude dal??
vice info ode mne s obrazky ocekavejte brzy...

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i'm back home.. not easy...
the rest of the trip went well, i met some great people, although my heart stayed in Kurdistan..
the kurds told us their stories and asked us to tell them to you,, desperately hoping for a help possibly coming from us...
it already started ,, their voices are being heard here,,
http://www.ct24.cz/vysilani/10122978233-udalosti-v-regionech-ostrava/
13.05. the second news of the day after 2 min or so...
the transcription to eng. down,,,
what will come next??
expect more info and pictures from me soon.,,


transcipt of the tv news /english/:

Woman in the studio:
"From Cesky Tesin (the town where I live) to the Northern Iraq.
In the past weeks, a 27 years old social woker - Lukas Firla - as the first Czech - joined a delegation of an international humanitarian (they don't have that word from me :))organization. He travelled around the Kurdish Autonomous Region in the Nothern Iraq. The goal of missions like this, is to find out the wrongs that are happening to people and to report them back in the countries which the participants come from."

Female (reporter's) voice with the videos/pictures:
Kani spi - a village in the Kurdish mountains that 20 (I told the reporter - 120) families had to leave from to a town in which there is no work for them. Still until this day, it is being occasionally bombed by the Iranian and Turkish airplanes. This man lost his son and brother and a landmine tore his leg away.

Mukhtar:
There are no mines here in the orchard but there... in the back... nobody can go there... there are landmines everywhere.

Voice again:
Mass graves - a place of rest for 5000 bodies that have been found so far - out of the 13000 men that were mudered by Saddam Hussein in the 1988.
Zharawa - an IDP camp. This family's 3 months old child was killed by a shell.
This man lost his family as well.

A displaced man from the Kurdish - Iranian border:
I couldn't breathe long after that, I choked with terror... I could't sleep, it was all coming back for a long time...

Reporter:
There exists approximately 20 - 40 millions Kurds and they are the biggest ethnic in the world without their own country. In the region of Iraq where the organization Christian Peacemaker Teams works, there lives around 4 - 5 millions of them (Kurds).
Lukas Firla heard terrible stories of unending horror. He saw the lately bombed bridge and ever-present signs warning against the landmines - there are 20 millions of them there. He spoke to many Kurds who hope that Europe or the United States would help them.

Me:
... the only thing that possibly could be done is... that Turkey stops bombing these villages... and that they stop shelling and sending airplanes that bomb all that region... so that all the people will be able to return to their villages... hopefully, there exists some pressure that we can raise politically on the EU to eventually put pressure on Turkey...

Reporter:
... Lukas himself will start touring the country with his talks/workshops and eventually, in the future, he wants to return to that unquiet region...
Marta Pilarova, Czech TV.

BACK IN AMMAN // ZPATKY V AMMANU

pratele, moc vas vsechny zdravim z ammanu, dneska jsme prileteli, resp.odleteli ze zeme a od lidi do kterych jsem se zamiloval, kteri si prosli nepochopitelnyma vecma,, vse se dovite, nemam vic casu,, musim vse trochu vstrebat a nechat si to poradne zazrat pod kuzi a trochu vydechnout, bylo toho fakt moc, vim ze se mi to nikdy nepovede predat vsechno, museli byste tam byt a slyser vsechny ty pribehy sami,, bylo to vsechno presilne, prehrozne a prekrasne,, strasne a pritom i v te hruze zablesky nadeje,, doufani, ze jeste jde snad nejak nenasilne jde vyresit co se zda beznadejne...
projeli jsme skoro celym (irackym) kurdistanem, potkali, mluvili, jedli, spali, pili caj u spousty uzasnych krasnych lidi,, kteri si prosli nepredstavitelnymi vecmiu, prisli o casti svych tel, domovy, deti, cleny rodin.. je to sileny svet!!!!!!

