Building Community

1/6/2022 - From the Team

“Hurry! Move out of the way!” It was a chaotic scene as an elderly Yazidi woman on a stretcher was whisked by four young men into our makeshift medical tent outside Delal City, an empty concrete building without walls on the outskirts of town. The refugees had heard about the Habibi medical team coming to help.

We packed our suitcases to the brim in those early days with medical equipment and medications purchased from local pharmacies. We set up mobile medical clinics wherever needed — in abandoned buildings, local churches, Yazidi community halls, and even a sheep barn next to the Tigris River near the Turkish border. This was the beginning of Habibi International’s medical work in Northern Iraq.

Out of sheer desperation and need, Yazidi refugees lined up in long queues to get much-needed care. Many suffered from chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, kidney stones, and back pain from back-breaking manual labor. So many had recurrent symptoms of insomnia, headaches, anxiety, and depression - no doubt related to post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the ISIS invasion and forced displacement from their Sinjar homes. Each person shared the same look of desperation and a yearning for hope amidst hopelessness. 

Against this backdrop of circumstances, Habibi’s mobile medical teams kept going to Northern Iraq to care for these Yazidi refugees, many of whom we now consider dear friends. I am very proud of these early teammates. They provided outstanding care to our patients despite having limited equipment and virtually no ancillary support. 

As Habibi’s medical teams continue to come and demonstrate hope is possible when someone cares, we begin to see small glimpses of hope in those same eyes of desperation. However, we also realize that two weeks a couple times a year with these friends are inadequate to forge more profound friendships. 

Every Yazidi has a personal story of relatives or friends lost through the horrible battle with ISIS. The young men and women have shattered dreams of missing school and gaining a degree or trade. The old men and women suffer physical and emotional pain, and wonder if they will ever regain their ancestral home and community in Sinjar. We cannot possibly fathom the pain and suffering they are experiencing by spending two weeks a couple of times a year with them. We want to dive deeper into their fears, worries, hopes, dreams, family relationships, and know their stories. We want to listen, work and live with them. We want to be incarnate in their midst.

With this singular desire, Habibi International is building a community center in a refugee camp of several thousand residents. This first Habibi Community Center will help deeper friendships blossom. We envision this center to be a place where love and hope are dispensed freely to all who come. 

We invite you to be a part of this endeavor. Will you join us?

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Dr David is the Chair of the Board of Habibi International. An internist-pediatrician, he has led many mobile medical teams to support forcibly displaced communities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq through primary healthcare.

Habibi International is building a community center in a camp for internally displaced persons in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The center will serve as a sustainable hub for residents of this camp and an adjacent camp to gather in community, seeking improved health and learning, together. It will include a Dental Center and Rehabilitation Center.

You can give to the Building Community fund here.