iraq: testimonies of conflict

As victims, protestors, civil society activists or just observers of daily life, people at the sharp end tell truths of war.
Sunday 23rd October

To Iraq and back with the National Guard

Robert W. Snyder, 23 October 2005
A TV documentary series about “citizen-soldiers” in Iraq and their families at home is a moving portrait that exposes growing doubts about the war, says Robert W Snyder.
Tuesday 16th August

Broken links in Iraq

Maura Stephens, 16 August 2005
How can western citizens aid people in shattered post-war Iraq? In her first monthly openDemocracy column, Maura Stephens tells a story of fragile solidarity.
Sunday 17th July

Iraq's war on women

Lesley Abdela, 17 July 2005
Violence and intimidation against women are escalating across Iraq. The world’s commitment is needed to halt this assault on human and democratic rights, says Lesley Abdela.
Monday 6th June

Letter to my Baghdad friends

Maura Stephens, 6 June 2005
For this American writer in Amman, Jordan, the nearness of her beloved Baghdad evokes an intense longing to return. But she cannot.
Wednesday 21st April

The second trip to Fallujah and the courteous kidnappers

Jo Wilding, 21 April 2004
Jo Wilding returns to the besieged Iraqi city with aid supplies, is kidnapped by insurgents, and lives to tell the urgent, compelling story.
Monday 12th April

Inside the fire

Jo Wilding, 12 April 2004
A brave and harrowing report from inside the besieged city of Fallujah where ordinary people are trapped in the cross-fire.
Wednesday 7th April

Iraq's past and future: remembering Sayyid Abdul Majid Khoei

Caspar Henderson, 7 April 2004
In April 2003, the moderate Shi’a cleric Sayyid Abdul Majid Khoei returned to his Iraqi homeland after more than a decade in exile in Britain, and was murdered in the holy city of Najaf. Had he lived, Khoei might have played an important role in political developments in Iraq. Caspar Henderson attended a 2 April event commemorating his life, work and legacy.
Thursday 11th March

Women in Iraq: between fear and freedom

Anita Sharma, 11 March 2004
The condition of Iraq’s women is a litmus test of the country’s movement towards civil rights and democratic governance. Anita Sharma, who spent ten months in Iraq and Jordan in 2003-04, charts the paths and pitfalls of their difficult journey.
Tuesday 9th March

The circus revolution

Jo Wilding, 9 March 2004
Amidst poverty and insecurity, Iraq’s performers, artists and writers are building spaces of learning and laughter for their country’s street children. Jo Wilding is both participant and privileged witness to the birth of an Iraqi civil society.
Sunday 5th October

Saddam's Islamist legacy

Turi Munthe, 5 October 2003
A recent visitor to Baghdad talks to influential Iraqis: what remains after dictatorship and manipulation of history, he finds, is a messianic revolutionary spirit in Islamic garb.
Thursday 27th March

Democracy in the Arab world: the case of Kuwait

Jens Münch, 27 March 2003
The international media is on the road with the US military convoys streaming north towards Baghdad. Back in Kuwait, news photographer Jens Münch takes time to reflect on what kind of democratic model the Arab state truly offers for the future of its Iraqi neighbour.
Thursday 20th March

The slow death of American democracy

Susan Griffin, 20 March 2003
It is not just that the war on Iraq is illegal, unjust, and immoral. It is also an assault on American democracy and freedom itself. A heartfelt cry of opposition from a now fearful American writer.

From a human shield

Rosemarie Gillespie, 20 March 2003
How does it feel to be a voluntary human shield in Baghdad, waiting for the gathering storm?

Struggling with the gas-mask in Jerusalem

Judy Lash Balint, 20 March 2003
As the American bombardment of Iraq begins, Israel steels itself for a repeat of the Scud attacks of 1991. One resident of Jerusalem's old city reluctantly makes her preparations.
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