For up-to-date information on the show, click here. Two Iraqi artists participating in the show will be at the Minneapolis Aquatennial on July 18, 2010. Come to welcome them and see their work! IARP is excited to announce the opening of The Art of Conflict: Identity in War and Displacement on July 29 at Tarnish and Gold gallery in Minneapolis. The juried art show will bring 15 pieces by Iraqi artists and 15 pieces by American artists together in dialogue on the effects of war and displacement. Two Iraqi artists will travel from Iraq to Minneapolis for the exhibit. [caption id="attachment_1860" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Middle East ...
By Mika Thuening Thirteen-year old Hassan Khalid was suffering from fever, headaches, and vomiting. He had drunk water from a tap and contracted typhoid. Unfortunately, Hassan is not alone in falling victim to the unsafe water of Iraq. In 2007, the World Health Organization confirmed over 3,300 cases of cholera, a disease that spreads through contaminated water, resulting in at least 14 deaths.[1] The number one killer of children under 5 years of age is water borne diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, and hepatitis.[2] Although these diseases are preventable by treating water for human consumption, millions of Iraqis remain at risk ...
Students at Perpich Center Arts High School in Minneapolis, USA recently created postcards to send to students in Iraq as part of their "Women and Water" project. The students also wrote messages on the backs of the postcards. Below is a sample of what will be sent to Iraq. If your school would like to be involved in the Iraqi Art Project, please contact us.[gallery order="DESC"]
On January 28, 2010, Dr. Liz Wieling traveled to Najaf, Iraq to collaborate with the Muslim Peacemaker Teams to conduct an initial assessment of mental health needs and psychological trauma of families in Najaf. To read the report, click here.
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. Read the background articles on schools, education, and water in Iraq. Download the PowerPoint of your choice and select the presentation format that works best for you. (Note: All PowerPoints include Speaker ...
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?
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.
Sami Rasouli, Director of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams, has been speaking to audiences in Minnesota and Wisconsin about peacebuilding in Iraq and the United States. Check out this article by Mary Grieco of the Catholic Herald: “Iraqi-American peace activist seeks to ‘build bridge’.”
You can hear audio from one of his presentations here.
You can now support peace and reconciliation by purchasing greeting cards from IARP. Designs are original art by Iraqi artists and all profits support Iraqi artists and the peace-building work of the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP) and the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT).
Click here to see all Greeting Cards.
Sami Rasouli, Director of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams and IARP Board Member, recently spoke at the University of Minnesota-Duluth about the work of IARP and MPT to build connections and peace between Iraqis and Americans. Sami also spoke about the current situation in Iraq and the challenges of rebuilding Iraqi society. Below are a few photos from the event:
