Projects

For 35 years, the people of Iraq suffered at the hands of a brutal dictator. Ordinary citizens were implicated in crimes against their own people. Iraqies lived with fear, silence, paranoia, and grief. To recover from these wounds and lay a foundation for justice, the people of Iraq must come to terms with these atrocities. With these truths revealed, Iraqis can create a new society.

Documentation Project

The Iraq Memory Foundation staff both in Baghdad and Washington are engaged in a long-term effort to provide Iraqi society and the world a view of the inner workings of the Ba'thist institutions of repression and social control that dominated all aspects of Iraqi life between 1968 and 2003.

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Oral History

To give voice to the many thousands of victims and survivors of atrocity in Iraq, this program records on film in-depth testimonies of the survivors, first-hand witnesses of Ba'thist atrocities. The unprecedented opportunity to speak openly with so many Iraqis, coupled with the fleeting nature of human life and memory, makes this work extremely urgent. As of January 2005, the Foundation had conducted 20 in-depth interviews for historical purposes. These will be televised on Iraqi and Arab networks broadcasting throughout the Middle East. As funds become available, the number of interviews will increase to document the stories of thousands of experiences of Ba'thist victims from all regions of the country.

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Art & Artifacts Project

Artworks and Artifacts Project Under a brutal authoritarian government, Iraq's culture took many startling and unique forms. Most visible was propaganda, which tried to make atrocity the norm. In explicit opposition was the forbidden art of dissidents and exiles.

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Museum

The IMF plans a Museum of Remembrance and Research Center on the Crossed Swords Ceremonial Parade Grounds in Baghdad. On exhibit will be art and artifacts produced in protest against and legitimating the regime's atrocities. The research center will be the central repostiory for Iraqi documents and testimonies.

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Public Outreach

The IMF will solicit public feedback about plans for the site through focus groups and town hall meetings across the country.

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Research

This program is intended to train elementary and secondary school teachers with methods and materials designed to help Iraqi schoolchildren understand Iraq's recent history. A model for this program is Facing History and Ourselves, a successful curriculum implemented in the United States and aborad.

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