#Iraq20

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Talking about a revolution? Exploring Socialist perspectives on Iraq

In the article Communism and the Iraqi Revolution, Benjamin Curry of the UK based Socialist Appeal (British section of the International Marxist Tendency) goes to the roots of the revolutionary history of the Iraqi people.

According to Benjamin Curry, the 2003 US/UK invasion of Iraq and the liquidation of the Ba’athist state, “opened a Pandora’s Box in Iraq” but “for a time in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s Iraq became the key theatre of struggle in one of the most significant dramas in modern history.”

Estimates suggest more than a million people were killed in the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq and as Benjamin Curry argues: “The conditions in Iraq today cry out for the socialist reorganisation of society. The contradictions will permit no other solution.” 

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Building the safety net. Child protection in a time of conflict

This year marks twenty years since the 2003 US/UK invasion of Iraq. Launched on the basis that Saddam Hussain's government possessed 'weapons of mass destruction', which could hit neighbouring countries in '45 minutes', the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq started a chain reaction of events, which can still be felt to this day.

The following is taken from the 2013 article Iraq Ten Years On: What You Don’t Hear! by Hussein Al-alak which was published by the Palestine Chronicle and the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram. According to the Iraqi Children Foundation, more than 800,000 children were orphaned as result of the Iraq war.

“Throughout the US/UK occupation, the Association of Psychologists of Iraq repeatedly warned about the damage being caused to Iraq’s children, with “learning impediments” having been brought on by the fear of guns, bullets, death and a general “fear of the occupation”.

The Integrated Regional Information Networks also reported how violence and a lack of resources have undermined the education sector in Iraq. “No student will graduate with sufficient competence to perform his or her job, and pupils will end the year with less than 60 percent of the knowledge that was supposed to have been imparted to them”.

According to one primary school teacher in Baghdad’s Mansour district, teachers have become unable to complete a year’s curriculum because of violence, low attendance as a result of fear and a general lack of teaching materials provided by the authorities.”

IRAQ 20: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Just one year after the publication of Hussein Al-alak’s article, in 2014 Iraq witnessed the invasion of Mosul and other parts of the country by the group known as IS, which displaced more than 1.3 million. 

Organisations like the AMAR Foundation have a longstanding commitment to education and in 2016, AMAR’s School for Orphans was built in Basra. The school has modern facilities and provides a broad curriculum, so children get the best start in life.

In Baghdad, the Iraqi Children Foundation also run three mobile schools called the Hope Buses. These deliver tutoring, healthcare and social support to orphans, street kids and displaced children living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods across Baghdad.

PTSD is caused by highly stressful, frightening or distressing events. Escaping Darkness is a specialist Mental Health service that was established by the AMAR Foundation, to support Yazidi women and girls overcome the trauma of kidnap, abuse and modern day slavery at the hands of IS.

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#Iraq20: “Where Do You Live?” Artists bridge the gap between the US and Iraq

On March 5 at 12 p.m. Boston Playwrights Theater will be the home for a very special event, Where Do You Live? Creative Dialogue between Iraqi and American Women. 

The afternoon gathering will showcase ongoing work in poetry, theater, and the visual arts from members of Her Story Is, a collective of women based in Iraq and the US that is committed to peaceful dialogue and creative partnerships. 

In addition to presenting collaborations between women of both countries, the event will be dedicated to remembering the 20th anniversary of the March 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq as well as the 16th anniversary of the 2007 bombing of Al-Mutannabi Street, in the cultural district of Baghdad.

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#Iraq20: New book explores what it’s like being a stranger in your own city

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad was born in Iraq in 1975. He began writing for the Guardian and the Washington Post after the US-led invasion in 2003 and has reported across Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Afghanistan for the past twenty years. Putting the experiences of civilians at the heart of his writing, he has won numerous awards including the British Press Awards' Foreign Reporter of the Year, the Orwell Prize for Journalism and two Emmys.

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad’s new book A Stranger in Your Own City has been described by William Dalrymple as being;

“A crucial and important new voice, as brilliant, passionate and fearless as he is well-informed, skeptical and nuanced. But Ghaith Abdul-Ahad is also a writer of exquisite prose, whose thoughtful, moving and often disturbing work elevates war reportage and the memoir of conflict and loss to levels rarely seen since Michael Herr's Dispatches or James Fenton's All the Wrong Places. A Stranger in Your Own City is that rarity: a genuine melancholy masterpiece.”

According to Nadifa Mohamed, A Stranger in Your Own City is a book where;

“In this searing and clear-eyed account of Iraq's last two decades of conflict Ghaith Abdul-Ahad expresses the broken-heartedness of a man who loses his country over and again to sectarianism and bloodshed. Abdul-Ahad writes with bitter humour and an unsentimental style, using a cast of characters - militiamen, teachers, torturers and doctors - to illuminate actions that seem almost impossible to understand; his reporting on Iraq strips away any myths and refuses to romanticise or glorify anyone or anything. It is a powerful, unforgettable book.”

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#Iraq20 to support survivors of conflict and seek meaningful change

Did you know that 2023 marks twenty years since the 2003 US/UK invasion of Iraq? Launched on the basis that Saddam Hussain's government possessed 'weapons of mass destruction', which could hit neighbouring countries in '45 minutes', the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq started a chain reaction of events, which can still be felt to this very day.

Iraq20 is about having a meaningful conversation on Iraq and over the coming months, Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra) will be exploring the cause and affects of war. They will also be examining Iraqi history, what impact the post-2003 democracy has had on ordinary people, along with giving attention to those who are still committed to rebuilding people's lives.

Using the hashtag #Iraq20, you can get involved on Social Media by describing your experiences with Iraq over the past twenty years. You can also get involved by supporting one of our chosen charities where you can assist them with their work. Your solidarity will help them to support people with a shared experience of war in Iraq.

The AMAR International Charitable Foundation

The Iraqi Children Foundation

Combat Stress

National Gulf Veterans and Families Association