WJI Director Tom Kane with Dr. Nasih

Othman and Tareq Abdullah

The Aura of War, Writers' Workshop, Kurdish Research Exchange and more!

Joiner Institute Newsletter ­ Fall/Winter 2016The Joiner Institute enjoyed a successful 2016 full of many different projects, events, guests,workshops, speakers and community involvement. Our newsletter features an overview of ouryear's events. We hope you'll enjoy.

On another note, as budget cuts continue to affect the UMass Boston campus, we hope you willcontinue to help support the Joiner mission in 2017 and beyond. With your generous contributionsthe Joiner can continue to support projects and initiatives that help publicly discuss, research, andeducate the UMass Boston, greater Boston, and international community about the long lastingconsequences of war, conflict and political violence. We thank you for your continued support ofour. Happy Holidays from all of us at the Joiner Institute, we hope to see you in the new year.

Donate Today!

WJI Receives Grant for Health,

Environmental Research in Iraqi

Kurdistan

The William Joiner Institute for the Study of Warand Social Consequences at the University ofMassachusetts Boston has been awarded a$50,000 grant from the International Researchand Exchanges Board (IREX) to build acollaborative training and research relationshipwith the Sulaymaniyah Polytechnic University(SPU) and the Kurdistan Institute for StrategicStudies and Scientific Research (KISSR) in theKurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq over thenext year. The funds are from the U.S Embassyin Iraq's Higher Education Research ExchangeProgram.

The project began in July and has included research methodology training by Dr. Thomas Kaneand Dr. Nasih Othman on environmental health needs assessment methodology, environmentalhealth risk assessment methods, and qualitative research design and training for key informantinterviews, in­depth interviews, and focus group discussion observation checklists for theenvironmental health needs assessment conducted in Sulaymaniyah as part of the projectactivities. Another goal is to identify key policy issues and longer­term research projects andopportunities to study the health and social consequences of war in the Kurdish region.

Dr. Kane then visited Sulaymaniyah in September to meet the seven members of the newly formedenvironmental health team from SPU and KISSR, and the presidents and vice presidents from

both of the Iraqi institutions, and to conduct training and assist in the design of the environmentalhealth needs assessment for the Sulaymaniyah governorate. The Kurdish region of Iraq has beendevastated by war and internal conflicts for the past half century. Its military forces, "ThePeshmerga," are currently engaged in intense fighting with ISIS forces in the Mosul area of Iraq,and continue to suffer both military and civilian losses in the fight against ISIS. There are anestimated 400,000 refugees from other parts of Iraq and Syria currently located in theSulaymaniyah governorate; these numbers continue to increase with the intensification of thefighting in and around Mosul. Moreover, government workers, as well as the military, often go months without salaries or receiveonly one quarter of their regular salary due to the dire economic crisis in the region. The years ofconflict, which include the use of chemical agents against the Kurdish military and civilianpopulation, the concomitant economic difficulties, and the increase in the refugee population haveall contributed to serious environmental health problems and health risks in the region, includingwater supply problems and water and air pollution, contaminated soil, unexploded ordnance andlandmine risks. A strain on the housing, education and health infrastructure and local environmenthas resulted from the heavy influx of migrants from other regions. Dr. Kane and the environmental health team spent an entire day visiting Halabja, the site of the1988 chemical attacks against the Kurds by Saddam Hussein. Over 5,000 men, women andchildren of all ages died from the highly lethal nerve gas used in the 1988 chemical attack, andmore than twice as many were injured from exposure to the blistering agents and mustard gas alsoused in the 1988 attack. The trip to Halabja included a visit to the museum and memorial dedicatedto the victims of the chemical attacks, visits to several mass graves of victims, and a visit to theHalabja Chemical Victims Society which provides support to some 2,500 survivors of the chemicalattacks. Dr. Kane also met with and interviewed several survivors of the 1988 chemical attacks stillsuffering from the effects of exposure to the chemicals. For example, one of the respondents hadlost 80 percent of his lung capacity as a result and has been on constant oxygen supply for thepast 28 years. The team also made a brief visit to the new hospital in Halabja that treats some ofthe chemical attack victims. There has been little or no public health or environmental health research conducted in Halabja,and Dr. Kane and the EH team are proposing to conduct a long­term retrospective multidisciplinarystudy of the health and special impact of the chemical attacks and war on the population ofHalabja, and will be developing a study proposal for consideration by potential donors, includingthe WHO, CDC­Fogarty Program, and NIEHS. Dr. Kane and the EH team also met with keygovernment and NGO stakeholders during the visit. They also observed a number of refugeecamps, one in Sulaymaniyah City and two on the way to Halabja. Five members of the Kurdish environmental health team visited the William Joiner Institute and theUniversity of Massachusetts in November to discuss the results of the Sulaymaniyahenvironmental needs assessment, review risk assessment methods, and meet with the UMassBoston provost and the dean and senior faculty of the School for the Environment, as well as otherkey environmental health specialists in Boston. From December 2016 through February 2017 Dr. Kane will assist the Sulaymaniyah environmentalhealth team in finalizing the Sulaymaniyah Environmental Health Needs Assessment Report and indeveloping a concept proposal for the long­term study of the impact of the chemical attack onHalabja. Dr. Kane is serving as co­director of the project together with Dr. Nasih Othman, aphysician and epidemiologist working at both SPU and KISSR in Sulaymaniyah. Othman is aspecialist in environmental health issues. He has experience in treating over 100 victims of thechemical attacks by Saddam Hussein's regime.

