November 20-26, 2003

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What’s Really Happening in Iraq

Perhaps the most-silenced voice of the current U.S. occupation in Iraq is that of the ordinary people. If you lived in Iraq right now, what would your story be? We've heard plenty from the American soldiers and the governments involved, but what of the people that aren't in positions of power? What do they think about the occupation?

The activist stomping ground White Dog Cafe has organized a dinner discussion with Gael Murphy, Linda Panetta and Johanna Berrigan. All three have traveled to Iraq. Panetta, a photojournalist, hopes to "put a face on the protracted war that we've waged against Iraq" with the photographs she has taken. Victims of preemptive bombings, patients in crowded hospitals and happy, healthy children stare back from the photos she collected in January. Panetta had been scheduled to visit Iraq again, before the talk, with Berrigan, who has led numerous human rights delegations to Iraq, but they had to cancel after the bombing near the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.

Murphy will present a video on Occupation Watch, an organization with seven members on-site in Iraq dedicated to exposing both the military and economic impact of the occupation in Iraq, all in an effort to put a human face on the war the U.S. is waging in someone else's home.

"What’s Really Happening in Iraq," with Johanna Berrigan, Gael Murphy and Linda Panetta, Mon., Nov. 24, 6 p.m. dinner, 7:30 p.m. discussion, $15-$35, White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., 215-386-9224 (reservations required).

—Keegan O'Connor

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