ARCH hosts Cocktails for Culture Fundraiser with Guest of Honor REZA

Written by: the ARCH Team

Our newest project involves one holy shrine, three beleaguered minorities, and four million courageous people trying to become a nation. Also, separately, working on these ventures is legendary photojournalist, humanitarian activist and war correspondent Reza, whose newest book Kurdistan Renaissance brings the topic home with his signature gripping visuals. We found this amazing new ally by complete coincidence – ARCH ’s president recently met Reza on a bus in Baku, Azerbaijan, and in casual conversation on the road, discovered that our paths are converging.

If you would like to know more, please contact us. And make sure to check out our recent blog post “Interview with Reza“ to learn more about his inspiring story. Reza has worked on initiatives all over the world, impacting the lives of forgotten and besieged people for the better. Our guests at the cocktail party enjoyed a chat with him, naturally followed by a snapshot of him.

What was this party about? Cocktails for Culture was all about raising our glasses – and raising funds – for the preservation of culture.

The bartender of Washington D.C.’s “in” spot Daikaya spent a full day in the Library of Congress researching the Assyrian empire, to create a special cocktail for the night. His resulting handcrafted specialty definitely warranted the effort. Stay tuned, we will share the recipe on our blog soon. Also upcoming: a blog about the way that fermented drinks have impacted culture and are a part of heritage. (If you want to read ahead, we recommend the book A History of the World in Six Glasses.)

 

The other guest of honor was the representative of the Kurdish Regional Government in the U.S., Her Excellency Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman – and her equally cool husband, who among other accomplishments became a practitioner of Kabuki theatre while living in Japan.

As a nation with a population of about 4 million, and in a time of dire financial difficulties and an ongoing battle against terrorism, Kurdistan has taken in 2 million refugees. 2 million. We salute them, and their Peshmerga who are fighting ISIS on a front line that is over 1000 kilometers long.

ISIS has murdered Muslims who do not agree with them, minorities such as the Yezidis, has destroyed entire Christian towns in Iraq and has led a campaign against Shia and Jewish heritage sites. We need to do our little bit to stand with them, and to help them rebuild. We’re counting on your help, too.  

Our current emergency initiative concerns a relatively easy stabilization of a shrine that represents the last trace of a once culturally rich interfaith community in Iraq. The people of that town, struggling to support their refugee population and to keep their farms going, have asked for our support, and have explained that saving this historic treasure located in the middle of their town would mean so much more than just an archaeological or architectural project. It would symbolize hope and determination to defend a place where neighbors of all faiths once lived side by side as friends.

Total estimated cost: 180 000 USD.

We need to get this done before the coming winter, to avoid collapse of the arches and walls. Separately, two teams of conservation engineers have emphasized the urgency. Help us make this happen.