The Aura of War "Captures" UMass Boston CampusBy T. Michael Sullivan

Artist Minoo Emami and WJI staff at the opening reception

(Click for photos from "The Aura of War")

The Aura of War, an art project featuring an exhibit of paintings and sculptures as well asnumerous educational activities, highlighted the spring 2016 activities of the William JoinerInstitute. Led by Minoo Emami, an Iranian artist who moved to the United States, the project soughtto engage the UMass Boston community as well as the larger community in facing the palpableand enduring consequences of war. The Iraq­Iran War of the 1980s serves as the catalyst forEmami's art and views on war, with the artist paying particular attention to its effects on women andchildren.

The exhibit itself opened on March 21 with Emami, who is a student at Boston's School of theMuseum of Fine Arts, greeting guests and conducting gallery walks in which she explained thebackgrounds of various art objects and their genesis. In the last few years, Emami has worked withwomen in Iran similarly affected by war in developing a series of work, The Peace March, whichutilizes old, discarded prostheses and transforms them into elaborate and beautiful works of art. "Iadd to the collection every summer when I (have gone) back home since 2014," said Emami. "I findmore people to join to the project and produce more art."

During an artist's talk at the Opening Reception on March 31, she described the evolution of herwork and theme from the time she wed a veteran of the Iran­Iraq War of the 1980s in a Tehranhospital room as he recovered from injuries suffered in the war. She also conveyed hercommitment to other women suffering the consequences of war. "My goal is to be therepresentative of women who had to face the war consequences in their lives," she said inresponse to an interview question. "I want to speak up for them and bring the audience's attentionto the difficult Kurdish female situation."

She continued her advocacy for women at a panel discussion titled "Women, Art and the Legacy ofWar" in the Harbor Gallery, the site of the exhibit, on April 5. The panel featured Professor RajiniSrikanth, Dean of the Honors College at UMass Boston, Maryam Kamali, a post­doctoral researchfellow at Harvard, and Jill McDonough, a poet and director of the MFA Program at UMass Boston.While introducing the panel as the moderator, Srikanth stated "We're not aesthetizing the effects ofwar" and stressed that the panelists would be dealing with war's very real consequences.

In her role as a panelist, Emami gave an overview of Muslim society and, specifically, women'sstatus and role within it. She showed images of young women in Tehran, Iran, explaining that theywere required to cover their hair or risk punishment of 74 lashes. The artist also displayed acomputer graphic of anti­female laws in Iran, stating that a husband's permission is required for awide range of activities and that both civil law and "married law" are antithetical to women. Toillustrate the injustice, she revealed that 54 percent of students in Iran are female, yet just 12percent become professionals. Narrowing her focus to Kurdistan, Emami showed images of girls

captured and held hostage by ISIS, of women taking up arms against ISIS and, poignantly, of agrandmother who had lost 25 members of her family to fighting in the region. Indeed, women's roles in Iran have shifted throughout history. In "The History of Iranian Women inWar and Art", Kamali, the Harvard researcher, presented an overview and a historical progressionof the depiction, status and treatment of women. Asserting that Iran was a crossroads of theancient world, she noted that war was a driver of social change and that women suffered the short­term and long­term consequences of war. In ancient Iran, women were revered, and images ofgoddesses appear in art of that period. Under Islamic Shari'a law, however, women have becomechattels of men, regarded as mere assets, and are not to be portrayed in art.

