Please Join us 1/18 for a Webinar: Depleted Uranium in Iraq

The Office of Public Witness, the Presbyterian Iraq Partnership Network, Presbyterian World Mission, and the Presbyterian Ministry at the UN present: Depleted Uranium in Iraq: The Ongoing Poisoning of the People and Land Wednesday, January 18 Noon EST

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The Office of Public Witness invites you to a webinar on Wednesday, January 18, at Noon, co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Iraq Partnership Network, Presbyterian World Mission, and the Presbyterian Ministry at the UN. We will focus on the scourge of Depleted Uranium left in Iraq as a result of U.S. weapons used during the US-Iraq conflict.     During the Iraq War, the US Military used and disposed of depleted uranium in Iraq; this practice has caused detrimental health effects among both service personnel and Iraqis. In August of 2022, President Biden signed the PACT act, a law designed to care for US veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service, including depleted uranium. The PACT Act provides expanded health care and disability benefits for veterans and their families and provides coverage for exposure to burn pits and radiation.  While this was a huge victory for our veterans, the people in the countries where these substances were used are still facing ongoing exposure and tragic health consequences.      Contamination from Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions and other military-related pollution is suspected of causing sharp rises in congenital birth defects, cancer cases, and other illnesses throughout much of Iraq.   The 225th General Assembly (2022) lifted up the crisis and called for the US to work with the Iraqi government to provide comprehensive testing and remedy for the people of Iraq.  It also called for the US to end its use of depleted uranium.    Please join us to hear from our partners on the ground in Iraq, former military officers who served in Iraq, and policy advocates.  We will learn why we should be concerned about the use of depleted uranium, the harm that it has caused, as well as the steps the US Government can take to help the people of Iraq.  Learn how you can advocate on this issue with Congress and the administration!

Dr. Zuhair Fathallah is a retired assistant professor of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery at Basrah Medical College and consultant plastic reconstructive surgeon at Basrah teaching hospital. He has helped both children and adults recover from war-inflicted deformations as well as birth defects. He is also a council member and elder of the National Evangelical Presbyterian church in Basrah and served as lay pastor to the congregation for many years (2004- 2013).The congregation’s mission in the community includes keeping the high standard of the Kindergarten and Nursery with current enrollment of 200 children. The church is looking forward to upgrading to the international standard with hopes of opening a primary school. The church also has the only Christian FM radio in southern Iraq with a 32-mile radius that has been approved by both Federal and local government. Additionally, the church developed a local NGO that is active in community-based education and human-dignity promoting work with impoverished members of the wider Basrah community.  Matt Fricker grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.  He is a 2013 graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a 2008 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Cartography). Pastor Matt has served 3 churches in the Pittsburgh area, and a church in downtown San Antonio.  Matt was a member of the United States Army from 1999 to 2008, during which he served in Iraq. He currently works with veterans and the reformed churches in Iraq.  He is finishing his doctorate of ministry in missional leadership, with a focus on how war affects soldiers’ spirituality.  Pastor Matt has a wife Cheri, and two children Emma and Maddox.  He loves food, sports, and laughing! Erik K. Gustafson (@epicEKG) is the founder and executive director of Enabling Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC), overseeing the administration, programs, and strategic plan of the organization. Erik is a U.S. Army veteran and social entrepreneur, focusing on peacebuilding, human rights, and humanitarian affairs. Following his military service, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue a degree in education. While there, he led the Madison and Midwest chapters of the East Timor Action Network, supporting East Timor’s right to self-determination. In 1997, after traveling to investigate deteriorating conditions in Ba’athist Iraq under comprehensive economic sanctions, Erik established EPIC to advocate for the human rights and humanitarian needs of ordinary Iraqis. Over the years, he has hosted dozens of policy forums, organized coalitions and working groups, and served as a leading advocate for Iraq’s peace and development. While residing in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2009 to 2010, he directed a countrywide training program for Iraqi human rights defenders, and in 2013, he authored a case study of human rights defenders in Sudan. From 2014 to 2017, Erik led Soccer Salam, an EPIC partnership with the Iraq Health Access Organization and other humanitarian groups that successfully delivered emergency assistance to more than 60,000 Iraqis displaced or under siege by ISIS. Since 2018, Erik has overseen an expansion of EPIC’s programming in Iraq through projects with USAID and IOM, and the opening of a field office in Erbil. He has written for the Middle East Institute, Fikra Forum, The Hill, and The Progressive, and has appeared on the PBS NewsHour, BBC World, AlHurra, and other media outlets. Catherine Gordon, Representative for International Issues at the Office of Public Witness, will serve as the moderator, and Sue Rheem, Presbyterian Representative to the United Nations, will give an update from the United Nations.