[Peace-discuss] Fw: Iraq civilian deaths memorial project

[Randall Cotton]

This was posted to peace-action, but I think it's more appropriate for
peace-discuss. I'll be out of town the weekend of June 14, so I couldn't
help out with this proposed action, but perhaps someone who will be around
is interested in responding to this direct request?...

R

----- Original Message -----
From: "sburns3" <sburns3 at uic.edu>
To: <peace-action at lists.cu.groogroo.com>
Cc: <sburns3 at uic.edu>
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 3:00 PM
Subject: [Peace-action] Iraq civilian deaths memorial project


Hi all:
I will be in Urbana the weekend of June 14, and I want to let you know about
a
project our local group, the Hyde Park Committee Against War and Racism, is
working on. I want to do something similar in Urbana, and I'd like to hear
your thoughts and ask whether anyone from your group would like to help.
Iraq Civilians Memorial Project:
We have been collecting names of Iraqi civilians killed in the war and
putting
these names onto small 3"x4" stickers, along with a brief description of how
they died. Each sticker also includes an estimate of the total number of
civilians killed in the war (from iraqbodycount.net), along with a source
citation (New York Times, Guardian, etc.)
We have been "stickering" in the Hyde Park area for a couple of weeks now
(placing stickers on newspaper boxes, lamp posts, etc.)
The purpose of this effort is to get the Iraq body count statistics out to
the
public and at the same time put a human face on the statistics.
Iraq body count is now estimating more than 5000 civilian deaths in Iraq. I
want to set a goal to put up an equal number of stickers as a memorial to
the
victims of the U.S. invasion and occupation and as an argument against the
next invasion and occupation.
Two sample stickers are included below, in plain text. I can also send you
an
MS word document which has 4 sheets of stickers.
Sample:

"There was a big, big sound, and smoke. Then I heard screaming inside

Ahmed Hussein, age 12, speaking about  the U.S. missile attack that killed
his
13 year old sister, Samar, on March 29 in the village of Manaria.

More than 5000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by U.S. military forces.
Sources: The Guardian (London) 5/13/03
         www.iraqbodycount.net

Sample:

More than 5000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by U.S. military forces.
Here is one of them:

Kariah Hamoodi, age 70

Killed when two U.S. missiles destroyed her home in Basra. The missile
attack
also killed her son, her daughter and seven of her grandchildren.
Sources: The Guardian (London) 5/13/03
         www.iraqbodycount.net

A few technical details:
1. We use the Avery 5164 mailing labels, which come 6 to a sheet. I get
these
at Office Depot for about $20 per 100 sheets.
2. Ink jet ink is not as durable as xerox machine ink, so I print out one
sheet on plain paper and then copy onto the label sheets.
3. I haven't concerned myself with the legalities of stickering, so far I
haven't had any problems with the Chicago cops. If anyone knows the local
ordinances regarding postings, I'd be interested in knowing. Whether I (or
we)
actually follow these ordinances is a separate issue, but it's always good
to
know the law.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions.
Peace,
Steve Burns
Chicago

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