Kamali feels that war has an impact on Shari'a law, especially through the influence of nomadictroops such as the Turks and Mongols and that women's roles are subject to the influences ofinvading tribes. As a result of the Iran­Iraq War, some artists as well as others have new anddifferent perspectives on war, according to her. She placed Emami in the context of that shift andcited the artist's work as a manifestation of the new perspective.Emami believes that art is important in depicting the status and role of women but maintains thatlanguage doesn't necessarily follow the art, citing that in interviews she has given, "war" is changedto "holy defense," the official phrase for the 1980s' war.

In closing remarks, Professor Srikanth seemed to echo Emami's view, citing the restraints underwhich women make art, referencing African­American women writers as examples. She alsoclaimed that "Constraint can give rise to the creative impulse," while disavowing the imposition ofsuch constraints.

Throughout the run of the exhibit, Emami met with visitors to the gallery, providing informal toursand information sessions, as well as to high school and university classes. At a workshop on April20, she gave an overview of the history of collage as an art form and led attendees ­ students,veterans, and university personnel ­ in making their own collages. A pop­up exhibit showcased theresults of her work.

Each summer, Emami returns to Iran. In addition to visiting family and friends, the artist works withwomen who have been similarly affected by war, generating new works of art and adding to aseries of interviews she has conducted with her collaborators. In the interviews, which sheconducts in Farsi and subsequently translates into English, the women often reveal the effects thewar has had on them or their families and relate the ameliorative effect working with the artist hason them. "I think what I do helps women who are collaborating with me to transform their memoriesand emotional remnants from war," Emami observed. "After the piece (of art) transformation, theychange somehow; our relationship is meaningful and deep. It's kind of healing for us."

Over the summer of 2016, the artist worked with more women and collected additional stories. Shealso produced distinctive and beautiful prosthetic­based glass sculptures of legs and forearms. Thework necessitated trips to three different glass shops in Tehran's suburbs, requiring her to drivehours to accomplish the project. "I am very happy with the production since it was a very specialwork to me," she said.

While Minoo Emami has suffered the consequences of war as an artist of Kurdish heritage living inIran, she has used art and outreach to others to keep from becoming a victim.

Writers' Workshop Highlights Veterans, Arts and Writers of Color

Faculty and participants from the 2016 Writers' Workshop

(Click for photos from the 2016 Writers Workshop)

The William Joiner Institute sponsored and hosted its 29th annual Writers' Workshop June 20­July

1, enrolling some 55 writers for the two weeks of instruction in and development of writing in the

genres of poetry, fiction, creative non­fiction, memoir, and drama. Another 20 part­time associates

and visitors took part in specialized workshops, master classes, creative presentations, panel

discussions and readings throughout the Workshop. A component for veterans, Warrior Writers,

which accommodates young veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as their close

friends and family members at the Old Oak Dojo Community Center in Jamaica Plain, drew more

than 20 participants to its one­week program, June 20­25.

The participation of veterans in the workshop was considerable. Fifteen faculty members and

panelists were veterans. Two Vietnamese writers were veterans; the third was a political prisoner.

Of the participants in the workshop, nine were veterans. Among the associates and visitors to the

workshop, twelve were veterans.

Veterans' Component

In addition to the workshop class sessions, the first week of the workshop constituted a focus on

war and the military and their effects on veterans. A number of panels, workshops, readings and a

film reviewed the experience of veterans making the transition to civilian life, coping with Post

Traumatic Stress Disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, as well as evaluating the

efficacy of recovery programs, and exploring the ameliorative effects of the expressive arts.

The 2016 Writers' Workshop commenced with a panel focusing on the experiences of women

veterans. Titled "Women Veterans Speak," it featured four former female service members from

different branches of the U.S. military who described both their military experience and the

challenges they have faced as veterans of a military in transition, both in terms of gender and

sexual orientation. It was featured on the UMass Boston home page and was the subject of an

article by Colleen Locke on its website.

Visiting writer­scholars from the United Kingdom introduced a different perspective on care for

veterans in general and combat veterans in particular. Professor Sarah Bulmer shared an

academic and research perspective, while David Jackson, a former British commando who served

in the Falklands Islands War as well as Northern Ireland, offered personal accounts of his

experience both at war and dealing with post­conflict issues. They presented two joint sessions,

"Living in No­Man's Land: Being a Veteran in the UK," and "You Do Not Live in My Skin:

Challenges of Representing Experiences of War and Its Aftermath", while Jackson also screened

his film, "Seven Days Down South: A War Story," an account of a healing visit to the Falklands

some 20 years after the war.

A panel discussion, "Veterans Peer Support Programs," presented workshop participants with a

glimpse into some of the work the William Joiner Institute does with and on behalf of veterans

struggling with reintegration into society. Panelists offered overviews of the Vet to Vet SupportProgram, an addiction recovery program, a writing enterprise specifically for veterans (BostonWarrior Writers), and the Veterans Court Consortium.

