Walking around with a tape measure and hammer gave Jeff Bultje a sense of security in Kurdistan – at least to a point.
“I was surprised how safe it is,” he said. “I wasn’t carrying a gun so I wasn’t a threat but on the other hand you are aware that you can be bombed at any minute.”
Chatham Mazda from Chatham Voice on Vimeo.
Bultje returned Saturday from two weeks of installing doors and windows in homes and providing milk to thousands of children in the war-ravaged town of Duhok Seje in the region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
Local resident Sean Moore and Phiez Solomon, a native Iraqi who have both taken part in earlier aid efforts, accompanied him.
Bultje collected $16,000 in Canadian funds for the work that he said was very much appreciated.
“These people have a very difficult time getting help from their own officials,” he said. “They don’t have much in the way of possessions but they shared hospitality and meals with us.”
He said Christians and the Yazidi people face heavy discrimination. “There are checkpoints everywhere and your identification lists your religion. If you aren’t Muslim you aren’t going to get help from the government.”
He said one 17-year-old boy in the village has had to flee ISIS terrorism three times already.
“The noose is tightening on these people,” he said. “They can’t even claim refugee status because they’re in their own country but unless something is done, they will be wiped out.”
Bultje said the only thing keeping ISIS and genocide at bay is the Kurdistan Pashmerga, the same group in which Wheatley native John Gallagher was serving when he was killed last month.
“If we or someone doesn’t fight them, millions of people will be massacred,” he said.
