Alive in Baghdad

We see news items about politics and military operations in Iraq almost daily but sometimes, it can all seem very far removed from our daily lives.

The Alive in Baghdad project shows the ordinary lives of Iraqis affected by the conflict there. Their mission statement says:

“Alive in Baghdad is empowering Iraqis to share their stories with the world, and provides a place of education and interaction for global citizens interested in the real life political, military, economic and social situation in Iraq.”

This video features child artist, Sameer Muhammad and is father, Muhammad Rubaie, who are now refugees living in Damascus. “They, like many Iraqis, have been forced to flee their country and taken refugee in Syria. They talk about their lives as artists, and how they are continuing their work despite the circumstances.”

You can support this important project by donating via PayPal - go to their site at www.aliveinbaghdad.org to find out more.

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This is a powerful example of the use of social media to spread a message. These stories and narratives would not be so easily available a few years ago before YouTube and user-generated technology, when we were all more dependent on conventional news media as conduits for telling our stories.

This project is going to form part of my research for the book that I am co-authoring on New Trends in International Public Relations.

If you know of any other similar projects where people have come together to share their stories in this way through social media, please email me or leave a comment. I’ll credit you, of course, if your contribution is used directly in the book - you can check out my ongoing list of acknowledgements online.