A musical therapy workshop, tilted "Sounds of Healing" and conducted by trained personnel fromthe Berklee College of Music, and a drama workshop, "Dramatic Outlets: Developing Drama by,with, and for Veterans" presented by Iraq War veteran writer Sean Davis, concluded the veteran­specific component within the Writers' Workshop.

Two veterans' readings were also held in the first week of the Workshop. The first, an eveningreading on the lawn of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House in Cambridge, featured veterans onthe workshop faculty, including the noted poet Bruce Weigl and former Joiner Center Director KevinBowen, as well as younger veteran poets attending the Warrior Writers component of theworkshop. The second reading, held at the Old Oak Dojo Community Center in Jamaica Plain,presented the work of participants in Warrior Writers and concluded the formal activities of theirweek.

Boston to Basra Project

The Boston to Basra Project also presented the artistic products of nine months of collaborationamong writers, musicians, visual artists and dramatists. Two plays, "Brides Look Forward" by JohnE. Meyer and "In the Reeds" by Amy Merrill, were presented for the first time. "Panorama Joy", amusical composition by Qays Owda Qasim, was presented by video of a performance at theUniversity of Basra and complemented by a live improvisation by Jorrit Dijkstra and Jeb Bishop.Asmaa Amir Al­Hassan offered Art in Progress while the poetry and art of Elham Al­Zabaedy waspresented by the Iraqi playwright Amir Al­Azraki. Joiner Institute staff member Mitch Manning alsoread some original poetry which originated in the project.

The Writers' Workshop featured additional drama workshops for the third consecutive year. Inaddition to Sean Davis's workshop for, about and by veterans, both Iraqi playwright Amir Al­Azrakiand African­American dramatist Charles Dumas returned and offered workshops about usingdrama to effectuate social change and cultural dialogue and understanding. Al­Azraki'spresentation, "Can Art Build Bridges: A Conversation between Iraqi and American Artists," soughtto probe perceptions each has of the other and to bridge differences in an attempt to establishcultural exchange. In his master class, "Using Theatre for Social Change," Dumas used dramatictechniques aimed at instituting social change.

Black Words Matter

In 2015, the Writers' Workshop introduced a component for writers of color, most notably African­American and Latino writers. Building upon that initiative in 2016, the workshop featured BlackWords Matter with funding from a grant from the Boston Cultural Council of the Mayor's Office ofArts and Culture. With workshop faculty member Danielle Legros Georges, who is the current poetlaureate of the City of Boston and a professor in the Division of Creative Arts in Teaching at LesleyUniversity, the Writers' Workshop recruited five African­American writers and funded theirparticipation over the two weeks. They explored African­American literature and the voices ofAfrican­American poets throughout our country's history in an effort to give creative expression tothe violence afflicting African­American culture and community in the United States.

Warrior Writers

As an expression of its commitment to assisting veterans in finding creative outlets and expression,the Writers' Workshop again hosted Warrior Writers, a national program with a chapter in Boston.Under the leadership of Lovella Calica and Boston coordinator Rachel McNeill, the group convenedfor a week (June 20­25) at the Old Oak Dojo Community Center in Jamaica Plain. A program foryoung veterans of America's recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it offers both community andconfidentiality in addition to instruction in writing by such workshop faculty as Bruce Weigl, FredMarchant and Sean Davis.

2017 Writers Workshop

On June 26­June 30, 2017 the Joiner will be hosting the 2017 Joiner Writers Workshop Festival ­ A30th Year Celebration. For more info on the 30th year Workshop and Celebration check back in afew weeks for faculty, events, and visiting writers.

Visiting Vietnamese Writers with Lady Borton, Tim Corrigan,

Chan and Nguyen Ba Chung

Teachers at the 2016 Joiner HS Teachers Workshop

Vietnamese writerspresent literature andculture at 2016Writers' WorkshopBy Nguyen Ba Chung

Three writers from Vietnam ­Pham Hoa, Tran Thi Thang andVo Que ­ visited the 2016 JoinerInstitute Writers' Workshop duringthe last two weeks of June,offering their impressions ofcontemporary Vietnameseliterature, participating in the

faculty reading series and, in a special presentation, sharing the distinctive musical tradition of CaHue.

Vo Que, a poet and songwriter, presented both the history and described the instruments used inCa Hue, or Hue chamber music. The genre is a unique form of Hue royal court music featuringvoices and lyrics presented in over 60 tunes, including Hue folk songs. He charmed the wholeaudience with his evocative performance of the many Hue tunes, from the barcarolle style to theNam Bình, Lý Chuồn Chuồn, and Lying Verse.

The three Vietnamese writers attended most of the scheduled events over the two weeks andpresented a panel: "Modern Vietnamese Writing and Culture." During that session,, Pham Hoadiscussed the freedom to write and its boundaries in the post­war period, while Tran Thi Thnagdescribed the development of Vietnamese literature, especially among women writers, during thewar and after. Over one and a half hours, both provided an informative and entertaining capsuleview of literature in Vietnam over the last few decades. Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong served astranslator for the writers, with Ha Van from California interpreting for a single day.

During faculty readings, the Vietnamese read sections in their native tongue while Americanauthors read the translations in English. The audience roared with laughter when Fred Marchantread Pham Hoa's short story, "A Tease of the Creator," while everyone fell to silence listening toLady Borton's recitation of Tran Thi Thang's series of short poems. Vo Que, with the help of FredMarchant, presented his recent publication in Vietnam ­ Lục Bát Côn Đảo (Côn Đảo Poems),showcasing ten quatrains he wrote when imprisoned in this infamous prison.

After the Writers' Workshop, continuing the Joiner tradition, they were taken to visit New York,Washington, D.C., and Niagara Falls.

Teachers Recount Year­Long Collaboration withJoiner InstituteBy T. Michael Sullivan

Building on the momentum generatedover the previous year, participants inthe William Joiner Institute's secondaryeducation outreach programparticipated in the 2016 Writers'Workshop, June 20th­July 1st. Led byPrincipal Chris Jones, teachers fromSeekonk High School in southeasternMassachusetts presented theirpedagogical approaches whichincluded literature and art initiativesduring a two­hour panel titled Humanizing How We Teach About Violent Conflict.

Tony Martin with Secretary of StateJohn Kerry

The panel, led by Joiner Institute's Project Director for the outreach program, Dr. Alan Stoskopf,explained that educators have few resources or strategies for examining the human dimension ofwar, its meaning and consequences. Elizabeth Machado­Cook, an art teacher at Seekonk HighSchool, recollected a fall 2015 workshop given by the Iranian artist Minoo Emami, which led to ayear­long art project Machado­Cook undertook with students. The resultant work was a collectionof papier­maché hands earnestly reaching for something beyond their grasp, i.e. the prospect ofpeace.

The piece was entered in a regional high school art exhibition in southeastern Massachusetts andwon the "People's Choice" award in the competition. The detached hands drew from the recentdominant aesthetic of Emami, who is immersed in a project tilted "The Peace March," which utilizesold, discarded prosthetic devices such as hands and legs that are subsequently transformed intoart objects to convey the persistence of the consequences of war and the possibility of healing.

Jen Pomfret, a sophomore English teacher at Seekonk High School, described the educationalinitiatives used in collaboration with the art project, their methods and goals. Among theaccomplishments was a collection of poetry, inspired by the project, which was published in theschool's literary magazine, Paper Cuts.

The Seekonk educators and Stoskopf all agreed that the collaboration with the WJI has led totransformational thinking about their curriculum and instruction in regards to teaching about thehuman dimensions of war and its social consequences. During the current 2016­17 academic year,Seekonk High School will join educators from TechBoston Academy, EMK Health CareersAcademy, and Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in partnering with the Joiner Institute. Thisexpanded collaboration with four schools is supported in part by a grant from the Mass. Foundationfor the Humanities and Public Policy.

Opening Doors: A WJI Intern

ReminiscesBy Tony Martin WJI Internships Open Doors

What it's like being a WJI intern and the world ofopportunity awaiting is a story worth telling.My involvement with the William Joiner Institute beganwith a campaign to bring awareness to the fact that 22veterans commit suicide every day. I had an opportunityto interview WJI Director Tom Kane and discuss the ClayHunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act thatwas signed into law by President Obama in 2015. The billwas designed to help the Department of Veterans Affairsstudy new strategies for suicide prevention and givestudent loan incentives to recruit psychiatrists to workwith veterans. The bill's namesake was a Marine Corps veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan whostruggled with post­traumatic stress disorder and campaigned on behalf of veterans' health care.Sadly, he took his own life in 2011 at age 28. A couple of articles were published in the studentnewspaper that discussed the bill and the hopeful outcome that it promised to deliver. The VA hasbegun to make some improvements along the way, and yet we are fighting an uphill battle to makesure that we continue to address some of the longstanding mental illnesses that result from theconsequences of war. I worked with Dr. Kane on other initiatives to encourage campus dialoguewith faculty, staff and the student body about the suicide epidemic. The outcome was aYoutube video that gave some yearly statistics on the number of lives lost. Community Understanding and Interaction

The WJI supported the project of community activist and artist Leslie MacWeeney, who facilitated aprogram designed to provide "a safe and rewarding" opportunity for young adults through visualarts and, at the same time, allow them to interact with First Responders, who posed as subjects ofportraits in a non­threatening atmosphere where they could learn to communicate and gainvaluable life skills through participating in this creative process through art.

