Looking at the war with both eyes wide open

Salt shakers
November 2004

Looking at the war with both eyes wide open
The Eyes Wide Open exhibition, "a multimedia journey through the words, images, and sounds of the Iraq war," from the American Friends Service Committee continues its cross country tour of duty in November (View full schedule).

Visitors move through a vivid memorial to the war's soldier and civilian victims, "a searing exposure of the statements told to the U.S. public to justify the war, a compelling outline of what the war is costing us at home, and finally to an interactive, easy way to contribute their voices to changing our country's course toward peace."

"When this exhibit was unveiled by our Chicago office in January 2004, there were 504 pairs of boots symbolizing the lost lives of U.S. soldiers in Iraq," Mary Ellen McNish, AFSC's General Secretary, writes. "With each passing week, each stop in a new city, more pairs of boots are added to represent the newly fallen. Alongside the boots stands a wall of remembrance with the names of the more than 11,000 Iraqi civilians who have been killed since the U.S.-led invasion.

"This traveling exhibit is a memorial to those who have fallen and a witness to our belief that no war can justify its human cost."

"How many more boots will be standing at silent attention before this war ends," McNish asks, "before Iraqis and American soldiers are out of harm's way?"

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