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dear friends,
i am back safe in amman,, unlike these so many beautiful warm people that had to stay in those seemingly desperate conditions but hoping that the future may be changed,,
we talked to, slept, eaten, drank tea at so manu amazing smiling and crying people that had undergone crazy terrible things loosing their homes, lands, body parts, children, family members.. it's an insane world!!! and they still can hope for peace, pleading for peaceful resolutions...
i will tell you more with time,, now i need to absorb everything, forge it deeply into my heart and rest... \with love,

KURDISTAN

je tu prekrasne!!!
uzasne hory...
v kontrastu s tim co si tu ti lide protrpeli, co se jim deje a co je jeste pred nimi, je to pro mne jeste silnejsi...
dneska bylo ex-vezeni predelane na muzeum, kde sadam mucil kurdy, ja videl jenom fotky, bo jsem vetsinu dne prolezel v posteli s odeznivajici horeckou, kterou jsem dostal vcera..
ted uz mi je lip, v hlave se mi jenom jeste nejak toci...
a v 6.30 rano odjizdime na 4 dny na cestu do tech bombardovanych vesnic u hranic s iranem a tureckem...
jdu radsi spat... snad uz zitra budu v poradku...
zdravim moc!!
a diky tez za vase pozdravy!!!!

SALAAM ALEYKUM Z AMMANU!!!

prvni faze cesty za mnou, za nekolik hodin odlitame do iraku,,
na syrii mam smisene pocity, damasek me zklamal, u more bylo fajne a odpocinkove, jenom ze mi pak ujel posledni busik zpatky do mesta ktere je asi 25km daleko, (plazi tu maji fakt krute malo)... a krute spinave,, crac de chevaliers- OBROVSKY krizacko-muslimsky hrad na kopci, ze ktereho jde videt na desitky km na vsechny strany daleko i na libanonske zasnezene vrcholky me maximalne nadchnul, jinak je syrie cela placata, samoty jsem moc neuzil, protoze porad chce se nekdo seznamovat a mluvit,, na nechapave pohledy naprosto vsech naprosto vsude jsem si uz zvykl :) a je to i celkem sranda,, cestoval jsem uz vsim, co jde, krome kola a zvirat :) 2 letadla, 1 vlak, 4 busy, asi 6 mikrobusu, 7 taxiku, 1 osobni auto (abych nemusel spat na plazi, kdyz jsem vsecko mel v hotelu 25km daleko),,, nargile tu je paradni, jidlo extremne levne (v syrii se da koupit 3 falafely za 20kc, jordansko je drazsi) ziju z nich a humusu, ktery byl v syrii nejlepsi, jaky jsem kdy jed .. hranicni prechody jsou silene,, tur/syrie asi 45min. syrie/jordan 2hod. :) amman ok,, jenom nas hotel je v uplne priblble ctvrti, s ambasadami, hroznymi hotely, nakupnimi centry s americkymi fast-foody jak nekde v ostrave .. strasne..
team je super!! skveli lidi!! kazdy/a odjinud: kanada, usa, indie, holandsko, anglie a ja... probehlo rozdelovani rotujicich roli, ja hned prvni den dostal za ukol: time keeping - takze sledovani casu, at jsme tam kde mame byt vcas :) hehe role presne pro mne,,,
ale vcerejs vstup do cele delegace byl fakt silny,, nase prvni navsteva - u jedne iracke (krestanske) rodiny a pani, pracujici na ambasade, kteri museli utect z bagdadu a zijou ted v ammanu (tak jako mezi 0,5 a 1 milionem dalsich iracanu) a kteri nam 3 hodiny u vyborneho irackeho caje s kardamonem a velikonocnim cukrovim (vel.tady slavili az tento vikend) vzpraveli sve silene pribehy... o tesnych unicich pred smrti,, o sunnitech, shiiitech, krestanech, al'kajde, iranu, izraeli, kurdech, amer. armade a jejim nezajmu a uplaceni... o jiznim bagdadskem meste, ve kterem zije kolem pul mil. lidi skoro v absoutni bide,, o totalnim chaosu a nejspis nikdy neobnovitelne spolecnosti, ktera po stovky let zila v miru a vzajemne toleranci...