I took a number of photos and interviewed the young artists. Projects like these will have a positivelong­term impact on these young adults, some of whom are considering visual arts as a majorwhile exposing them to the realities of life in the armed forces and public service as a firstresponder.

As a WJI intern I was also a part of the production team of the play "Reconciliation" with MitchManning and other staffers, setting up the front of the house, welcoming the audience andperforming other duties as assigned. At Home and Abroad

Association with the WJI continues to open doors for me that I might not have otherwiseexperienced. I was fortunate to win the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship from theState Department to travel abroad in spring 2016. I believe my association with the WJI and thetime I served in the armed forces proved helpful in being selected for this prestigious scholarship. Istudied for a semester in Trinidad and Tobago at the University of West Indies in St Augustine.

During this time, I was able to represent the United States as a citizen, a veteran and a student. Ilived in the dorms on campus and worked with Ambassador Estrada and the U.S. Embassy on anumber of projects, including providing music therapy to Saint Mary's Children Home, anorphanage on the island that was established in 1867. I also produced a benefit concert forS.M.C.H. and the local community. The leadership skills I employed were gained during my time onactive duty in the armed forces and continue to develop doing important work with the WJI. Duringthe concert we were able to include more than 100 participants from the community to dosomething special for the S.M.C.H. attendees.

Since returning to the U. S., I have been invited to Washington, D.C., twice: first, to attend anetworking luncheon and later to attend a special event hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry.At both of these events, I was proud to represent UMB and the WJI as a student ambassador fortwo institutions that I am very pleased to be associated with.

The cast and crew of Reconciliation

Drama Explores Complexities of Iraq War

Reconciliation, a play by the African­American playwright Charles Dumas, explores thecomplexities surrounding the Iraq War in the early days of that conflict as it prepared for its firstdemocratic election, overseen by American diplomats. It received a staged reading over theSeptember 23­25 weekend at First Church Boston on Marlborough Street as part of the JoinerInstitute's Community Dialogues on War and Reconciliation, sponsored by a CEIF grant fromthe UMass President's Office.

(Click for photos from the production)

Author and Scholar Hai Nguyen

Under the direction of Cheryl Singleton, the actors ­ in costume and reading from scripts ­ acted outthe multiple collisions in Dumas's play, among them duty vs. conscience, patriotism vs. personalintegrity, career advancement vs. human compassion, and public perception vs. private truth. Allconstitute the fog of modern war.

Dumas, who has been on the faculty of the WJI's Writers' Workshop the last three years, takes auniquely American perspective on the conflict, with an African­American diplomat scheduled fortransfer and promotion after overseeing the Iraqi elections. His wife balances support for him andhis ambitions with a humane compassion for those who enter their lives bearing the scars of war.Two who enter that territory are a female American soldier and a Muslim woman whose parents thesoldier killed on orders from her superior. Both are torn by the demands of duty and the obligationsof a shared humanity.

Essentially, the play explores the complexity and interrelatedness of people behind the façade ofwar and violence. Indeed, in notes for the program booklet, Dumas writes: "But this is not a playabout war; it is about people attempting to reconcile differences during a critical time."

Panelists at the three readings discussed those issues after the conclusion of each performance.On Friday, Marc Miller and Shareda Hosein explored the issues of dramatic and cultural complexityand integrity. Miller is a director and co­founder of Fort Point Theatre Channel, which with theJoiner Institute commissioned the play. Hosein was a Muslim chaplain in the United States Army.Mitch Manning of the Joiner Institute moderated the discussion.

Saturday's post­performance panel featured veterans of the Iraq War. Marine veteran JuanSpinnato and Army veterans Carlos Sirah and Rachel McNeill offered perspectives from ground­level experience and the points of view of women and minorities. Moderating Saturday's discussionwas Erin Leach­Ogden, an Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan, of the JoinerInstitute.

Sunday's concluding reading was followed by discussion from two playwrights, Charles Dumas andClifford Odle. Dumas, the author of Reconciliation, is a seasoned actor and director as well and aprofessor emeritus at Penn State University. Odle is a playwright, actor and director who is on thefaculty of UMass Boston. The two discussed African­American theater and the importance ofminority voices and experiences in addition to their presence in theater. It was moderated by theplaywright Fabiola Decius.

