Iraqi Refugees - Life In The Shadows

The fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War is upon us, and there is speculation that the engagement may continue yet another five years, if not more. To date, approximately 4,000 American soldiers have been killed in combat.

While the loss of combat troops is certainly tragic, even more stunning is a recent World Health Organization report based on Iraqi Health Ministry figures which estimates that 151,000 Iraqi civilians were killed between March 2003, the start of the invasion, and June 2006.

Many of the reports of civilian deaths are disputed. What cannot be argued, however, is another grave consequence of the Iraq War: the displacement crisis as a mass exodus of Iraqis flee the instabilities and ever-increasing sectarian violence at home, tearing their families apart.

In mid-January 2008, with the support of the United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNHCR), I traveled to Amman, Jordan to photograph and record a few of these families trapped in a no-man’s land; asylum seekers looking for refuge, too afraid to return to their blood-soaked country.

Here are a few of their stories:



For more information please check out.. The UNHCR Jordan Website

www.OurManInside.com

Well I am back from Austin Texas and the amazing SXSW. A little jet lagged, a little sleep deprived but inspired and energised all the same.

If you missed out on our live feeds and updates while we were there, most of the content me and Phil Campbell have produced is on live.rezpondr.com

We are currently looking for sponsorship so we can attend next years event so please get in touch if you feel you are in a position to assist.

Should you want to catch up on any of my other content/pix/words please pop over to my 'Normal' site at www.OurManInside.com

Meeting Bill

How cool is this..?

Thanks to the wonders of blogging and the fact there are people that do actually read my blog on OurManInside.com Bill a podcasting friend from the Florida Soap Box and also the Progressive Podcast Network (PPN) managed to hook up with me for a brief hello at Texas airport where we were getting picked up by our friend Kity Kity aka Susan.

For each of us it is the first time we had met a member of the PPN in the flesh and a great welcome for me to see a familiar face and hear a voice I have listened to for ages.

Myself and Phil Campbell are the guests of Kity Kity in Wylie, Texas before we head down to the interactive extravaganza that is South By South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, about 3-4 hours south of here.

Make sure you check out Bills blog at http://filthandthefury.blogspot.com/
You can also follow/add bill at Twitter

He is a really decent guy and I hope we can grab a beer together soon!

p.s. I recorded a podcast on the plane over.. I will try to get it online as soon as.. :)