Hello my name is Gen.  Before I begin to fill this blog up with stories of refugees, current news from the Middle East, and other relevant information,  I would like to first take some space to locate myself in this whole experience. I am not Kurdish, nor am I Middle Eastern.  I am a thirty something year old American who was first introduced to Kurdish culture by my parents, who both served as disaster relief workers for a Christian organization in Iraq. Through their work, I have been able to speak with other relief workers, who have lived in Kurdistan. On November 14th I gave a presentation at a Religious Diversity Conference at Boston University (where I got my Masters in Theology) on Kurdish culture and the current conflict with ISIS/ISIL/Daesh in the Middle East. Although I’ve spent many hours researching and conducting interviews, I do believe this is the very start of my journey, and I have so much more to learn and experience.  My hope is that what I am doing here, this blogging, will be helpful to both the people who read, and the people for whom I am writing.  Please feel free to comment on my entries, about both the things written and the things you’d like to hear more about.

Thanks for visiting this space,

-Gen