NIMEP Conducts 2011 Annual Fact-Finding Mission in Iraqi Kurdistan

Eleven Tufts students arrived in Iraqi Kurdistan on January 4 to begin two weeks of research as NIMEP's eighth annual fact-finding mission.  The students, ranging from sophomores to seniors, will spend two weeks in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, where they will conduct interviews with business professionals, community activists, political leaders, academics, and others who can shed light on recent developments in the region.  While traveling together, the students will be researching their own individual topics, including Turkish investments in Kurdistan, the creation of defense forces, how an autonomous Kurdish political entity on the international stage affects a unified Iraq, issues surrounding oil in Kirkuk, the humanitarian aid and health system governance in Iraqi Kurdistan, and how Kurdish women use democracy as a vehicle for social and political progress.

The students are being accompanied by Rana Abdul Aziz, a native of Baghdad who is the Arabic Language Coordinator and Lecturer at Tufts University, and Zach Iscol, a combat decorated former Marine infantry Officer who did two tours in Iraq and is now an independent writer, director, and producer.

They were welcomed to Iraqi Kurdistan with a generous banquet hosted by the Speaker of the Parliament Dr. Kamal Kirkuki (pictured with the students above, photo by Ian MacLellan). In the short time since arriving, they have met with the Speaker privately, as well as the Kurdish Minister of Planning, Dr. Ali Sindhi; the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, and the Governor of Erbil.

The students spent the fall semester planning for their trip, organizing a broad spectrum of readings, holding meetings and conference calls with experts, and writing extensive preparatory papers on their topics.

The trip has been organized on the ground in Iraqi Kurdistan by Shahla Waliy, Senior Advisor to the Speaker of the Parliament and is made possible through the contacts of IGL External Advisory Board Co-Chair Robert Bendetson.

For more information on the NIMEP trip, please click here.