New England’s Losses In Iraq

DANBURY — During the holidays, America lost its 3,000th soldier in the war in Iraq.

To acknowledge this loss and highlight the need for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the war, The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Students 4 Progress, the Western CT State University International Center and the Western Connecticut/El Salvador Solidarity Project will present the traveling exhibition “Eyes Wide Open” at WCSU’s Warner Hall. The exhibition will be on view January 22-26, open daily from 9 am until 9 pm. Warner Hall is near the corner of White Street (Route 6) and Fifth Avenue, on the university’s midtown campus.

Admission is free and open to the public.

“Eyes Wide Open” consists of pairs of military boots tied to which are name tags for each of the fallen soldiers from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The powerful exhibit is part of a national tour led by AFSC.

The full exhibition features a pair of boots honoring each US military casualty, a field of shoes and a Wall of Remembrance to memorialize the more than 11,000 Iraqis killed in the conflict. A multimedia display explores the history, cost and consequences of the war.

When “Eyes Wide Open: was unveiled by AFSC’s Chicago office in January 2004 there were 504 pairs of boots symbolizing the lost lives of US soldiers in Iraq. With each passing week and stops in subsequent cities, more pairs of boots have been added to represent the latest American casualties.

Since 1917, AFSC has “championed the dignity and worth of every individual, the sanctity of human life and humanity’s collective responsibility to promote piece,” according to its mission statement. For nearly 90 years of working in war zones on four continents, the group has gained an intimate knowledge, it says, “of the costs and horrors of war.”

For more information about the local exhibition, contact Associate Professor of Sociology Dr Carina Bandhauer at 837-8650 or the WestConn Office of University Relations at 837-8774.