Comments for EPIC

Comment on Is a lasting peace in Iraq possible? by EPIC launches emergency appeal | EPIC

EPIC launches emergency appeal | EPIC — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:00:49 +0000

[...] In his blog post “Is a lasting peace in Iraq possible?”, Gustafson says it is if organizations like EPIC working to build peace have the resources. This new phase of work requires a lot more resources and organizational capacity than we’ve required in the past. [...]

Comment on The Hike heard ’round the world by Pressing on | EPIC

Pressing on | EPIC — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:07:31 +0000

[...] get to look at pictures of the beautiful countryside and the smiling faces of participants in our Iraqi Youth Hike and I am constantly reminded of all the natural beauty and hope there is in Iraq. But every now [...]

Comment on The Secret Life of the Summer Camper by Tim

Tim — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:16:04 +0000

I’ve also been a camp counselor. The work is grueling but the payoff is more rewarding than anything I’ve done in my life. What’s more worthwhile than helping a bunch of kids to laugh hard and make friends and grow up a little more? Best wishes for the youth hike from a longtime supporter of EPIC!

Comment on Rethinking Iraq by John Reinke

John Reinke — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:56:47 +0000

Thanks for your well written and thoughtful commentary, Lauren.

Comment on Rethinking Iraq by Adam Lee

Adam Lee — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:44:00 +0000

This is a perspective we miss a lot today, but I think stories like this are good ways to keep families, particularly children, and how war impacts them in the news. It hardly makes sense that anyone should have to spend Christmas away from their children, and the fact that we understand conflict better when we grow up shouldn’t mean that we have to start accepting it.

Comment on The Secret Life of the Summer Camper by Erik Gustafson

Erik Gustafson — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:17:42 +0000

I remember the summer of ’94. That was the year the Comet Shoemaker-Levy collided with Jupiter. I was a camp counselor at a Fresh Air Fund Camp in Fishkill, NY. A place where many urban kids encountered the Great Outdoors for the first time. There was swimming, campfire stories, new skills to learn, and a natural world of new possibilities to discover. Like José of Queens. During one of our day hikes, José observed the sun rising & setting on the same day. It was the first time he discovering the westward arc of the sun that comes with the Earth’s rotation — a fact long obscured by concrete walls and skyscrapers. I will never forget Jose’s joy of discovery!

Comment on The Secret Life of the Summer Camper by Adam Lee

Adam Lee — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:13:10 +0000

I’m jealous of your summers anyway Sarah. Cape Cod and tarred heels are hard to beat.

Comment on Rethinking Iraq by Erik Gustafson

Erik Gustafson — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:42:49 +0000

Lauren, your ruminating takes me back to the days leading up to the 1991 Gulf War. Nice contrast with the accounts of Iraq today by Emma Sky and Ben Turner. For all of us, so much has changed for Iraq and within ourselves.

Comment on Rethinking Iraq by Mike Lyons

Mike Lyons — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:48:13 +0000

I spent the Christmas of 1990 into 1991 in Iraq, and it’s one of those life experiences I am grateful to have had. I had read about soldier’s experiences in previous wars spending Christmas away from home, in particular the stories of the 101st Airborne in Bastone, and how there was a ceasefire for 24 hours in 1944 so the soldiers could worship. Christmas in a combat zone gave me time to think about war in a different perspective – while not with my nuclear family, I was with my brothers in arms – and we did things different on Christmas day – the Army some how got us a hot A ration meal, turkey and all the trimmings. But what I remember most about Christmas in the desert that year was the night sky on Christmas eve. It just looked different to me for some reason. Maybe it’s because I wanted it to; I wanted it to look like the animated sky during the soliloquy Linus gives in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, the show I watched every Christmas since I was a kid. I looked at the sky that night and felt what every soldier who had gone before me felt like being away from home on Christmas felt – a sense of something greater looking over us. Every Christmas I think of those deployed or away from their loved ones – I find a moment to look at the night sky, and I think about how lucky I am to have been able to experience something which makes me appreciate more how fortunate we truly are here at home.

Comment on Scholars Emphasize “Arab Citizenry” Emerging from Arab Spring by Spotlight on Iraq: Weekly News Roundup | EPIC

Spotlight on Iraq: Weekly News Roundup | EPIC — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:30:55 +0000

[...] notable mentions include the Woodrow Wilson’s Center for International Scholars’ presentation on the Arab Spring, and Iraq’s growing potential for entrepreneurial development. Sarah [...]