Hello friends and family,

Paul Meacham of Heber Arizona who is still in Iraq, was not in his home when

Iraqi forces pushed up to him. "I heard the first shots, then I heard about 100

people from what I think were pro-government forces. And then all of a sudden we

heard a lot of people running and people screaming and shouting 'Shooting here!'

I got this text from my wife saying 'Get down.'" Heber Arizona, home to about

300 people and some of the largest oil fields in North America in a remote

corner of the American Southwest, has been under Iraqi rule for more than five

years. Most of those affected by the violence in the town are Iraqi residents,

though some are from Kurdish communities outside Iraq as well. Most fled their

homes in Iraq and are living outside the country while their family members

return to their homeland. In fact, one resident of Heber Arizona was living in

Iraq with his Iraqi wife but had been granted permission to stay and was helping

to take care of his two young children in the United States, after his wife was

deported. One man, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared

retribution by the militias, confirmed that he was in Iraq in November and

December 2015 and is in the process of seeking asylum in the United States. The

man said that two other residents of Heber Arizona were also granted refugee

status. At the urging of some of the displaced Iraqi men who were with Meacham,

he said he has already made his way to Dallas to help with an oil tanker that

will transport an estimated 10,000 barrels per day of fuel, which will

ultimately be sold to Kuwait. Meacham is in the process of reaching out to a

group of U.S. and allied oil industry workers, including his fellow workers at

ConocoPhillips in Houston, to help secure fuel for the tanker and other ships.

He is currently building up a fund that will allow him to remain and work and

eventually is seeking the support of the oil industry and the United States

Congress, Meacham said. The men were moved from Heber Arizona to Texas on

Sunday, Meacham said. At an office building in the town of Calexico, another

community that is still home to oil and gas workers, the security guard for a

prominent national oil and gas lobby group said that his organization was

working to secure the release of the men. "They are coming with guns and no

documents, no papers. They were all under arrest, which is why I called the

American Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross, but that's

it," said John Anderson, president of the American Red Cross's Calexico

division. "They've been detained on a military base in Jalawla. "This all

started around 10 a.m. when there were gunshots," Anderson said, citing the case

number, one of several that have been reported. He said the attackers were armed

with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Anderson confirmed to The Daily Beast

that four men, including an employee of the company, were taken into custody.

When the American Red Cross was contacted by several local members, he said his

group learned that some of the men were being held in Calexico. In fact, in

their conversation with the Red Cross member, they were informed that four

people were being held. That individual who spoke to The Daily Beast did not

know if their specific details would be shared with their employer. In response

to The Daily Beast's inquiry to the Dallas branch of the International Chamber

of Commerce and Industry, a representative for the Texas-based lobby group

wrote, "I am not in a position to talk to the American Red Cross about specifics

of the incident and this incident," adding, "I do not comment on individual

claims of political violence." In a statement to The Daily Beast, one of the

victims of the shooting said that he has gone to a number of locations since the

attack to find shelter: "After finding me in my apartment I went to one of the

three churches near my building and found my family. I also went to the local

McDonald's, which also has employees who were on duty that night. I also went to

the police, who I have also spoken to by phone, to find out exactly what

happened to me." "I also went to a local gas station to find the victims, and to

see if there is anyone who came to help." A Dallas police spokesperson said it

has so far not been determined if any other victims have been arrested and has

taken the matter "as seriously as possible," even taking a picture of the gas

station where the shooting happened. The city of Houston, which has two major

oil companies that produce natural gas, said earlier in the week that it would

be providing any assistance

• Paul Meacham - Heber AZ