A welcome friend

*Lina was 13 when she was made to marry.

She soon became pregnant. However, she lost her child and, while in hospital, was told by doctors she had a weak heart. Her husband divorced her.

Still in her teens, Lina, from Iraq, now lives back with her parents, humiliated and lonely.

Feba’s FM Iraq station became a welcome friend in her life and, one day, she decided to phone in.

*Farah answered the call and the two now speak regularly.

‘Lina felt she could no longer be honest with men and found it hard to trust them,’ explains Farah. ‘She isn’t a Christian but I hope that, through my actions and words, I can reflect the love of Christ to her.

‘Through our talks, she told me she now feels comfortable, she feels at peace. She cries with me, and I cry with her.’

On air and off

Speaking about her work, Farah is visibly moved.

The 23-year-old is a presenter, writer, producer and editor for the station. Her programmes address the position of girls and young women in the country, a subject close to her heart.

‘As a young woman, I really care about other young women here,’ she says. ‘I want their voices to be heard and for them to be respected. I want their souls to be healed, because they are hurting and tired.

‘There are many people in Iraq who are very tired, in many different ways, and I like to help them.

‘Women trust us, and talk openly with us,’ she says. ‘Often they have no one really to talk to. Perhaps that is why radio is so appealing: they can talk to us, and we listen – on air and off.’

A true love

*Amira, too, was crying when she phoned the team.

She was responding to a question posed by the station that day: ‘What would you like to say to your parents?’

The 22-year-old student wept, saying: ‘I want to rebel against them’, before hanging up. When the programme finished, *Alia, another team member, called Amira back.

‘Amira explained that her parents were making her marry her cousin,’ says Alia. ‘Her cousin loves her and wants to marry her, but she doesn’t feel the same for him and is not yet ready to marry and start a family. Her parents continued to pressure her and she didn’t know what to do.’

Alia suggested she speak to her cousin and explain her own feelings. She promised to pray for Amira in this.

Though nervous, Amira spoke with her cousin and explained her position. Listening carefully, her cousin told Amira he respected her wishes and assured her he would speak to the family.

Amira called Alia back and thanked her for the advice and prayer.

‘She felt so happy,’ says Alia. ‘She felt her hope was restored. She said she hadn’t realized the power of prayer before, that she was sure God had spoken to her cousin.

‘She told me she had felt an extraordinary love from our station and she wanted to know that same love herself.’