Vietnamese Scholar Probes Soldiers'Motivation to FightBy Nguyen Ba Chung

Often overlooked in historians' account of war are thestories of the personal motivations which compelledsoldiers to enter combat and sustain that commitment.

On November 3, Hai Nguyen, a Ph.D. candidate at TexasTech University, delivered a talk on "Why NorthVietnamese Fought: A Study of Motivation from PersonalMemory" to a sizable audience in the Chancellor'sConference Room at UMass Boston. Hai Nguyen, a non­fiction writer, filmmaker, journalist,and scholar ­­ pen name Van Cam Hai ­­ was born inQuang Binh province, Central Vietnam. Over the lastdecade he has worked in conflict lands, including Tibet,Xinjiang, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. He has written andmade televised documentary films about the history ofVietnam and other Southeast Asian, European and

Central Asian countries. His work have appeared in many U.S. publications, including Tinfish andThe Literary Review, Vietnam Inside­Out: Dialogues, and the 91st Meridian. He is the author ofMan who Tends the Waves (1995), History of the Silk Road (2008), Winging to the Mild Zone(2013, reprint 2016), Gesar Blossoms Dropping in the Tibet Sunshine (2004, reprint 2016), and the

Ron Armstead of the Veterans BrainTrust

Wild Shakyamuni Land (2016).

In his talk, Hai Nguyen examined the motivations of North Vietnamese soldiers during the VietnamWar from the Captured Documents of the Enemy Collection,interviews with veterans, and other sources of institutional memory. His intent was to show howpersonal and collective memory conflict and how it may be used to shape and re­shape the storiesof history and the legacy of the Vietnam War. Hai Nguyen cited several autobiographies he gleaned from the captured documents as examples.One is by Le Tien Đuc, a party member and political officer, who understands why the Party needsto impose the ideologies of leadership, discipline, and duty to make him and his comrades"energetic communist fighters." Yet, he doesn't think those factors truly motivate the soldiers. Whatreally does that, to him, are traditional patriotism and nationalism. The second is by Nguyen Lap,who volunteers to join the army because of his immense hatred for the enemy's bombing anddestruction of his village. Mai Van Hung's diary, on the other hand, is filled with great sorrow at thenumber of deaths and casualties his army suffers. He doesn't think that there is any justifiablereason for so many to lose their lives.

Similarly Vu Van Lau's diary shows how much he missed his mother and wife, whom he had beenmarried to only three months when he had to leave. Nguyen Duc Nhuan, a fighter of Battalion 700,Regiment 302, finds to his surprise that after a two­month arduous march to the south, contrary toparty propaganda, there is no place that he could call a safe shelter. Based on those personal memories, Hai Nguyen aims to determine howthe experience of individuals "was key in constructing the narrative of history." In the end, it was notjust one factor, but the combination of "political goals, nationalism, patriotism, duty, honor,cohesion, hardship, and homesickness" that lay at the heart of the fighters' combat motivation.

Publication Recaps 25 Years ofVeterans BraintrustLong­time Joiner Institute associate Ron Armstead haspublished a paper detailing the challenges andaccomplishments of 25 years of the Veterans Braintrust,of which he is the executive director. Published on­line inthe William Monroe Trotter Publications (LINK), "TheRole, Accomplishments, and Challenges of theCongressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust" is onein a series of occasional papers which the UMass BostonInstitute publishes.

In 1971 the Congressional Black Caucus began itsseminal investigation of racism in the military. After ayear, it concluded that the military had done little, ifanything, to address racism in the ranks, an issue thatpersisted through the latter years of the Vietnam War.Also in 1971, the CBC held its inaugural dinner, drawingsome 500 people, including the late actor Ozzie Davis.

The dinner has grown into a five­day legislativeconference which includes workshops, issue forums, and"braintrust" sessions under the aegis of the CBCFoundation which sponsors nonpartisan research.

The Veterans Braintrust was first convened in 1988 and serves as a "think tank, advisory group, oradvocacy group" for the CBC, members of Congress and other groups within the African­Americancommunity. It has presented annually since then on a wide range of issues: mental health, healthcare, employment and job training, homelessness, women, aging and elderly veterans and theirfamilies. The article also describes the stages of growth and development, including a newapproach to veterans' affairs, the introduction of legislation and special hearings.

