Forthcoming trip to Iraq

bristol | peace | news report Monday December 30, 2002 23:07 by ffwd Jo Wilding gurneyernie at yahoo dot com

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Dear All

As some of you will know, Julia Guest and I are
planning to return to Iraq soon on a peace delegation
and one of our aims is to set up a twinning programme
between Bristol and Basra. We would like to establish
links between schools, universities, nursing and
medical colleges, hospitals, churches and mosques, and
so on, both to build understanding between individuals
in the two countries and to increase the flow of
civilian goods like textbooks.

If anyone is involved with a group or institution that
they would like to link with a similar one in Iraq,
please get in touch. Also if anyone can offer items
like medical or other text books, academic journals on
anything at all or any other civilian items, like
painkillers, Aspirins, vitamins, small childrens toys,
children's clothes, more or less anything, please let
us know as soon as possible, and please forward this
message to anyone else you think might be interested.

On my last visit to Iraq we went to the library of the
University of Baghda, where we met a young woman who
was trying to write a thesis on Tom Stoppard plays,
but was unable to get hold of them. Every text book
and journal was 11 (now 12) years out of date.
Computer journals are also embargoed. Clearly it will
take much more than a few people with a few books and
journals to rebuild the education system, but whatever
we can take will mean a lot to those who need it.

In peace, and happy new year,

Jo Wilding