Voices in the Wilderness has sent over 70 delegations to Iraq since its founding in 1996, breaking economic sanctions by delivering medicines and connecting with ordinary Iraqis who were held under siege by crippling economic sanctions, the worst of their kind in history.

VitW’s delegations culminated in the Iraq Peace Team, a project where hundreds of Americans and internationals lived and reported from Iraq before, during and after the US-led Shock and Awe bombardment and occupation.

We recognize, from our travel to Iraq, the importance of first hand experience, person to person diplomacy, and being direct witness to the effects of militarism, war, and economic destruction. However, the US/UK occupation and the constant threat of civil war in Iraq currently makes it dangerous for large groups of Westerners to travel in Iraq and difficult to convince ordinary Iraqis of the benefits of short-term delegations.

With this in mind, VitW is not organizing delegations to Iraq at this time. We are in dialogue with peace activists, medical professionals, labor organizers, teachers and others from our network about how best to support human rights, justice and peace for Iraqis living under occupation. Some close friends from our network are working on independent projects in Iraq, maintaining contact with friends there, learning Arabic and writing about the current situation. See the “Voices from Iraq” section for recent entries.