EXCLUSIVE: FAI RESPONDS TO CORONAVIRUS IN IRAQI KURDISTAN
FAI Rawanduz Gateway Center leader Nathan James (far right) joins local mullahs in a joint prayer and training meeting to address the threat of coronavirus in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Wire is receiving encouraging reports from FAI field teams near Rawanduz, Iraqi Kurdistan this weekend, as FAI medical staff and gateway leaders have been engaging with patients and local communities around the Iranian frontier to address the threat of coronavirus across the border. FAI has maintained a presence in Rawanduz and the Soran Valley for over four years now, positioning the organization to be a reliable and trustworthy resource for Kurdish officials and residents.
Dr. Jessica is an FAI field team member who has been working directly with a group of over 200 patients who have been quarantined at different facilities in eastern Kurdistan after they crossed the border from Iran. She reports that, although many of the patients are presenting symptoms related to cold, flu and hypertension, there are no suspected cases of coronavirus so far. Nonetheless, FAI medical teams are taking full advantage of the opportunity to treat, encourage and pray with quarantine patients during an anguishing time of isolation, separated from their family and friends. FAI field team member David spoke with a young man who has been unable to sleep well for a year. After praying over the young man, Dr. David spoke a word of encouragement to him, promising that he would have a good night’s sleep. The young man reported the next morning that he had slept soundly for 12 hours, after which he serenaded FAI staff and fellow patients in the clinic with his violin.
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FAI field teams working in and around the Rawanduz Gateway Center (near the Iranian border in Iraqi Kurdistan) are providing training and treatment programs to quarantine patients and needy communities which are under-served and highly vulnerable to coronavirus. This is a critical and timely effort with unique opportunities. Will you partner with us?
FAI field team leader Nathan James has been working with Rawanduz-based staff to coordinate training initiatives in border communities that are threatened by coronavirus. In a video dispatch published yesterday, he describes the unprecedented opportunity he had to lead a joint-prayer and training session with 16-18 local mullahs. Muslim leaders have direct contact and influence with the people in their communities, and can pass along the training they receive to their congregants at Friday prayer meetings. Nathan requested and was granted the privilege of praying before the group with the aid of a translator, in which he prayed life and unity over the clerics gathered there. “Today was a very unique day”, Nathan said after the event, “I’ve never had this opportunity before. I’ve never heard of anyone having this opportunity before.” Nathan reported that some mullahs in the group approached him after the training to thank him for opening the meeting with prayer.
FAI will continue to seize every opportunity to assist local Kurdish communities with addressing the coronavirus outbreak in the region, including initiatives to train religious leaders, government officials, and even local police. These initiatives become even more critical as newly-confirmed cases of the deadly disease are being reported in nearby Kirkuk, which is presently controlled by the central Iraqi government. At least 8 cases have also been confirmed in the southern city of Najaf, as Iraq continues to experience the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic in neighboring Iran, where the disease was allowed to spread unchecked for several weeks due to malfeasance by the Iranian government.
