Illahee Lecture Series: Azzam Alwash

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"Eden Again: Oil, Water, and Restoration"

Produced in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MercyCorps.

Portland-based MercyCorps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against impossible odds. Since 1979, MercyCorps has provided $1 billion in assistance to people in 81 nations.

Mercy Corps believes that clean water is a basic human right. Whether improving long-neglected rural water infrastructures, resolving resource-based conflicts, or ensuring access to potable water during disasters, Mercy Corps is committed to providing clean water around the world.

Dr. Azzam Alwash is the Director of the Eden Again Project, an organization working to restore the marshlands of southern Iraq and Iran. Encompassing an area larger than the Florida Everglades, these wetland ecosystems were destroyed during the 1990's.

The extensive marshlands of Mesopotamia represent a unique component of our global heritage. The seas of reed beds were home to the ancient communities where human civilization began more than 5,000 years ago. Scholars regard the marshes as the site of the biblical "Garden of Eden," the "Great Flood," and the birthplace of the patriarch Abraham.

Tickets are available for purchase here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/1952