I decided to start with Turkey and get myself to Iraq and then Jordan where the Women’s Refugee Commission had staff and programs for Iraqi Refugees.



I had been a refugee as a child from Iran in the early 1980s. There was the Revolution but then there was the war that had been going on over my family’s head for years until we had no choice but to leave. I wanted to go back as an adult who had been committed to the plight of families in emergency zones throughout my studies and career and walk along the refugees who were fleeing Iraq as my family had fled Iran when I was a child. Literally. Through the desert. Camels. Caravans. It happened. It was hot. I hate camels.

Turkey is a great starting point because I got to see Europe



change after a short boat ride



into Asia.