[New-imc] imc baghdad info

[dave bonan]

folks,

this was passed on me by connecticut afsc members.

From: Peter Lems 
To: AskAboutIraq 
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 3:39 PM
Subject: IRAQ: IndyMedia Baghdad - coming soon!

AFSC Iraq working group, regional directors and
communications department: 

We need to support this. 

I have received an appeal for help with setting up the
foundation for IndyMedia Baghdad. This will be
initiated by the Iraq Peace Team and others. I believe
we need to be involved. One suggestion is to use the
human face of war page as a broadcast mechanism,
another may be setting up and supporting student
dialogue groups and video conferencing.

I am convinced that this would be an excellent project
for Friends Meetings and AFSC offices around the
country. 

I welcome your feedback.... 

Appeal below 

****************** 

Dear Friends, 

I've been able to locate 4 of the students who we
worked with on the dialogue exchange: Haider, Hamza,
Walid & Majed. All are very enthusiastic about
starting a newspaper & setting up something like
indymedia baghdad.

Over the next few days, we are going to: 

- locate a house to rent, that can serve as an office
for the project, as well as office/living space for
VitW & friends here in Iraq.

- compile a list of equipment we have on hand
(computers, printers, cameras, office supplies,
etc...) 

- compile a list of equipment we *need* (computers,
printers, cameras, office supplies, etc... LOL) 

- locate a printing company that can print 10,000
copies a week, of an Arabic/English newspaper that we
are going to start.

We NEED from you: 

- MONEY: start raising $$$ *NOW* - this project is
going to need money to pay for rent, equipment,
printing costs, and web costs, ASAP!!! We will work
toward making it self-sufficient as soon as possible,
but that, for sure, ain't right now! Voices is sending

a small group of people here (one in a week, a couple
of more soon after) - so we need to send in money &
equipment with them. 

- EQUIPMENT: for a fact, I *KNOW* that we're going to
need at least 2 more computers, 1 more office printer,
2 broadcast-quality video cameras, and 2 digital
cameras. Another satellite modem & satellite phone
would be nice too (as well as $$$ to cover the costs

of the current sat modem over the next, several
months). 

- WEB HELP: we need help, from the outside, on setting
up a website for the newspaper and/or indymedia
Baghdad, where we can post text, pictures, & video
produced here - English *AND* Arabic. Some of these
kids are very web savvy, but the infrastructure is NOT

in place for them to start doing web work from here
right now. The war took out telecommunications in a
*big* way - certainly for weeks, likely for months.

I (we, I hope!) are going to help out with advice,
training, equipment & money - but this is going to be
an Iraqi project, from top to bottom. These folks can
finally speak for themselves - let's help them do
that!

Please let me know how all of you can help 

PS: In addition to this, I will, of course, reconnect
with schools & start-up the pen-pals project as soon
as schools are again open here...

PPS: We should have one sat phone here in a few days,
and can do another dialogue as soon as that happens. I
believe John Alpert is either on his way, or maybe
already here, to follow up on the DCTV dialogues too
(many of the same kids). Please put John in touch with
me as soon as possible! 

Peter Lems 
American Friends Service Committee 
1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia PA 19102 
Tel: 215/241-7170  /  Fax:215/241-7177 
http://www.afsc.org/conscience/Default.shtm 

=====
'As private and public aggregations of power burgeon in size and the pressures for conformity necessarily mount, there is obviously a continuing need for an independent press to disseminate a robust variety of information and opinion through reportage, investigation, and criticism, if we are to preserve our constitutional tradition of maximizing freedom of choice by encouraging diversity of expression.'"

Branzburg v. Hayes, 92 S.Ct. 2646 (1972)

Governments need armies to protect them against their enslaved and oppressed subects. - Leo Tolstoy

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