[pjw] REPORT BACK: Noor Ghazi livestream event informative and powerful

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello Iraq Affinity Group supporters

Thanks to everyone who made last night's livestream possible-- especially 
to our guest speaker Noor Ghazi and to host Lisa Loving. Noor's story was 
deeply personal. It also reflected the experiences of tens of thousands, 
perhaps millions of Iraqis who lived under sanctions and war, many of whom 
fled the country after the 2003 US invasion or, like Noor's family, when 
the "civil war" erupted in 2006. It's a story of surviving war and trauma, 
a story of adjusting to being a refugee resettled in America, and a story 
of hope against all odds.

Ghazi was born in 1990 just as sanctions were being put on Iraq and just 
before the "Gulf War" happened in early 1991. She lived a childhood under 
sanctions where ordinary items like pencils and bananas were prohibitively 
expensive. Then came the invasion, and when a family member was killed, 
her father chose to get them to safety at great risk due to the family 
being a mixture of Sunni and Shia Muslims. (During the after-event, Noor 
joked that she calls herself a "sushi.")

They initially resettled in Syria for a short time before being moved 
again to the United States, where it was awkward being in the country that 
had caused so much destruction. But over time, Noor came to identify 
proudly as an Iraqi American, and a person with many identities.

The question and answer period raised issues about the depleted uranium 
used by the US and its allies, which is likely responsible for many health 
issues not only among Iraqis, but US soldiers as well, as Noor pointed 
out. She also explained that she's been returning every year recently 
since producing her documentaries about Mosul,* where the younger 
generation gives her hope for a better future for her country of origin.

So grab a handkerchief (and brace yourself for hearing about death and 
trauma) and check out the video when you get a chance. Flying Focus Video 
will be editing the event down from its full 90 minute version into two 
half-hour segments sometime in July.

We didn't seem to have a whole bunch of people watching live but as of 
this morning, YouTube says there have been 43 views.

You can go to our youtube page at
https://www.youtube.com/peaceandjusticeworks
or directly to the video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAWt_5biv9Y

(I trimmed out the original first 5 minutes where there was nothing but 
the poster, there is still no audio for about the first 45 seconds or so.)

Peace
dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

* Check out Noor's short documentary

Peace Letters to Nineveh (2023) (about 10 minutes long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7VXpc7bDHU

Which was a follow up to her first documentary
The Mother of Two Springs (2022) (trailer only, about 1 minute long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_isawR1TO7k