Frequently Asked Questions

Page Is Being Constructed

Please send us your questions - These are the questions we've heard thus far.

Why do this when it's just going to be taken down?
Remembering and honoring these individuals in any fashion publicly is long over due. By and large the American public remains uninformed about the extent of the lives lost. Even a temporary memorial can begin to help the public have a better understanding.

Do you really think it will make a difference?
It will make a difference to those who work on the project, to those who drive by it, and to those who see pictures or other media coverage. It will make a difference to those who just needed a reminder that all life is sacred.

Is this an antiwar memorial?
No. This a memorial to a people's lives.

Why is the Iraq Body Count data being used?
The discrepancy between the 100,000 and 1.3 million numbers, is because the 100,000 number relies on deaths that are verifiable according to international standards for accounting or reporting war related deaths.

The 1.3 million number is based on a census survey, is not verifiable due to the scope of the situation. There is no way to reach every household for the most accurate count possible. So, while the 1.3 million number is highly credible, it is just not verified according to international standards for reporting war related deaths. For further information see Why This is Important.

Why do you talk of the 1.3 million if the IBC is only 100,000?
Just Foreign Policy has continued to calculate the number of deaths based upon the two studies done by the World Health Organization (WHO). Published in The Lancet, a well known British medical journal, this research used professionally accepted statistical means to calculate civilian deaths through thousands of interviews throughout Iraq; there are many reports with different supporting information, using different sources. For further information see Why This is Important.

Could you have each marker represent more than one person so the whole 1.3 million could be shown?
Such memorials have been made and are important. A key point of this memorial is that each life matters.

What other work can I do to help?

• Spread the word! Many, many markers need to be made.
• Become more knowledgeable. – Share your knowledge.
• Contribute to one of the organizations helping on the ground in Iraq listed on the links page. Know of another such organization? Tell us and we'll list it.