New MCC representatives have history of caring for plight of Iraqi people

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 10 June 2000

Baghdad, IRAQ -- Tamara Fleming and Rick McCutcheon have for years advocated for the end of sanctions and war against Iraq. Now, they're moving to Baghdad to direct Mennonite Central Committee's (MCC) work for one year.

"I don't think there's any more important issue going on in the world," says McCutcheon whose passion for the issue dates back to just before the Persian Gulf war broke out in 1991.

More than 10 years of comprehensive sanctions against Iraq have devastated the country, leaving medicines and food, among other things, in extremely short supply. Plus, the United States and Britain continue to hit northern and southern no-fly zones in Iraq with almost daily air strikes.

Fleming and McCutcheon will replace Carmen Pauls, who has represented MCC in Iraq for the last year. They are currently working on Iraqi issues from Amman, Jordan, while they wait for visas.

McCutcheon says although he and Fleming will continue public education and advocacy work, they also feel it is important for North Americans to live alongside the people of Iraq. "What we desperately need is relationships with Iraqi people," he says.

In their work with MCC, Fleming and McCutcheon will monitor shipments of food aid, assist with hospital and school reconstruction, distribute school kits and more. "I see the role as being a witness. That's what I see a lot of what we're doing--being eyes and ears (to the world on what's happening in Iraq)," says Fleming.

They will also serve part time with the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) in Baghdad. McCutcheon is a member and Fleming an attender of the Religious Society of Friends.

McCutcheon also plans to continue research toward his doctorate in anthropology, focusing on the study of large-scale violence and its impact on local communities.

McCutcheon is an assistant professor of conflict resolution studies and international development on leave from Menno Simons College in Winnipeg, Man. Fleming has a degree in conflict resolution from Menno Simons College.

Fleming met McCutcheon when she invited him to speak about Iraq on a campus radio show she helped coordinate at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. The plight of Iraq resonated with her, and since then she has also worked closely with building public awareness on the Iraq issue.

McCutcheon says he is impressed with organizations like MCC and the American Friends Service Committee who link issues of development and peace. "And I've been very impressed with the long-term commitment they've made to Iraq," he says. He traveled twice to Iraq in 1991 with the Quakers.

McCutcheon is hopeful positive change is coming in Iraq. "This war is going to end. And I'm going to be a part of that. And this organization is going to be a part of it."

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org