Imagine A Change Online Forums Provide a Venue for Iraqis to Freely Express Their Views

Gaithersburg, MD, April 05, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Imagine A Change (www.imagineachange.org), a rapidly emerging nonprofit organization, announced today that the organization is now working with a group of Iraqis, who shall remain anonymous for safety reasons, in an effort to give all Iraqis the ability to freely share their ideas on the organization's website. Free speech is severely constrained in Iraq because of the security situation and has negatively impacted open dialogue in a country where cooperation and discussion are very much needed.

One source who spoke with Imagine A Change on Thursday described the current security threat saying, “Today in Iraq, US forces with the Iraqi Army have backed some of Al-Qaeda terrorists into Mosul, and we are afraid to leave our home because we hear shots echoing throughout the streets.” Furthermore, the source continued saying that “We have to worry about the terrorists, but also the criminals who were let free at the end of Saddam’s dictatorship.”

The Iraqi spoke referring to the security situation they have to deal with everyday in just getting around the country. Imagine how hard it would be to get a group of people together to discuss public issues to try and improve Iraq. If Iraqis try to have town meetings around the city, they automatically become targeted by some terrorist or criminal group. One Iraqi stated, “It’s hard for us to express our opinions. Most Iraqis don’t publically disagree with terrorists because they don’t want to be targeted, but privately they hate them for what they are doing to us in Iraq.”

Because of this situation, Imagine A Change has created an online forum, where Iraqis can come to freely discuss their thoughts in a neutral setting with anonymity. Neutrality is important for Imagine A Change, as it shows people the organization does not have a hidden agenda that it is trying to pursue. Anonymity can be important as well, especially in Iraq, allowing people to say what they think without fearing for their lives.

Anyone can share their opinions and ideas on Imagine A Change. The website even has a “How You Can Participate” tutorial that explains exactly how to register and share your thoughts. Go to the nonprofit’s website at www.imagineachange.org for more information on how you can make a difference.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”- Margaret Mead, Anthropologist.

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