Greetings List Project supporters!
In this issue, we will update you with the current goings-on concerning TLP and bring you up-to-date on the ever-changing news out of Iraq. And we’ll share with you some information on upcoming events that relate to TLP and Iraqi refugees. We love feedback, so don’t forget to e-mail us with your questions and keep us up to date on the ways that you are working with Iraqi refugees in your community.
Thank you for your continued support,
The List Project team
Organizational Update
Last summer, the List Project released a comprehensive report pertaining to America’s withdrawal from Iraq and the lack of any contingency planning to protect our Iraqi employees. Within weeks, the report led to a hearing in Congress, and an amendment, put forward by Representative Alcee Hastings, requiring the U.S. Government to conduct the first ever needs-assessment of U.S.-affiliated Iraqis. In addition to determining the status of applications for resettlement by our Iraqi allies, the legislation requires the Secretary of Defense to produce a contingency plan on the basis of the assessment. With the recent passage of the Defense Authorization, this amendment is now the law of the land, with a report deadline of 120 days. We will work to ensure over the coming weeks that this Congressional intent is honored by Executive Branch agencies.
We also delivered another binder of 500 names to the State Department in February, the result of an uptick in applicants to the List Project as the U.S. withdraws from Iraq.
Iraq in the News
Following the massive wave of popular unrest that has taken place throughout the Middle East, Iraqis too have taken to the streets. While protests in Iraq have been taking place over the last few weeks, last Friday’s “day of rage” brought thousands of Iraqis out, with violence claiming the lives of at least 23.
Iraq’s citizens are demanding that the government do a better job of providing goods and services, and many are angry at the way that their country has been rigidly divided along sectarian lines. Seven years after the start of the war, many Iraqis still have little daily electricity and potable water is hard to find in many places. Meanwhile, while those in government receive lavish salaries, conditions have not improved for the average Iraqi.
Upcoming Event
Friend of the Project Gabriela Bulisova will be showcasing her work with the Open Society Documentary Photography Project. Their event, entitled Moving Walls 18: A Group Photography Exhibition, seeks to shed light on human rights issues that either go unnoticed or are underreported.
Bulisova’s work currently focuses of the displacement of Iraqi refugees throughout the world. Her photography serves as a medium to bring attention to their plight and to move those in power to action on their behalf.
The exhibition’s opening reception takes place on March 16th from 5:30 – 8:00 P.M. in New York City. Please follow this link to RSVP. You can view the exhibit until October, when it will be taken to display in Washington D.C.
