'A Letter to the Prime Minister'
The film of Jo Wilding's Diary from Iraq will be launched at the Barbican on
May 24th, followed by a discussion panel with John Pilger, Eric Herring, Jo
and Julia Guest.
This is from www.alettertotheprimeminister.co.uk
"Offering a singular take on the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, 'A Letter
to the Prime Minister' follows international activist Jo Wilding on her
remarkable journey of the last few years, in solidarity with the people of
Iraq.
Narrated as a letter to Tony Blair and using original diary extracts, from
her challenging of the legality of the devastating economic sanctions
imposed on the country, through to her activities in Baghdad before and
during the 2003 Invasion, the film traces the lineage of non-violent
resistance to US/UK policy in the region.
Wilding serves as witness to the destruction of the lives of ordinary people
during the bombing campaign and their subsequent neglect by Occupation
forces and the interim authorities but she also acts, forming the Boomchucka
Circus to work with school children and refugees. And in April 2004, that
help extended to travelling into Fallujah, when even Al Jazeera had pulled
out, to stand alongside the civilians trapped and targeted by US forces.
Exclusive footage from the besieged city creates a moving picture of the
terrible impact UK & US foreign policy has had on ordinary Iraqi people,
while the film itself stands as a powerful act of remembrance and call to
continued protest against an unjust and damaging Occupation.
Jo Wilding is a 30 year old Law student and international activist. She
first travelled to Iraq in August 2001 to witness the effects of sanctions.
She returned to Iraq to witness the bombing and invasion of Iraq, then
returned later in the year to observe the occupation and establish a Circus
to help with trauma in children.
In April 2004 she travelled to Fallujah during the siege, where she was an
eyewitness to US war crimes.
Her web-log account was widely read on the internet and later anthologised
in John Pilger's book "Tell Me No Lies."
In a review of the "tell me no lies" that appeared in the Guardian, Roy
Greenslade wrote: "[Jo Wilding] deserves a special mention ... Her
description of life inside Falluja is immediate, painful and so full of
detail it demands to be read and believed."
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