- Title: IRAQ: Canadian and American volunteers join Arbain pilgrimage for charity
- Date: 24th January 2011
- Summary: NAJAF, IRAQ (JANUARY 22, 2011) (REUTERS) SHI'ITE PILGRIMS WALKING ON ROAD BETWEEN THE HOLY CITIES OF NAJAF TO KERBALA FEMALE SHI'ITE PILGRIMS CLAD IN BLACK WITH SOME CARRYING FLAGS WALKING ON ROAD HEADING FOR KERBALA MAN SERVING TEA FOR WALKING SHI'ITE PILGRIMS AMONG THEM THE CANADIANS AND U.S. CITIZENS SHI'ITE PILGRIMS WALKING / CANADIAN CITIZEN WALKING WITH REUTERS CORRESPONDENT FOLLOWED BY HIS COLLEAGUES CANADIAN SALES MANAGER MICHAEL SYMONS WALKING/ LOOKING BEHIND JOINED BY HIS FEMALE COLLEAGUE GROUP OF CANADIANS AND U.S. CITIZENS WALKING AMONG IRAQI SHI'ITE PILGRIMS TWO OF THE CANADIANS WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English)CANADIAN SALES MANAGER MICHAEL SYMONS, SAYING: "I am here on behalf of the Child Aid International and the effort is called a walk for life. This is happening during the period of the Arbain. We have been walking between Najaf and Kerbala in Iraq. The mission serves a rally of purposes, one of the most important is to show solidarity with the Iraqi people, to show them that we care about their culture, we care about their concerns. And our efforts, fund raising efforts in Canada that we send to the Iraqi people in our various offices here are designed to help Iraqis help themselves and to ensure that Iraqis have a role in building their future." CANADIANS STANDING TAKING TO ONE ANOTHER FEMALE CANADIAN TAKING PICTURES AS SHE STANDS WITH HER COLLEAGUES CANADIANS AMONG IRAQI SHI'ITE PILGRIMS ON ROAD BETWEEN NAJAF AND KERBALA (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADIAN SALES MANAGER MICHAEL SYMONS, SAYING: "We all have some concerns about this. One of the things that we want to make sure we do is to show solidarity with the Iraqi people. all of those people who you see around you (interrupted by chants of pilgrims of 'there is no God but Allah') all of those people who are doing this walk, are taking part in this walk, themselves and they're going through the same risk as we are doing. We care about the Iraqi people and we want to make sure we are here with them and walking with them side by side." CANADIAN SALES MANAGER MICHAEL SYMONS WALKING AMONG SHI'ITES FOLLOWED BY HIS COLLEAGUES GROUP OF CANADIANS AND U.S. CITIZENS WALKING AMONG PILGRIMS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) NOURI AL-HASSANI, AN IRAQI WHO HAS CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP AND IS THE HEAD OF THE CHILD AID INTERNATIONAL CHARITY, SAYING: "We came from Canada specifically to help get aid for the Iraqi people in a fund raising effort from people abroad for Iraq's orphans. We have scheduled our trip for this time when hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands (of Shiite Iraqis) or more are walking (on the same highway) to attract the attention of people abroad and to attract the attention of the media too."
- Embargoed: 8th February 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq, Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: International Relations,Religion
- Reuters ID: LVAF1Y8J2K0QH45KV55MK7QEY32U
- Story Text: A group of Canadian and American volunteers defy insurgent bomb threats to join this year's Arbain pilgrimage to raise money for Iraqi orphans.
Among the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims streaming into the Iraqi holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala on Saturday (Jan. 22), Michael Symons' blonde goatee and bald white head stood out like a beacon.
The Canadian sales manager was among a group of Canadian and U.S. citizens, some of them formerly from Iraq, who joined this year's Arbain pilgrimage to raise money for Iraqi orphans, like other walkers defying the threat of bomb attacks by insurgents.
"I am here on behalf of the Child Aid International and the effort is called a walk for life. This is happening during the period of the Arbain. We have been walking between Najaf and Kerbala in Iraq. The mission serves a rally of purposes, one of the most important is to show solidarity with the Iraqi people, to show them that we care about their culture, we care about their concerns. And our efforts, fund raising efforts in Canada that we send to the Iraqi people in our various offices here are designed to help Iraqis help themselves and to ensure that Iraqis have a role in building their future," Symons said as he set off from the city of Najaf toward Kerbala, wearing sun glasses and dressed like the rest of the crowd in black.
Arbain, which culminates on Tuesday, marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed who was killed in a 7th Century battle and is a central figure of Shi'ite Islam. He is believed to be buried in Kerbala.
Shi'ite ceremonies were banned under Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.
Since Saddam's fall in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, millions of Shi'ites from Iraq, neighbouring Iran and Muslim communities around the world have visited cities like Kerbala and Najaf, which contain some of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites.
Sometimes pilgrims come from the West. They all put their lives on the line for their faith.
"We all have some concerns about this. One of the things that we want to make sure we do is to show solidarity with the Iraqi people. all of those people who you see around you (interrupted by chants of pilgrims of 'there is no God but Allah') all of those people who are doing this walk, are taking part in this walk, themselves and they're going through the same risk as we are doing. We care about the Iraqi people and we want to make sure we are here with them and walking with them side by side," Symons said.
Arbain ranks among the top targets of Sunni Islamist groups like al Qaeda which view Shi'ites as apostates and are still trying to reignite the sectarian war that almost tore Iraq apart at its peak in 2006-07.
At least 45 people were killed and around 200 wounded on Wednesday when two car bombs tore through crowds of pilgrims near checkpoints into Kerbala.
The assaults bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda and officials say they are meant to undermine confidence in Iraqi security forces ahead of the full withdrawal of U.S. forces this year.
Nouri al-Hassani, an Iraqi who has Canadian citizenship and is the head of the Child Aid International charity said that he and his colleagues were trying to raise funds to help all the orphans in Iraq regardless of their ethnicity, whether they are Shi'ite, Sunni or Christians.
"We came from Canada specifically to help get aids for the Iraqi people in a fund raising effort from people abroad for Iraq's orphans. We have scheduled our trip for this time when hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands (of Shiite Iraqis) or more are walking (on the same highway) to attract the attention of the people abroad and to attract the attention of the media too," he said.
Hassani said they had their own fears about the attack, but the members of the group were determined to complete their walk of life.
"In fact we took these (attacks) into consideration and I told my colleagues that if they wanted to we could cancel the walk or postpone it, but they were determined to walk as we have promised ourselves and as we have promised all the people. We called the walk, a walk for life," Hassani said.
Hassani, who fled Iraq in 1991 and whose brother and father were executed by Saddam's Baath party, hopes to raise $200,000 through the walk from Najaf to Kerbala for Iraqi orphans.
His group supports 465 Iraqi orphans currently, after being established in 2004.
Also taking part in the 90-km (55-mile) walk were Asif Tejani, a Canadian dentist, and two female U.S. citizens, Aatiya Zaidi, and Azra Khalfan.
Both the women wore all-enveloping black abayas, making them indistinguishable from the river of other pilgrims flowing by below billowing black flags and past tents where relief organisations offer food and drink to trekkers.
The group was shadowed by undercover Iraqi police officers to provide some additional security. The Iraqi government has deployed around 120,000 police and troops during Arbain. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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