Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi-American with dual citizenship, left Iraq in the late 1970s and lived in the Twin Cities area for more than 17 years. In November 2004, following the 2003 invasion and occupation of his country of origin, Sami returned to Iraq to help rebuild the country. During this time, he founded and supported the development of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams, groups dedicated to the principles of nonviolence. He recently brought a delegation of thirteen Iraqis from the city of Najaf to the city of Minneapolis as a part of the Sister City Project.
Sami will speak about the situation on the ground in Iraq today; the U.S. pull-out from the cities; the return of the giant oil companies; political divisions; the upcoming elections in 2010; and the prospects for U.S. withdrawal and a substantive change in U.S policy toward Iraq. He will also speak about the Muslim Peacemaker Teams in Iraq and the building of peaceful relationships between the people of Iraq and the people of the U.S. through the Iraqi Art Project, the Sister City Project, Water for Peace, and Letters for Peace (www.mpt-irq.org/).
Artwork from Iraq will be on display and will be sold to raise money for continuing human rights efforts in Iraq. Sami will be returning to Iraq in January to continue his work there.