Betrayed A Play

Millions of Iraqis, spanning the country's religious and ethnic spectrum, welcomed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. But the mostly young men and women who embraced America's project so enthusiastically that they were prepared to risk their lives for it by aiding the U.S. forces constitute a small minority. On a cold, wet night in January 2007, George Packer met two such Iraqi men in the lobby of the Palestine Hotel, in central Baghdad to hear their story and those of other Iraqis working as translators and additional key personnel for the U.S. military and occupation authorities. They assumed that their perspective would be valuable to foreigners who knew little or nothing of Iraq. But instead of respect and gratitude, those who chose to help bridge the gap between the occupiers and the occupied were met with suspicion and hostility. They have been killed by insurgents and militias, ignored by U.S. officials, fired from their jobs without reason or recourse, and prevented from fleeing to the States for safety.Based on Packer's account inThe New Yorker,Betrayedis a riveting and morally complex drama that explores in the Iraqis' own words the ways in which we have already abandoned them. It will have its world premiere in January 2008, off-Broadway at the Culture Project. George Packeris a staff writer forThe New Yorkerand the author of several books, includingThe Assassins' Gate, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, andBlood of the Liberals, winner of the 2001 Robert F. Kennedy Award. He is also the editor of the anthologyThe Fight Is for Democracy.He lives in Brooklyn. Winner of the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play In January 2007, George Packer met two Iraqis in the lobby of the Palestine Hotel to hear their stories and those of other Iraqis, who embraced America's presence in the nation so enthusiastically that they risked their lives to work as translators and additional key personnel. Such Iraqi citizens, mostly young men and women, have been killed by insurgents and militias, ignored by U.S. officials, fired from their jobs without reason or recourse, and prevented from fleeing to the States for safety. They assumed that their perspective would be valuable to foreigners who knew little or nothing of the country, but those who have tried to help bridge the gap between the occupiers and the occupied have received little respect or gratitude. Based on Packer's account inThe New Yorker,Betrayedis a drama that explores, in the Iraqis' own words, the ways in which America has abandoned them. "A Sunni who has worked for years as a translator for the Americans in Iraq, [Adnan] has been denied a visa to immigrate to the United States . . . His plight is one of three heart-rending tales woven together in Betrayed, a new play by George Packer about the suffering of Iraqis who have risked everything to help the American government and military in Iraq--and have, all too often, received insufficient protection in return. The play . . . explores its subject with a clean focus that draws out the emotional power of the material with clinical precision."--Charles Isherwood,The New York Times "A Sunni who has worked for years as a translator for the Americans in Iraq, [Adnan] has been denied a visa to immigrate to the United States . . . His plight is one of three heart-rending tales woven together inBetrayed, a new play by George Packer about the suffering of Iraqis who have risked everything to help the American government and military in Iraq--and have, all too often, received insufficient protection in return. The play . . . explores its subject with a clean focus that draws out the emotional power of the material with clinical precision . . . Mr. Packer'

George Packer is a staff writer for The New Yorker.