The Kurds' Angel-American woman helps the Kurds in Iraq, who see the Americans as true liberators

FrontPageMagazine.com | May 25, 2004 | Jennifer Verner

[SJackson]

Charmaine Jamieson arrived in the Kurdish border town of Zakho in April without a plan. "I just came with open hands," she said. She has returned with a message for the American people. "The Kurds want us to stay. They need us. They are our friends,” she said.

Ms. Jamieson began her special relationship with the Kurds in 1991, when thousands of Kurdish refugees poured into Nashville after the first Gulf War. The city's 7,000 Kurds now make up the largest Kurdish community in the United States. She began by adopting one Kurdish family. "Helping the Kurds became my calling" said Jamieson.

Saeed Chalky, who works with Jamieson in Nashville, has a life's narrative that is very common among Kurdish refugees. Chalky lost 17 close relatives to Saddam Hussein in 1988. "There is not a Kurdish family in the world that has not lost a loved one to Saddam" says Jamieson.

The task Charmaine Jamieson has undertaken can be almost overwhelming. She is currently employed as the public relations coordinator of Kurdish Human Rights Watch. One of her major projects is finding medical care in the US for children who cannot receive necessary treatments in Iraq that could easily be found in an average American hospital.

A large album on her desk has photographs of children who need to be brought to the states, including heart patients, children suffering with debilitating skin diseases and victims of landmines. "KHRW had around 400 files before I left in April", says Jamieson, "and I came home with several more. We have around 70 files in our Nashville office."

"I don't feel that people fully understand what Saddam did to the Kurds," said Jamieson. The final fate of 182,000 of Saddam's Kurdish victims is still unknown. Jamieson visited Rizgardi, a site where she was told one hundred thousand Kurds were killed- the victims of Saddam's arabization project in 1988.

"Everyone has heard of Halabja," said Jamieson, "but Rizgardi has never been visited, much less, documented by western journalists. They need to come and tell this story. They told me that I was the first American to come and visit this village, one of many destroyed by Anfal. I was saddened by this."

The Kurds have made progress in re-building their society since the "no-fly zones" were established in 1991, but they started from nothing. For decades, Saddam's soldiers would routinely level Kurdish villages.

"They would rebuild their homes, and then the army would return and do it again." said Jamieson. Chalky's home was demolished five times between 1979 and the day he became a refugee in the early 1990s. "My experience is not unusual," said Chalky, "every Kurdish family had their houses destroyed".

"One of the striking things about walking around Kurdish cities is the number of people who have been maimed," said Jamieson. "So many people are on crutches, missing arms, or eyes. It is an indication of the horror the people have been through. I don't know how they were able to survive." And there will continue to be casualties of Saddam's atrocities. He spent 35 years laying the mines and it may take another 35 years to remove all of them. Landmines kill or injure an average of one person per day.

With Saddam gone, there is hope. Liberation has brought change, but life is still hard. Kurdish Iraq lacks basic infrastructure and healthcare. Schools are only meeting for four hours a day. "The Minister of Education is begging for educators from the US to come and participate in workshops to train their teachers," said Jamieson. Even with all the obstacles, Jamieson sees opportunity. "One of the things that excited me the most were the sheep- they were everywhere. Saddam had killed all the herds in 1988 in an attempt to destroy the livelihood of the Kurds."

Jamieson was treated like a celebrity as she traveled from Zakho to Suleymania. Happy Kurdish Children greeted her with "Haji Bush Haji Bush, Thank you America for making a monkey out of Saddam." People from all walks of Kurdish society welcomed her. They encouraged her to go and tell America the Kurd's story- the atrocities, the thankfulness, and the hope.

Her reputation as an angel of mercy, well known among Iraq's Kurds, opened doors. "Who would ever think that a farm girl from Ashland City, Tennessee, with a country accent, would be meeting with high ranking officials in the Kurdish Government, talking about a permanent military air base, phone services, and roads," she marveled.

The message she received was clear and consistent. The Kurds need not only American protection, but also American talent. "They need everything," said Jamieson, from experts to establish an efficient postal service, to computer technicians, to teachers to help rebuild the educational system. Nurses, doctors and medical equipment are in critically short supply.

Charmaine Jamieson has a vision for the Kurds in Iraq. "I don't think contracts will be enough," she said. "We need programs for American professionals. Individuals who are motivated by a sense of compassion and responsibility and who are willing to help rebuild Kurdish society need to get involved. What the American people need to understand is that the Kurds have been our friends. The peshmerga are protecting Northern Iraq for us. They deserve our loyalty and our help.

"My shoulders are so small, and the needs are so great," she said through tears. As the Kurds know, Charmaine Jamieson's small shoulders are supported by a lion's heart, and a boundless will to help her adopted people. With so much at stake in building a free and democratic Iraq, it is time for more Americans to join her in carrying the weight.

