Welcome to Citizens Reach Out, a 501C3 For Benefit Corporation dedicated to improving the lives of war victims around the world.
Citizens Reach Out seeks to educate the public about the human cost of war on civilian populations, and to engender a sense of responsibility in all people to alleviate the suffering of these innocents.
CRO pursues its educational mission by providing public access to first hand accounts of war victims. CRO records the stories of refugees, immigrants, and other observers, and distributes them through a wide range of media including podcasts, radio broadcasts, short films, and public lectures.
The end result is direct public interaction with a reality that would otherwise remain invisible or obscured. CRO hopes to generate an awareness that will enable people to make considered humanitarian decisions about the pursuit of war as a national policy.
CRO’s current work includes:
We are collecting the stories of displaced Iraqi refugees through interviews. Our CRO workers visit Iraqis in their homes and interview them about their experiences before and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq up to the present. From these interviews, we produce podcasts, films, and transcribed testimonials to be made available for broadcast on our website. Transcribed versions will be made available to high schools and collegiate social studies programs and ultimately, these resources will comprise an Oral History Archive to be stored in an institution for future reference and historical documentation.
These stories, which would otherwise remain obscured and untold, provide access to the deep human experience of Iraqis driven from their homes and country.
Please take a moment to listen to some of the stories we have collected from our interviews.
We welcome any Iraqis who would like to tell their stories to contact us at info@citizensreachout.org.
Speakers Events
CRO also organizes public speaking events, debates and discussions to address the subject of war and its consequences. Please watch for our scheduled events or sign up for our mailing list to receive notices.
If you or someone you know would like to participate in one of our events, or if you would like to suggest a possible future event, please email us at info@citizensreachout.org.
For more information on our goals and our work, please see our Mission Statement and an introductory message from founding board member Ruth Friend.
