Kelly Hayes-Raitt

I am writing a book about my experiences with Iraqi refugees. I traveled to Iraq in February, 2003, five weeks before he US-led invasion and returned a few months later to find the people who had so deeply touched me. I spent the summer of 2008 in Damascus, Syria, volunteering to help those same Iraqis -- now refugees. While renting out my home to vacationers, I live in Santa Monica, CA, and Ajijic, Mexico, while I complete my book. I invite you to join my special list of friends and family who will receive a special pre-publication discount on my book! Just drop me an e-mail... Here's more: I was press credentialed by the Jordanian government when I returned to Iraq in July 2003, three months after the US-led invasion. I reported live from Baghdad, Fallouja, Hilla and Basra via satellite phone to National Public Radio, KNBC-TV and other news outlets. Additionally, I wrote a series of columns for the Santa Monica Daily Press. Random House published two of those columns in a widely distributed mainstream anthology (Female Nomad & Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World, June 2010) and one column appears in Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011 (Travelers Tales, June 2011). Since 2007, I've reported while held at gunpoint at a checkpoint in the West Bank, from a Palestinian refugee camp a week after the Lebanese Army destroyed it, and from the No Man’s Land between the Syrian and Iraqi borders where Iraqi-Palestinians languish in a snake- and scorpion-infested camp. As an independent citizen-journalist, I've been able to slip into places where mainstream reporters are barred. A recipient of five writing fellowships over three years, I've lived in writing colonies as far-flung as Bialystok, Poland. In order to write my book, I rent out my own home to vacationers and live elsewhere, housesitting or in writing colonies. I've spoken about my experiences in Iraq to hundreds of audiences throughout the world, including US Congresswomen and am available to come to your community or college. I blog at www.PeacePATHFoundation.org.