Charmaine Jamieson can be contacted at charmaine@khrw.org.

[Allan]

Jamieson visited Rizgardi
a site where she was told one hundred thousand Kurds were killed-
the victims of Saddam's arabization project in 1988.

Yes I remember that well.
Saddam had a plan to remove the Kurds from the north
and relocate them to 'death camps' in the desert in the south.

This story actually was covered in the French press at the time.

I remember
for some unknown reason
I wrote Bernard Lewis about it
the ultra-leftist at the New York Times
and actually received a reply from him
wherein he professed to be horrified by the news
and promised to 'look into the matter'.

I wonder what he thinks about the Iraq business now.

[YaYa123]

I'm thrilled to see this posted!!!

This woman should be getting all sorts of help from folks like us...and oh how I wish FOXNews would spotlight her good work, perhaps on John Kasich's HEARTLAND.

No weapons of mass destruction my ass!!

It infuriates me that the Kurds' suffering has never been addressed, much less acknowledged by the left, as reason enough to go to war with Saddam.

Thanks for posting this...maybe freepers out there will contact her.

[SJackson]

Thanks. Someone else read it! :.)

If anyone in Iraq deserves our help, it's the Kurds.

[SuzanneC]

This is really great. I hope the author of the article emails a copy to John Kacich. Perhaps he will pick it up for his show.

[KCrouch]

This wonderful woman found a way to make a real difference,
so rare in today's fast-paced world. Bless her heart for courage and determination.

[Angelwood]

Very touching and uplifting article. There is much to do for those who wish to get involved.

Where are the members of the press when you really need them to focus on what's happening and what needs to be accomplished?

Thanks for the heads up.

[Howlin]

This shouldn't be missed!

[ride the whirlwind]

"Haji Bush Haji Bush, Thank you America for making a monkey out of Saddam."

Thanks for the ping. You gotta love it!

[CWOJackson]

Wonderful story...wonderful woman. I can't help but compare her with Rachel Corrie.

[Southack]

Broadly speaking, there are 3 main Kurdish groups/factions. Two of those groups are maintaining a truce with each other as well as supporting U.S. efforts in Iraq and elsewhere. Those 2 factions know that if they side fully and strongly with the U.S., maintain order in their own regions, act civilized around the world, and patiently bide their time, that they will be able to form a recognized Kurdish homeland nation.

The third Kurdish group, however, is the Ansar al-Islam terrorist faction...decidely *not* a friend of the U.S., and in fact, was responsible for the (failed) chemical attack in London early this year.

So yes, while most Kurds are our friends...certainly not all of them like us.

[terilyn]

Thanks for the ping.

What a wonderful story! We need more like this.

[Mo1]

Gee .. where are all those feel good liberals???

Oh I forgot .. there are busy helping the enemy form protest rallies in Bagdad

Thanks for the ping Howlin ... it's one of many examples of why Saddam had to go

[Peach]

Do you have any idea how many Democrats I've met who think it's okay we went into Bosnia for humanitarian concerns but when I mention the deplorable conditions the Iraqis and Kuwaitis have lived under for years, the leftists deny it?

I'd like to FORCE every one of them to read this story.

[YaYa123]

I appreciate your distinctions, but please, this is about sick, suffering, and dying Kurdish babies and children. And thank God, there's a chance some of them can be saved by the efforts of this American woman.

Maybe someone with medical connections, someone who's reading this thread, will contact "The Kurds' Angel", and be able to offer significant support for these little ones. Her email address is at the end of the article.

[Southack]

Point taken. I applaud the aid of those 2 pro-U.S. Kurdish groups, by the way, especially their innocent children.

...But I also don't want anyone to be surprised if they see the occassional Kurd acting as a bad guy (e.g. during the failed chemical attack on British citizens early this year).

Two groups of Kurds are good. One group of Kurds is bad.

[McGavin999]

This is wonderful. She needs to get in touch with Senator Frist. He usually makes his trips to Africa, but perhaps she could interest him in a trip to visit the Kurds. He has connections in the medical world and could get some people interested in traveling there to help and make connections with people here in the states.

[Hewar]

One group is bad. Yes but in Kurdish communities we do not accept ansar islam as kurds. Kurds never used terrorism as way of thier struggle over 80 years, though they were always terrorised by the states they live in.
They are not one group they are few individuals who arabs brain washed them, who they are nothing compared to 40 million kurds in the world, who are proud that they are most civilised nation with great morals, values and principl, despite that the world has ignored their plight and their human rights, because of the interest in Oil reach Arabs and west's friend Turks.
About the London attack, I live in London and I didn't heared that group were accused.