"Alive in Baghdad: Iraqi Perspective on War" December 14, 2005

You know it's hard to get news from Iraq. Even news from imbedded reporters seldom makes it to the American airways- you hardly know a war is going on. But, for people in Baghdad, and the rest of Iraq, the war is simply impossible to ignore. Brian Conley, a young independent journalist, decided to go to Iraq and see for himself what has been mostly ignored.

He has just returned from Baghdad and will visit Boston Mobilization on Wednesday, December 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. at 45 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge, to recount his time in Iraq. We will have the opportunity to view footage of his comprehensive interviews with those most directly affected by the war: the Iraqi citizens themselves. Rarely, do we see the Iraq War from this viewpoint, but Brian is trying to show us the life of Iraqis under occupation from their own perspective.

Conley, founder of the Alive in Baghdad Project (http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org), returned from his six-week tour of Amman, Jordan and Baghdad, ready to speak about issues ranging from the role of torture in counterinsurgency tactics to the future of the Iraqi state. He will also touch upon Iraqi's attitudes toward the occupation, the difference between the insurgency and the resistance, and the state of security in Iraq. He will provide unedited footage capturing his personal interviews with Iraqi citizens living in the face of war. Following his commentary, there will be a question and answer session with an opportunity for screenings of more footage and interviews.

Conley created the Alive in Baghdad Project to "encourage Westerners to ask questions about the similarity of life between working Americans and working Iraqis, and to wonder about the strength of resolve it takes to continue supporting your family against all odds under occupation."

Alive In Baghdad provides a window onto life in Iraq through a variety of unedited, direct sources such as weblogs, videos and photographs. It is Conley's hope that everyone from community leaders to newspaper editors will take and use the materials raw format available on the website, http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org, and other sites such as Creative Commons and IndyMedia, to tell the Iraqi citizens' stories widely among their communities, their readership and their families.

Brian Conley is a 25 year-old journalist and filmmaker. His filmography includes documentaries about the Free Trade Area of the Americas and Liberty and Justice for All, a film about migrant workers.