Earlier this month, we kicked off our #IraqCOVIDRelief fundraiser that will aid two hospitals fighting the spread of COVID-19 in Mosul, Iraq. As of today, we are over 20% of the way towards our $30,000 goal!
And it gets better. Thanks to two generous supporters, right now all donations will… Read more
From the start, EPIC has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak in Iraq. Early on, we sounded the alarm about the threat to Iraq’s health care system and more recently, the exponential rise in cases with health care workers being twice as likely to contract the virus.
Unfortunately, despite our… Read more
We are one world.
Iraq is us and we are Iraq. The world heritage of the land between two rivers is interwoven into the very fabric of who we are — from humanity’s early quest for meaning (the Epic of Gilgamesh) to our pursuit of knowledge (Ibn al-Haythem… Read more
With the U.S. targeted killing of Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassim Soleimani and U.S.-Iran confrontations on Iraqi soil, we are closely following fast moving events that carry very serious risks to people we care about, and for the future of peace and democratic reform in Iraq.
WHAT WE KNOW
Inside… Read more
Iraq is at a crossroads. One path leads to the hopeful, democratic vision of Iraq’s youthful majority as we’ve seen expressed by mass rallies in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square and across Iraq. The other path leads to the continued violence, dysfunction, and corruption of autocratic rule.
And now, at this fateful… Read more
Earlier this year, EPIC received an email from Jacquelyn Thomas of Lakewood, Colorado. Jacquelyn is the mother of an extraordinary girl named Vanicia (who’s now 11 years old). Her mom wrote: “My daughter [is] raising funds for kids in Iraq. We would like to donate the money raised to… Read more
Tahrir Square in Baghdad, the heart of the Iraqi anti-government movement is covered in creative displays of protest art, culture, and community.
Tahrir Square in Baghdad sits at the heart of the Iraqi anti-government protest movement that has swept through Iraq for the past two months. Amid increasingly violent responses… Read more
By Zeena Abdul-Rahman, EPIC Board President
Veteran EPIC Board Member Bilal Wahab snaps a selfie at EPIC's April 2019 Board Retreat. Behind Bilal from left-to-right: EPIC Executive Director Erik Gustafson and Board members Taif Jany, Hussein Al-Baya (Treasurer), Dennis Eóghan Clancey, Zeena Abdul-Rahman (President), Sören Südhof, Kate Phillips-Barrasso (Vice President),… Read more
Last week, Wehda al-Jumaili, a member of the Human Rights Committee in the Iraqi parliament reported that Iraq is establishing courts to issue birth certificates and identification cards to Iraqi children who were born under ISIS rule. This remarkable and laudable decision, once implemented, will affect the lives of tens… Read more
Away from the limelight, violence continues to rage in southern Iraq in the form of tribal clashes, pro-government militia infighting and criminal violence. This violence often affects unarmed bystanders and makes life in Basra, which is already challenging due to government neglect, lack of services and rife unemployment, even more precarious. Although most residents of southern Iraq are Shia, Iraq's current political elite, which claims to represent the Shia community, has failed to address the needs of the south.
