I'm Michael and I'm travelling to Iraq in September to help the civillians and refugees after the fall out of the war.
Knowledge of the bloodshed and innocent victims claimed by an illegally waged war inspired me to travel to Iraq to join the Kurdish Peshmerga regional army on the frontline in Iraq a few months ago, I arrived back to Ireland in May and plan to return to help the refugees there in September
I've never met a more resilient, courageous, resourceful or hospitable people and the suffering they have to endure is horrific. They’re working and fighting for love of the land, and nothing else.
I fought on the front line with the kurdish army but when I go back in September it will be all humanitarian aid work rather than fighting.
The refugees displaced by the war are in dire need of help and we will be there first point of contact. People are living in rubble shells of houses, with sheets as windows, and children had no shoes. ISIS are only 10 km away, so the threat of them coming is constant. We have other refugees escaping villages that were controlled by ISIS coming to our lines and basically leaving their homes, their livestock, their lives to flee ISIS.
We are their first aftercare that they had. If they were dehydrated we’d give them fluid, medical care, shoes, food and basically be some reassurance for them and offer them a glimmer of hope.
I want to return there to offer assitance along with the Peshmerga unit and help build the communities back up.
All funds raised will go to travel expenses and to buy things to help the refugees.