Writers Workshop "Veteran Peer Support" Panel

featuring Tom Kane, John Burke, Rachel McNeil

of the Warrior Writers, Cary Rothenburger, and

Erin Leach­Ogden

Greater Boston Council on

Alcoholism logo

Research Paper AssessesVeterans and Group TherapyWilliam Joiner Institute associate CaryRothenburger has authored a paper spawnedby his work with veterans in a group setting.

Titled "Veterans and Trauma in GroupTherapy," the article is a working paperposted on the Joiner Institute's website. Ittraces the origins of group therapy withveterans to World War II when health careprofessionals in a Veterans Administration ill­equipped to deal with the volume of combatveterans returning home began seeing thetraumatized veterans in small groups. Theynoticed positive results from the meetings andan amelioration of symptoms.

The author asserts the importance of the "tribal" connection as a foundational principle to the workof healing victims of trauma, citing the need to belong to small groups cohering around sharedpurpose and understanding. In the case of veterans, the shared experience is combat and thecommon goal is to reknit the social fabric which has been torn by the shared experience.

Rothenburger also focuses on the success of Vietnam veteran rap groups, noting that their"informal, non­clinical, safe, and confidential" nature was crucial to their success. He contends thatthe challenges of transition from combat to civilian life and the contrast of environments leavemany veterans disoriented. A recent study by the Veterans Administration found that 22 veterans aday die by suicide and that there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of post­traumatic stressdisorder. Relying on the use of socializing techniques, "The group experience can mimic theintense bonding veterans have experienced in combat," Rothenburger writes. "It seems that in themere anticipation of the group there is already a sense of safety and bonding with veterans."

Characterizing the experience as "survivors helping survivors", he noted that groups assistveterans in the related processes of reorienting and building resilience. He likens the group to asafe harbor from which one can venture to establish connections outside the group but to whichone can, importantly, return. "Most all veterans have experienced some degree of trauma andtherefore they are more likely to experience a feeling of detachment or estrangement from others,"he concludes while stressing the importance of veterans assisting other veterans in the healingprocess.

WJI Receives Grant to AddressSubstance Abuse among VeteransThe William Joiner Institute for the Study of War andSocial Consequences has been awarded a grant in theamount of $6,400 from the Greater Boston Council onAlcoholism, Inc. to develop, implement and conduct aprogram for alcohol and drug­abuse education,prevention and treatment referrals. Geared towardmilitary veterans and their families in the Greater Bostonarea, the program would be administered and conductedby fellow veterans familiar with or skilled in treatmentmodalities.

Program activities will be conducted at UMass Boston,which has a veterans' population of 650 students, acommunity venue and, and possibly Chelsea Soldiers Home. Initial plans for programmaticactivities include: curriculum and discussion guide development; a number of intensive support­group sessions; and monitoring and evaluation of changes in participant behaviors. Once initiated,the program will run the remainder of the 1016­17 academic year.

William Joiner Institute staff and associates with experience in alcoholism and drug­addiction

recovery programs, would oversee the project, including Director Thomas Kane, a Vietnam­era

veteran with an extensive public health program management, research and evaluation

background and John Burke, a Vietnam­era veteran with graduate training in alcoholism

counseling and recovery programs. The project could also draw on consultants.

The involvement over the last 15 years of American military personnel in combat operations in Iraq

and Afghanistan has produced a generation of 2.4 million post/9­11 combat veterans. Often

returning to their families and communities with both physical and mental health consequences

from engagement in these conflicts, a number of these veterans turn to alcohol or drugs to counter

the stress, anxiety, and trauma associated with post­traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain

injury and military sexual trauma. A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study has found that 11­20

percent of veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan experience P.T.S.D., and 23 percent of

women reported being victims of sexual assault while in the military.

Additionally, the program could reach out to the incarcerated veterans' population through the

Boston and Dedham Veterans Treatment Courts (VTC) programs and Massachusetts criminal

justice facilities.

WJI Director Lectures at GermanUniversity, Visits VeteransInstitute in Netherlands

The Director of the William Joiner Institute, Thomas Kane, visited the University of Passau in

Germany in June 2016, as an invited speaker in the university's lecture series The Politics ofHistory and Memory in Asia and Europe.

Dr. Kane gave a presentation on the Vietnam War to faculty and students at the university. The title

of his presentation was "The Legacy of the American­Vietnam War: Consequences andCommemorations 50 Years On." During Dr. Kane's trip he also visited the Veteranen Instituut inDoorn, Netherlands, and met with the Veterans Institute's senior researchers on veterans' issues,

Dr. Gielt Algra and Dr. Martin Elands, to discuss opportunities for international research

collaborations on health and social support programs for veterans in the U.S, Netherlands and

other countries.

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