ovsem kurdistan - kam jedeme - je jiny pribeh,, nikdy z nas tam jeste nikdy nebyl (oproti bagdadu a jinym castem iraku, kde tri z nas nekteri uz i nekolikrat byli) a nikdo tak uplne nevi, co nas tam ceka ci muze cekat,, jiz za nekolik hodin... nas predbezny program je vskutku silny... v planu jsou cesty do zbombardovanych vesnic u tureckym a iranskych hranic, utecenecke tabory, spousty navstev a setkani...

trochu me uz zaclo (klasicky) kvuli zmene jidla a vody trapit bricho,, dobre ze uz ted dokud jeste nejsme v iraku (i to byl castecny ucel te nekolika denni cesty pred), snad to uz do zitrka prejde :)

musim se jit balit,, za chvili musime na letiste,,

zacina fakt velka skola zivota,,,,,,,,

zdravim moc vsechny!!!

netusim, kdy se mi povede sem co dalsiho napsat, bo vypada to tam s elektrinou blede,, a program i nase kazdodenni ukoly (jako jiz vzpominany timekeeping, ci process observing, shopping, cleaning, dish washing, psani denniku, a muj oblibeny cooking:) etc. jsou vskutku nabite.... snad driv nez az 1.5. kdy mame byt zpet v ammanu...

SHUKRAN W MAS'SALAAMA vam vsem!!!!!


****
many greetings from amman!!
the trip goes well,, the team is great!!!
i'm sorry for not writing more but we are leaving for the airport very soon...
and flying to iraq in a few hours..
and it took me longer than i thought to say all in czech...
much love and peace to all of you!!!

IRAQ: After six years of war...

by Peggy Gish

After six years of war, Iraqis are living with

The deaths of an estimated million Iraqi civilians. (See http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL3048857920080130)

A devastated society and infrastructure. Water is still contaminated. The average Iraqi has an average of four hours a day of electricity, and the poor have inadequate medical care.

Continuing economic crisis. Sixty percent of the families rely on the food rations, which have been reduced. Unemployment is over 50%. Prices of food and fuel have increased, but not wages.

Widespread anger and despair about their living conditions.

The threat of torture, coerced confessions, and false imprisonment. Iraqis are in control of prisons and "security," but Iraqis often feel terrorized by special-forces police, trained and equipped by U.S. personnel who also trained death squads in Latin America. Many Iraqis say that the ways of Saddam continue.

Never knowing when the terrorist attacks might begin again. Violence on the streets in Central and Southern Iraq has decreased in the past six months due to repressive control, but this control has not resolved deeper problems. Iraqis in these areas wonder if the lull in the violence is temporary and still live in fear. They believe those doing greater acts of terror have simply moved to other areas such as Mosul and Baqubah, where high rates of violence continue.

Increasing violence against women and the loss of women's rights and freedoms.

Their children growing up seeing violence and killing as the norm.

Pollution from the radioactive depleted uranium used in U.S. weaponry, which has caused cancers and birth defects.

Election fraud and the killings of candidates and elected officials. Irregularities in the most recent election left about 100,000 Kurdish Iraqis unable to vote. Kurds in Kirkuk and other northern disputed areas are afraid of civil war between Arabs and Kurds, because of election manipulations.

Turkish, Iranian, and Syrian attacks on Iraqi civilians. The U.S. government has allowed Turkish military planes to fly over Iraqi airspace and has given Turkey military "intelligence" to bomb Kurdish villages along Iraq's northern borders with Turkey and Iran, causing destruction of hundreds of villages and displacement of villagers.

The internal displacement of 4.5 million Iraqis who have fled their homes.

Forces telling Iraqis that only violence and surrendering their civil rights will bring them security.

Words cannot express the anguish that the Iraqi people have experienced in these last six years. Occupying forces have exacerbated ethnic conflicts and oppressive political forces in their country. The ongoing war has caused suffering and hardship that will probably continue for generations.

http://www.cpt.org