Eyes Wide Open New York and New Jersey

Eyes Wide Open, the American Friends Service Committee’s widely-acclaimed exhibition on the human cost of the Iraq War, features a pair of boots honoring each U.S. military casualty, a field of shoes and a Wall of Remembrance to memorialize the Iraqis killed in the conflict.

Since 1917, the American Friends Service Committee has championed the dignity and worth of every individual, the sanctity of human life and humanity's collective responsibility to promote peace. For almost 90 years of work in war zones on four continents, we have gained an intimate knowledge of the costs and horrors of war.

Eyes Wide Open first opened in Chicago's Federal Plaza with just over 500 pairs of boots in January 2004. Since its last display on Memorial Day weekend 2007 with over 3,400 pairs of boots the exhibition has been divided into state displays to travel to smaller cities and towns. The New York Metropolitan Region of the AFSC coordinates both New York and New Jersey statewide exhibits. These smaller localized versions of Eyes Wide Open calls attention to the human and economic cost of the Iraq war in each of these states.

At each stop, person after person leaves notes of commemoration, photographs of lost soldiers, identification tags, flowers, and American flags to accompany the boots on their journey.

Although a majority of Americans now believe this war is a tragic misadventure, the human cost of the Iraq War grows every day. How many more boots will be standing at silent attention before this war ends, before Iraqis and American soldiers are out of harm's way?

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 to Host Eyes Wide Open in your community

The AFSC encourages any organizations, groups or individuals to consider hosting this powerful exhibit. There are three main things to consider before hosting the exhibit:

1. Having a good visable location with lots of foot traffic, or an indoor space that is welcoming to all in the community
   
2. Enough volunteers to help set-up, take-down, and engage in active listening with passers by (this will be facilitated by an afsc staff person prior to the event)
   
3. The capacity to transport the exhibit to and from one of our regional offices (a cargo sized van is desired, exceptions may be made within the metropolitan area).

Please contact us if you are interested in hosting the exhibit: Iris Bieri, Exhibit Coordinator,  212-598-0958 or Email me

Follow this link to see a complete list of where we've been in the New York and New Jersey region

Eyes Wide Open in Schools

Since its initiation in April 2006, Eyes Wide Open has been displayed at various schools throughout New York and New Jersey States, including high schools, community colleges, and universities.  At each location, the exhibit has stimulated reflection and dialogue among students and staff about the Iraq War, opening a safe space for conversation around one of the most critical issues of our times.  Many schools have organized side activities, such as film screenings, panel discussions with veterans, and artistic projects to encourage students to engage with the exhibit, widen their knowledge, and express their opinions. In October 2007, AFSC added Cost of War banners available to emphasize the economic costs of the war and trade-off to service in our communities. Please contact Project Coordinator Iris Bieri (212.598.0958) for a complete list of schools we've been to and to bring the exhibit to your school community.

AFSC's Work in Iraq

AFSC's relief efforts in Iraq began in 1990, shortly after Iraq 's invasion and occupation of Kuwait, with relief assistance to some of the 300,000 foreign workers who left Iraq for Jordan in the weeks following the invasion.

AFSC then supported the Iraqi people by helping to rebuild a water treatment center, rebuilding schools, and sending water purifiers to provide clean water for hospitals and schools-a violation of the United Nations' sanctions policy in place at the time.

More recently, AFSC has

• provided medicine and construcedt sanitary facilities in homeless camps,
  
  
• purchased emergency supplies and furnishings for an orphanage,
  
  
• supported a home for abused women and girls,
  
  
• helped supply a spinal cord injury center, and
  
  
• provided funds so that more than a dozen Iraqi nongovernmental organizations could take part in a series of capacity-building workshops.