On July 14, at 7-9pm, WPIRG is hosting an event in the Davis Centre, room 1302. The title of the event is "Iraq: The View From Here". It will give a forum for local Iraqis (from the Kitchener/Waterloo Region) to talk about their perspectives on rebuilding Iraq.

The event description on the poster goes as follows:

A question and answer session with prominent Iraqis from our school and community. Hear passionate, personal stories of what it's like "on the inside" and what it's like to watch from the outside. Escaping Saddam, sneaking back in, witnessing terrorism, dreaming of a better future - find out what it's like to be both Canadian and Iraqi.

Ali Asaria, one of the event organizers, said the following when trying to describe the event:

"We hear a lot about Iraq on the news. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what is best for Iraq's future, but no one seems to ask the Iraqis themselves. Most people don't know that there are many Iraqis living in our own community. This is a chance for students at UW to ask local Iraqis who have recently come from Iraq or recently visited there to talk about what it is like being Iraqi, and what they want for their country's future."

More information about the speakers is below.

Contact WPIRG at 888-4882 for more information.

About the Speakers:

Jammal Hassan:
Jammal Hassan is currently completing his Ph.D in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. His bachelor's and master's degrees are both from Sallahaddin Univeristy, the largest university in Iraqi Kurdistan. He immigrated to Canada at the end of 2000.

Hyder Al-Attar:
A fourth-year general science student at UW, Hyder Al-Attar finished 4 of 6 years in the medical program at the University of Baghdad. He was born in Canada but lived most of his life in Iraq.

Amir Zaidan:
Amir Zaidan was born in Al-Anbar. He has a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Baghdad. He arrived in Canada in 1997, working as an Environmental Engineer

Dr. Adil Al-Mayah:
Adil Al-Mayah is from Basrah, in the south of Iraq. He studied Civil Engineering at Basrah University. He arrived in Canada in 1995.

This event is presented by WPIRG and was organized in cooperation with the Arab Students Association and the Muslim Students Association at the University of Waterloo.

Contact Raj at WPIRG at 888-4882 for more information.