09 July 2008

Now in Egypt

It's been a few months since we've updated on our progress and months since the blog has been updated as well. Our journey took us to Jordan from April to May, Syria in June and now we will complete our filming in Egypt this July.

It was a challenge for us to get permission to film in Syria. Due to current and recent political developments it took us two months to get a visa to go to Syria and later, weeks to get permission to film. We were recently granted permission to film, but for only one week. We decided to focus on only one story in Syria, a story that has actually taken us to Egypt to complete. While we are here, we also plan to cover our third and last story. Please feel free to email us if you have contacts or friends in Egypt you think we should get in touch with.

It was very difficult for David and I to leave Amman and Damascus and all the Iraqis that have become our close friends, many of whom also consider us as part of their family. Neither of us has ever met a people more open, more kind or hospitable and willing to do all they can to help make us feel welcomed. It is a tragedy what has happened to Iraq and to the people of Iraq. In the last few years thousands of years of art, history, and culture have been destroyed and millions of lives shattered or halted, forgotten by the world as we move on with our own daily lives, half questioning the rise in food and oil prices and perhaps unaware that what happens in the Middle East and all over the world affects all of us at home.

Coming to Jordan, Syria and Egypt and meeting Iraqis have been a journey and enlightening experience for both of us. We have learned so much about this region and its people and we have also learned a lot about ourselves, and how we can improve in our own lives. We have learned to be more patient, more open, and more tolerant. We have even learned to be stronger. Despite everything that has happened, despite the daily suffering and wondering of what the future will bring, Iraqis continue to persevere and have hope that, in God's hands, life will be better.

NEWS & UPDATES
We were recently awarded an "I Believe in You" grant by Chicken & Egg Pictures and The Tides Foundation

DONATIONS
Please help us complete this important project by making a donation at: Women Make Movies

No comments: