The Second Part of My U.S. Memoir: MEPI Georgetowners as a Unique Family

MEPI Georgetwoners attending a lecture

by Mahdi Mala Abdullah
 By being a participant in the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) in 2011, I feel like to be the luckiest man in the world for it was the most experienced program ever. From June 22 to July 26^th, 2011, only about a month and half, MEPI provides me a chance to get my own homes from the United States and several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It helps me and all its participants  to understand what is going on in each of these countries. It offers me a chance to recognize the customs and cultures of several countries where the participants come from. Regardless of the academic and leadership skills that I learn from MEPI, I feel like to have my real family in several countries from now on.

In this piece of writing, I don’t want to focus on the skills and academic lessons that I learn from MEPI that are numerous and uncountable. The theme that I feel obligated to mention and stress on here is that MEPI facilitates ways for me and its participants to easily understand and travel to several countries around the globe without feeling home sick. Before I have been one of the MEPI participants, I had a dream to know and travel to several countries. It was a desire that I just had a dream about and never expected to turn that dream into reality. However, as it has been said, “Dreams never die,” I 'm convinced with that saying since I get several siblings in each of these countries whom I can easily get support from to make one of my best dreams become true. From now on, whenever I want to visit or understand anything about the United States, Middle Eastern and North African countries, it will be a piece of cake to get that. I don’t need to spend hours reading books and googling to get the answer for my questions about these places. I don’t need to waste time to find the reliable sources in the Internet to understand what is going on in these countries since I get to be a brother of several nice people who are dying to hear from me asking them whatever I need to know about their countries. My lovely mentors, Nancy Keaner, Virginia Vassar, Kate Seifert , and Dominique Debucquoy are those people who always looking forward to hearing from me throw them my questions about the United states. From now on, I will never be worry about anything whenever I want to visit the United States because these people are there and are opening their hands to warmly welcome me to their homes. The words, “I can’t wait until I see you again CHARLIE. You feel like having a home here whenever you want to visit the United States,” are the words that I always find them in my inbox from my lovely mentors.

Today, I feel like to be home not only when I am in Iraq, but also when I am in the United States and almost all the countries in both Middle East and North Africa. I will visit Jordon and will have nothing to worry about whenever I want to go  because Farah al-Omeri is waiting me there and always telling me, “I’m missing you way too much Brother Charlie. Please visit me.” I can visit Tunisia anytime I want without taking a dollar with me since Aymen is waiting me there and is always looking forward to meeting me there. Now, I feel like to have my own home in Algeria for Djizella is there and will tell me “Stop and zip it,” if I ever tell her sorry to bother you Djizella. I can go to Lebanon and take no money with me despite its expensive things since Maya is there, and she is always telling me “yala yala, come and visit Lebanon, please.” I can easily perform one of the most important pillars of Islam that is called Pilgrimage because Lama, who is the sweetest girl in the world, is living there. I won’t have any problem if I ever want to see Yemen since Hyam and her future fiance are there and dying to host me in their home. Moreover, I can easily go and see the pillars of Egypt since Muhammed is there and is always telling me, “I have never expected to be such difficult without being with the MEPI Georgetowners.”  I can go and see the tallest building in the world and get thousands of pictures since I have Khalifa, my lovely friend and brother, who is from the United Arab Emirate and will also give me a nice haircut for free. I can easily go and see Quads, a place where I always have a dream about to visit, since Zainab is there and is always writing me, “Wallah I miss you Kurdish people.” Esrael is no longer a dangerous country for me as a son of Sallahaddin Al-Aubi, a Kurdish Warrior who could free Palestine, because I am convinced that Nour Kittany will be a big Wasta to protect me from anyone there who want to hurt me because of what has Salahaddin done with his country.  From now on, I can easily differentiate between Amman and Oman, the thing that I always have problem with, since Hawra, one of my best friends is from Oman, a girl who never feels asleep. Also, it is a piece of cake for me to go to Morocco because Saad is there and is waiting me with his various music instruments. From now on, I will not ask my Dad to pay me money because I have Baba Aziz from Kuwat, who will take care of everything about me. I have not only a chance to easily see these several countries, but also various town and cities from my own country, Iraq. I will never be worry to visit the south since Yasir is waiting to see me and dance with me. It is easy for me to go to Kirkuk and feel nothing except safety despite its bad situation for Omer, one of my best and beloved friends, is there and sending me several texts every single day that are telling me, “I wish I could live with you in the same house Mahdi. I’m dying to see you again and again. Please come and let’s sing Shorba together.” Furthermore, I will never be worry about buying anything when I am in Sulaimani since Saya is there and waiting until I ask her let’s go shopping.  Last but not least, I get a home in Halabj, a town where almost everyone is willing to see because of the most dramatic events that were happened in that town because Peshawa, my lovely brother is there.

I am sure it is not only me who feels that he has homes in such various countries in the world. One can easily notice that all the MEPI Georgetwoners feel the same if he or she check our facebook page for a minute. He or she will see how much we love each other. He or she will absolutely be surprise by the great and strong relationship that we, MEPI Georgetwoners, all get because of being the MEPI Participants.

I would love to tell my new siblings around the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States that you all have your own homes here in Kurdistan and Iraq. You feel free to come and stay as long as you want without even taking a penny with you.

Briefly, it is worth mentioning that all the MEPI 2011 participants should thank those who come up with the idea of providing such a crucial program like MEPI that helps people to not only understand the United States, but also combines and creates new family for all its participants in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. MEPI Organizers, we appreciate the great help that you all provide us this year. It is one of the greatest programs ever that teaches its participants as much as they learn during their four-year-colleges despite its short period of time. You teach us not only what is going on in the United States, but also help us to understand and think deeply about our own countries. Thank You!

Note:
For some of the readers, part of the  third paragraph of this article may not make a lot of sense. It is mostly dedicated to the MEPI Georgetwoners, whom I  had  a lot of fun with during the program and to remind them some of the phrases that we always used to describe and call each other with.