Sunday, November 15, 2015

Gulf War Veteran Tends to Kurds Ravaged by ISIS

It was already a remarkable story. But in light of the recent ISIS terrorism in Paris, Beirut and aboard a Russian airliner, the 2016 feature documentary The Longest Road is likely to attract a lot more attention.

Per a recent item in OC Weekly, the project is being directed by a pair of Southern and Central California collaborators. Matthew Charles is an alumnus of Chapman University, while Jennifer Salcido, who lives in Lompoc, has taught at the University of Dohuk in Iraqi Kurdistan.



The star of the documentary is a man named Richard Campos, 63. Per the project notes:

In the region of Iraqi Kurdistan there are currently 2 million people who have been displaced from their homes by the terrorist regime, Daesh - better known to the world as ISIS. A world away, former Army Sergeant Campos struggles in the aftermath of serving in an unpopular war.
Managing that struggle, he has decided to pick up where politicians have left off. He has started a new mission. Recruiting fellow heroes and humanitarians along the way, Campos will come to the aide of Syrian and Iraqi minorities, all while battling personal demons from years past - and serving in the shadow of very present new ones.

There's a separate Indiegogo campaign which aims to fund another trip to the Iraq conflict zone next March by Campos. It's off to a slow start. The U.S. vet is planning to donate two refurbished ambulances as well as time his visit to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8th.

Per the synopsis above, it's again worth noting that Campos, from Stockton, California, found his way to his unusual humanitarian mission because he was searching for something to re-balance his post-combat nerves. The film takes its tile from a Kurdish proverb, which reads: "A good companion shortens the longest road."

[The Longest Road]

1 comment:

  1. This is an excellent project which tries to circumvent some of the nastier aspects of the UK government's policies regarding the children of EEA and other nationalities whose parents have been granted the right to reside and are being told this right does not automatically apply to their children. deixar de fumar

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