For the last three decades or so, Iraq has suffered tremendously from wars, destruction, economic sanctions, foreign invasion, occupation and the horror of sectarian strife and ethnic clashes. Perhaps the most horrifying loss inflicted on Iraq besides civilian casualties is the loss of Iraqi scientists, professionals, experts and academicians.

Iraqi American professionals are pooling efforts to help their country redevelop.

This depletion of Iraqi professionals began back in the eighties with the political intolerance the Iraqi government practiced under Saddam Hussein’s definition of one party government, which eventually led to totalitarianism. Soon came the horror of the eight year Iraq-Iran war, known as the “First Gulf War” with its horrendous destruction and waste of resources. The war further contributed to the migration of Iraqi experts, scientists and academicians who sought environments more conducive to their work and creativity.
The nineties witnessed another catastrophe when Iraq invaded Kuwait and the ensuing six weeks of continuous bombing by the United States and its European allies. Iraq was turned into rubble, and its infrastructure was ruined. That catastrophe was followed by yet another new and more destructive course: economic sanctions that struck every aspect of life in Iraq for more than thirteen years. Life was paralyzed, medical and educational service deteriorated and the quality of life was severely compromised. During that period the exodus of Iraqi scientists continued at an even faster pace. The most horrifying and decisive attack on Iraqi scientists and academics started when Iraq was invaded and occupied by the U.S. military, assisted by British and other forces in 2003. Iraq turned into a lawless country, chaos prevailed, safety ceased to exist, and more professionals and skilled experts left the beleaguered country.

During the early years of the invasion, Iraqi culture suffered a tremendous loss with the looting of museums, burning of libraries and the pillaging of other cultural property. That horrendous chapter of looting and destruction was coupled with a vicious campaign of kidnapping and assassination of many Iraqi scientists, university professors, academicians and experts in every field of knowledge and education. That death campaign, which resulted in the killing of hundreds of Iraqis, still echos throughout Iraq and its perpetrators are still unknown. The new atmosphere further encouraged the exodus of professionals who left Iraq by the scores. Even with the latest continuous effort of the Iraqi government to establish law and order, safety seems still a distant illusion, especially for those brave Iraqis who resiliently opted to stay and work in Iraq under such challenging circumstances.

Dr. Hadi Al-Khalili

There is a tremendous need for a concerted effort to restore Iraq. Dr. Hadi Al-Khalili, the Iraqi cultural attaché, has a vision and plans to restore higher education and the delivery of healthcare. A leading brain surgeon and talented professor who served the medical field at universities and hospitals in Iraq, Al-Khalili is resolute in his mission.
The doctor intends to connect the hundreds of American Iraqi professors and professionals who are working in American universities, scientific centers, hospitals, and other educational and technical institutions, with their fellow Iraqis in similar institutions in Iraq. He believes this bridge will revive the fields of higher education and science at home. Al-Kalili works with a modest budget depending basically on the goodness, generosity, and sincerity of Iraqis in the American diaspora. Thus the response for his call for the first Iraqi American Academic Conference was tremendous and hundreds of Iraqi scientists, university professors, and other professionals converged at the National Academies in Washington D.C. for a two-day conference March 14 and 15 of this year. Khalili is working on making this event an annual tradition.

The Iraqi Cultural Office took the first step towards creating and identifying the Iraqi American Academic and Professional Community (IAAPC), by convening this group of Iraqi-Americans, assembling a database of their expertise, and articulating how this expertise can be applied toward future initiatives in Iraq. The conference held many specialized panels and breakout sessions where experts exchanged information on scientific issues and discussed topics in different fields of higher education.

The meeting represented a significant step towards the redevelopment of Iraqi higher education; participants and organizers acknowledged the necessity to sustain this momentum in order to achieve both short- and long-term goals. The growth and sustainability of the IAAPC can be achieved through:

1. The establishment of the website www.togetherforiraq.org as a clearinghouse for the U.S. and Iraqi communities to partner Iraqi-American expertise with needs in Iraq. The site will also include conference materials and announcements of upcoming activities;

2. Raising awareness in the U.S. and Iraq about the IAAPC and its mission.

3. Identifying partners in the U.S. and Iraq who can help and support IAAPC’s mission, including outreach to academic institutions and non-governmental organizations involved in research, higher education, and capacity building as well as other funding programs that sponsor such efforts.

The most immediate outcome of the conference will be the formation of a committee comprised of leaders to represent disciplines within science, medicine, engineering, humanities, and the social sciences. The committee’s role will be to advise the Iraqi Cultural Office on how to address near-term goals and to decide what the next course of action will be based on the ideas presented at the conference. This committee will also oversee the development of sub-committees within the five disciplines that will enable Iraqi American academics and professionals to communicate directly with their counterparts in Iraq. It is envisioned that these linkages will form the basis for further cooperation at the college and university levels.