Kurdish Children Less Worthy than Arab Children?

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The International Children’s Hearts Foundation (ICHF) reported this week on their blog that their planned mission to Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan has been canceled due to a sudden withdrawal of funding by a major donor.

The ICHF, which operates on children’s hearts all across the globe in places where local doctors are unable to perform the surgeries, was weeks away from sending a mission to Iraq when a donor announced that since the mission will be based in the Kurdish north of the country and the money was meant for Iraqi Arabs only, they’ll be pulling their $17,000 donation. The ICHF insisted that the children operated will come from all ethnicities, but to no avail. As a result of this shortage, the Foundation won’t be able to afford their trip to Iraqi Kurdistan, and no Iraqi kids – Kurdish or Arab – will be able to undergo the life-saving operations.

Anti-Kurdish racism is all too common in our region, where Kurdish blood is less sacred than the blood of others. But this kind of discrimination against dying children is simply infuriating.

If you can, please donate to the ICHF so they can reach the 5.5 million children awaiting surgeries worldwide.