The original version of this article appeared in The Veteran (Spring 2011).
By Luke Wilcox
“It’s not clear how much time passed. Perhaps it was only a handful of minutes. Suddenly, she awoke to a burst of pain. Sitting squarely on top of her legs was a shell bomb. Shock and horror. Crushing weight. Loss of consciousness. An errant US shell had crashed through her bedroom wall and landed on top of her as she slept in bed. It did not detonate. If it had, this would be a different story. There would be nothing left to speak of.”
— Excerpt from Zainab Jawhar, a book by Clare Beer, Monica Haller, and Zainab Jawhar appearing in the exhibit, Navigating the Aftermath.
Navigating the Aftermath is an art exhibit and campaign that creates a shared space for Iraqis and Americans to speak about the ongoing war in Iraq and its consequences.
Organized by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP), Navigating the Aftermath opened on February 18 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. From June to October, it will tour with the film, The Unreturned (a documentary film following five Iraqi refugee families), to six towns in Minnesota: Duluth, Ely, Mankato, Bemidji, St. Cloud, and Winona.
Minneapolis-based artist Sean Smuda sent artworks from his Blown Derivatives project with Muslim Peacemaker Teams Director Sami Rasouli when Sami returned to Najaf, Iraq this past February. Today, the artworks are traveling to farms, art exhibits, local streets by holy shrines and various communities in Karbala, Iraq. This display of Blown Derivatives is made possible by Iraqi artist Ibraheem Hussein, his family and artist friends. It is Smuda’s hope to have Iraqi artists create work in response to them.
Muslim Peacemaker Teams Director Sami Rasouli on Iraqi artists and the Iraqi Art Project. Check out our upcoming exhibit, Navigating the Aftermath, which brings Iraqi and American artists together.
The Unreturned follows five Iraqis and their families who are among the 40 percent of the country’s middle class who have fled the country since 2003. Without them, Iraq still lacks reliable electricity, clean water, sanitation, and health-care services. This is an unmitigated disaster for Iraq, a shattered nation that desperately needs its native professional class to return and help itself rebuild.
The UNHCR Refugee Film Festival raises awareness of the world’s 43 million refugees and internally displaced persons who are forced to flee due to persecution and conflict. The 5th edition of the festival will present about 20 films from all over the world, with numerous filmmakers and special guests in attendance.
Please click below to donate to IARP and support Iraqi refugees and the rebuilding of Iraq.
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