Rebecca Collard, He Helped Iraq’s Most Famous Refugee Escape ISIS. Now He’s the One Who Needs Help

When Collard first spoke to Omar Abdel Jabar in the fall of 2017, she almost didn’t believe his story. By phone from Germany, he told her about the night in 2014 when future Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nadia Murad knocked on his door, his decision to take her in, the harrowing plan to smuggle her out of Mosul and the devastating consequences that followed. Collard traveled to Mosul to meet his family and later to Germany to meet Jabar in person in the northwestern German town of Torgau. Jabar had not received refugee status and only a form of temporary protection in Germany that was soon expiring. This is a story about unrecognized heroes and the heavy cost of heroism, but more so about the randomness of global refugee policy and the struggle of the millions that have fled their homes in Iraq and Syria in recent years. The story was well-read online reaching a large audience in the U.S. and abroad when it was published in July. When Murad won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, it brought new attention to Jabar’s case and started a debate online about why he did not receive more recognition and support. It raised the profile of his case in both European and Iraqi media. A member of the German parliament is now promoting Jabar’s case and he is hopeful he will be granted refugee status. and rights groups sought to help resolve his status in Germany and provide him with support. Others offered financial assistance.