“Three sewing machines in a dingy apartment were all Munna Abdul Adeem Ahmed could scrape together when she set up a tailoring co-op for poor widows. She soon realised it was not enough.
More than 1,000 women from the northern city of Mosul turned up looking for work on the first day. Ahmed finally stopped registering new names after the 1,200th widow signed up.
The women were mostly young, poor and desperate for work. Many lost their spouses during the wars, uprisings and civil conflict that have bedevilled Iraq over the past 25 years.
Now, a raging insurgency is adding to their numbers.
Behind the daily bloodshed and attacks that make headlines across the world, there is a growing population of widows.
Traditionally, Iraqi widows have been supported by their late husband’s family or other relatives, but in a country brought to its knees by violence and war, there is now little to spare for the most vulnerable members of society.
“We don’t have enough money to clothe our children,” said Nawal Ayob, who lost her husband during the bombings in the first Gulf War in 1991 and has since joined Ahmed’s co-op. “We have no salaries, no support. How can we survive?”
There are few reliable statistics on the number of widows, but the Ministry of Women’s Affairs has recorded at least 206,000 in Iraq, outside of Kurdish provinces. There are just over half as many widowed men.
In all of the anxiety about the kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll it is easy to forget that her interpeter Allan Enwiyah, (shown with his baby son in the photo) was murdered during her abduction. He leaves behind a widow and very young children. Fayrouz says it best (emphasis added by me.)
Allan leaves behind a wife and very young children. You have no idea how hard it is for a young widow to raise children in Iraq. That’s why we started this donation.
The media will drop his name very soon and focus on Jill because she’s the one in danger right now. We’re all praying for her safety. But, we shouldn’t forget about her translator who lost his life while trying to make a living for his young family.”
Allan Enwiyah’s widow is now living what must surely have been her worst nightmare, is facing dire poverty, and must cope not only with her grief but with comforting her children and trying to provide for them. I know it’s January and the bills are coming in but I respectfully join my voice to Fayrouz’s please go to her blog and click the pay pal link at the top right of the screen (or click any of the graphics this posting.) Fayrouz isn’t making anything from this and she will, if you ask her, keep your donation anonymous. It doesn’t matter how small your donation is, I’m flat broken busted broke this month, but I haven’t just been widowed and I don’t have two small kids to support so I have it easy. Please give something no matter how small it is. Western currencies go far far further in Iraq than they do here. You don’t have to have a paypal account to donate the link on Fayrouz’s Blog gives the option of paying using a secure payment system.
Yes I’m begging.
Mark.
2006 January 15th.
(Cross-posted to Liberal Avenger Jan 18th)
Update: I’m going to leave this post up for a few days in the hope that it may drive some traffic (and some donors) to Fayrouz’s blog. I’ll update daily with a running total of the amount she raises.
Jan 15th 2006: US$999.41 raised.
Jan 16th 2006: US$1501.71 raised.
Jan 17th 2006: US$2,196.92 raised.
Jan 18th 2006: US$2,196.92 raised.
Jan 19th 2006: US$2,498.76 raised.
Jan 20th 2006: US$4,776.33 raised.
Jan 21st 2006: US$5,097.41 raised.
… … …
Jan 25th 2006: US$5,755.98 raised.
… … …
Jan 28th 2006: US$6,049.88 raised.
Relying on your inlaws or relatives for survival - shudder. It’s the very least we can do for the god awful mess we have made.
Thanks for the heads up
Grania I’m unashamedly begging. You’d be amazed how far the dollar goes in Iraq what a decent amount will do is give her the breathing space she needs. I suspect that most of us who read this blog are of an age to have been bereaved a time or two and remember how one doesn’t always make the most sensible decisions while distraught. She, God help her, is in that situation multiplied over and over. We can’t make it better but we can help proevent it getting worse.
Mark - I have been reading Riverbend for over a year now so I know a little of what life is like for civilians. I totally agree with you. There were a lot more collections for Iraqi civilians here in the US in 2004 than last year - in my own area - I hasten to add. I was a Girl Scout mom for many years so our troop always had causes. This year i tried to do something similar at my son’s school for Iraqis and got - a ration of shit - sorry to be so blunt. Pretty Please leave this story up for another day
I’m planning on leaving it up for a full week grania in the hope that it might drive a donor or two to the site from here.
Wow the donations are rolling in. i hope it means that she’ll be able to get through the next few months without being desperate.
Yes anonymous that’s my hope that she’ll get the breathing space she so desperately needs to begin to recover and build a new life. Being distraught is bad enough at the best of times to be distraught, raising two small kids and frantic about money in a country in which a war is taking place doesn’t bear thinking about.
One donation of US$1500 has made a big difference