After two weeks in their new Sister City of Minneapolis, 13 Iraqi delegates from Najaf departed on October 2 to head home. The delegates had a busy, productive time in the Twin Cities, meeting with hundreds of educators, business and nonprofit professionals, government officials, and Twin Cities residents. The delegates look forward to future visits and exchanges with Minneapolitans and Americans. [caption id="attachment_591" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sami Rasouli, Director of Muslim Peacemaker Teams, and Al Nettles, IARP Board Member, at the Cornucopia Art Center for the Iraqi Art Exhibition "][/caption] One delegate, Dr. Asaad Al-Janabi, told us, "We are not here on vacation. ...
After more than a year of moving toward this goal, the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP) and our partner in Iraq the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT) are celebrating the beginning of a formal Sister City relationship between Najaf, Iraq and Minneapolis, MN USA. On Friday, July 31st, the Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution by unanimous vote establishing the two cities as official Sister Cities.
One day, a teacher was showing art by Iraqi students to a third grade classroom in Minnesota. A boy looked up and asked in a shaky voice, “You mean, there are children in Iraq?” In response to this innocent, heart wrenching query, the Iraqi & American Reconciliation Project (IARP) has created educational materials for school students, youth and adults. Here's how the project works: Read over the lesson plans for ideas you like. Download the PowerPoint of your choice and select the presentation format that works best for you. (Note: All PowerPoints include Speaker Notes that can be accessed via the directions, “Using Presenter ...
Below are some images of children at Al-Ghadeer Kindergarten in Najaf, where a small water purifier unit was recently installed by the Muslim Peacemaker Teams. 150 kids attend the school. Thanks to the sisters at Racine Dominicans for donating the purifier unit. I feel bad for the kids having to sit through so many pictures! (there are many more not shown here...)
Anthony Shadid at the Washington Post has a recent article about the pervasive influence of the American occupation on Iraqi culture (copied below). According to Shadid, some (mostly younger) Iraqis have embraced elements of American culture like rap, heavy metal and tattoos, while other Iraqis reject the changes. Great article, makes me wonder: how many Americans could name one famous Iraqi singer, or one Iraqi TV show, or one Iraqi Arabic word, or other marker of Iraqi pop culture?
IARP announces the release of two new photo galleries of students and schools in Iraq that have participated in IARP’s Water for Peace program and now have access to clean water. IARP thanks the many generous donors who have given these kids safe water and a healthier life.
Click on the images below to see the galleries.
Water for Peace Gallery 2
Click on the flyer to see the full size with information on tickets.
The Departure - Esam Saheb
Call for Artist Submissions
The Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project is seeking artists to submit their work for a juried visual arts group show, The Art of Conflict: Identity in Conflict and Displacement, opening in August 2010 at a gallery space in Minneapolis, MN. The exhibition will feature 12-15 works from local Twin Cities artists, and 12-15 works from Iraqi artists. To read guidelines and submit work, click here.
The exhibition aims to explore the themes of violent conflict, war, displacement, and personal identity by combining perspectives from those living within a violent conflict (Iraqi artists) and those who have “escaped” from such conflict (local refugee, immigrant, and veteran artists). In Minnesota, life amid violent conflict – in Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Honduras, Burma, or elsewhere – is difficult for many to imagine. Yet many Minnesotans, including refugees and veterans, have experienced directly war or violent conflict and live with that experience everyday. More »
A recent report on commondreams.org reports on greater rates of cancer and birth defects near more than 40 sites across Iraq that are contaminated with high levels of radiation and dioxins. Depleted uranium was among the poisons revealed in the report. To read the article, click here.
The Shape of Change is a multi-format project that looks at how American and Iraqi people represent and discuss concepts of change, freedom and democracy. The foundation of the project is the shapeofchange.com website, an interactive, online archive of opinions. The open-source data from the site is available for artists and educators to use as raw material for the creation of art projects, curriculum, and conversations between groups in the States and Iraq. For the archive to be successful, it must record a range of diverse opinions over a two year period as the US and Iraq separate from one another both militarily and psychologically.
To participate in the Shape of Change, click here.
An article from New America Media reports on the increase in cancer rates in Iraq. The article, “Cancer – The Deadly Legacy of the Invasion of Iraq,” can be found here.
Sami Rasouli, Director of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT) and co-founder of IARP, was recently featured in an article, “Peace group speaker split between cultures.” To read the full article, click here.
DEKALB, IL – Sami Rasouli feels split between two cultures. He has decided the only way out is a narrow corridor called peace.
Rasouli, who was born in Najaf in 1952 and spent the first half of his life in Iraq before moving to the United States, recently spoke to members of the DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice and others at the Unitarian Universalist Church in DeKalb. He said he is 100 percent Iraqi and 100 percent American, as he speaks both languages, understands both cultures and is deeply committed to nonviolence. More »
John Hays of the PureWater for All Foundation demonstrating use of the water sterilization unit
On January 2, 2010, IARP met with the Muslim Peacemaker Teams, PureWater for All Foundation, and Outreach Africa Medical Missions to discuss a new water sterilization unit. As part of IARP’s Water for Peace program, IARP and MPT are exploring this unit as a cost-effective way to provide clean water to Iraqi schools with no current access to safe water.
Background
Thanks to the generosity of Joan and Philip Haan and other donors, water sanitation systems were recently installed at two schools in Najaf, Iraq: Al-Basmalah and Al-Siraj Al-Muneer schools. The installations were part of IARP’s Water for Peace program.
