Iraqi Student Project

Good Friday Walk for Justice–April 2, 2010

roriegle — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:59:46 +0000

On April 2, 2010, ISP DePaul joined hundreds of people in downtown Chicago in participating in the 8th Day Center’s Good Friday Walk for Justice. We led the prayers begging forgiveness for our complicity in the the Wars in the Middle East at the 6th Station–Fallen–in Federal Plaza (See attached flyer and prayersthe-sixth-station-fallen goodfriday_flyer1.) Participants represented three faiths of the book: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian, and included both Arabic and English speakers. Susan Barwari translated an Old Testament segment of Lamentations into Arabic, which was read by Grinnell ISP student Ahmed. Granite Amit read a Jewish prayer for peace and Syed Wahajuddin Ahmed, Coordinator of the Islamic Center of Chicago composed and read a Muslim prayer. Participant readers who volunteer with ISP DePaul included Barb Steinbeigle, Srah Whitford, Elizabeth Mertic, Margaret Sents, and Rosalie Riegle. Other volunteers held a large ISP banner donated by Margaret Clarke.

VOICES FROM THE IRAQI STUDENT PROJECT

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:13:44 +0000

Join us on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 2:30 at the Evanston Public Library, Church at Orrington, just blocks from the Metra and Purple Line Davis Street stop

In conjunction with a photo exhibit by ISP volunteer Andrew Courtney, five Iraqi students studying in the area will speak of their lives in Iraq and as people displaced by the war, of their present life studying here in the U.S. under the auspices of the ISP, and of their hopes for their future and the future of their country. We’ll also hear noted folksinger Kristen Lems, watch a short film about Iraq refugees in Jordan, and snack on meze. Bring your family and friends to hear meet these amazing young people!

• Ali came to Dominican University in River Forest from Amman, where he lived for two years after leaving Iraq in 2006. He is studying International Business.
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• Bassma came from Syria to Mount Mary College in Milwaukee. She is presently studying Liberal Arts and hopes to help new generations of Iraqi children.

• Fatima moved to Syria from Baghdad in 2006. She is majoring in Biology at Alverno College in Milwaukee and hopes to return to Iraq to be a dentist.

• Hala moved to Syria from Baghdad and is a student at DePaul University, majoring in Information Assurance & Security Engineering.

• Majd came to Lewis University in Romeoville directly from Baghdad,. He is studying computer science.

Kristin Lems, well-known folk singer will be opening this significant event. Ms. Lems has released six CDs of mostly original songs. “A charmer in the most literal and least artificial sense of the word” the New Yorker magazine reported.

Composed of live-action and animation, the ten-minute film Um Abdullah documents an Iraqi refugee family living in Jordan through the eyes of displaced children. The film consists of personal interviews with a 28-year-old single mother, Um Abdullah, and her five children dealing with the collateral effects of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq. The film is a portrait of Um Abdullah through her children’s drawings, hopes, and imaginations.

Sahar al-Sawaf is an Iraqi-American experimental filmmaker and artist currently residing in Los Angeles. Born in Saudi Arabi of Iraqi descent, her work has been screened at Cornell and Princeton and at festivals from Croatia to California. Her entire family is still in Mosul, Iraq, “trying to outlive the war to this day.”

Concert Afterglow

roriegle — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:16:24 +0000

BRIDGES FROM BAGHDAD TO CHICAGO: A CONCERT TO BENEFIT ISP DE PAUL

Featuring Pianist Karam Salam and Violinist Nura Aly

Karam says: “Music is my tongue to talk, my way to understand life, and my wings to fly over the world.”

Karam, a potential world-class musician, was forced to flee Baghdad for Syria because of the war. There he was accepted in the Iraqi Student Project and is now in his second year of study in South Bend. Nura Aly, an exquisite violinist, is a student at DePaul. On Saturday, November 7, they performed together at St. Nicholas Church in Evanston, playing both classic and contemporary works, including two pieces composed by Karam and premiering at this concert–”Bridges” and “Concordance in Chaos”. This fund-raising event was planned and coordinated as a service project by DePaul students Sophia Bolger, Will Forcade, Katie Infusino, Amber Patton, and Lauren Raphael with mentoring by Margaret Sents and DePaul professor Maureen Dolan.

This concert marked one of the most heartfelt moments in the history of ISP in Chicago. We nearly filled St. Nick’s, which was amazing in itself, we raised $2000for DePaul support–much more than we had expected–and the music was stupendous.

When I heard the first enthusiastic applause after the Bach Concerto, though, I realized it wasn’t only for the young musicians, talented as they are, but for the whole of ISP. First of all, it was for Gabe and Theresa. St.Nick’s is their home parish in Evanston, and the size of the audience was a tribute both to their vision and their work in Syria with these extraordinary young people.

It was for the student volunteers who worked so hard on this fundraiser, for all the volunteers in Chicago and elsewhere, and to everyone who has helped ISP, particularly for U.S. Coordinator Jane Pitz, whose expertise will be sorely missed.

I heard it also as a tribute to the bravery and stamina of all the Iraqi students who are succeeding at U.S. colleges after undergoing the trauma and privations of war and flight from their beloved country. For a Medill graduate student article on the concert and ISP, click the link on the right. Visit this site often for more news of events and news of ISP students in the Chicago area.

Rosalie Riegle for the ISP DePaul Core committee

ISP Co-founders on WBEZ Worldview

roriegle — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:39:53 +0000

Gabe Huck and Theresa Kubasak on WBEZ Worldview