Yesterday at about 6pm, Jeremy Courtney of PLC received a phone call from Lawen of Soma. That the 1st Lady of Iraq would meet with us to do an interview at 7:30pm.
We were about 4 blocks from the house at the PLC office, and had to hustle back to the house and change into way nicer clothes.
Someone had told Jeremy we needed flowers, so he walked up the street while I searched frantically for my socks because here, you take your shoes off before you enter someones home. And I guess it’s a bad idea to walk around with dirty feet in such a nice house?
I finally found my socks and we met Jeremy up the street a flower shop to figure out which flowers you give the 1st Lady of an entire nation. I said something exotic and white, but he ended up going for an arrangement which looks oddly like a smile.
So we got a taxi. Which is a a 4 door sedan, and 3 Americans and equipment piled into the car. I quickly tried to get gear arranged as we drove over to soma. This included pulling batteries out of my Kata bag, and getting my wireless mic kit together.
We got to Soma, and Lawen came out to meet us, as well as Scott from PLC. A small 4 door red BMW pulled up and Lawen climbed into the front seat. So then Matt, myself, Jeremy, and Scott and our gear had to fit in the backseat that’s really only made to comfortably seat 2. We’re all Americans mind you.
On this drive I did mic checks with Jeremy to make sure my signal flow was straight as the driver did about 110mph down two lane mountain roads, around cars and dodging people.
We were waved passed countless guards armed with AK’s, and sat to have chai and dessert with the 1st Lady.
All of this is on video. However my favorite quote from her for the night is not.
“I was always afraid the people of Kurdistan would give up. They had so much trouble with Iran, and then Sadaam, and then another war. I wad afraid they would quit. But the didn’t. They still have hope. They have strong hearts.”
I had to keep a “HELL YEAH!” to myself. Apparently that wouldn’t have been appropriate.
-Michael