On October 24th – 28th, to mark the anniversary of the release of the Lancet Study on October 29th 2004, each group or individual committed to this project will gather in a public place within our own communities for a simple and solemn "Bell Ringing" ceremony.

It should be noted that there are other ways of being part of this project that are creative variations on the following methods. For instance, one group is asking their members to ring a bell from the windows of their homes, simultaneously. Another group is having their church ring a church bell, instead of using handbells. For the most part groups committed to the project are following the guidelines below.

Read our Call to Action

How to commit to the project

• Read our Call
• Sign up - Fill out our online form
• Contact either Scott Blackburn (US - ) or Milan Rai (UK - ) directly for further information. If you or your group live outside the US and UK feel free to get in touch with either of us. Also, if you are trying to find others in your area that are participating please feel free to contact us as we may be able to assist you.

While the format of the ceremony is open to meet the needs of individual communities we do strongly suggest the following so that as a whole our voices will be strong:

1.) Each group or individual will commit to ringing a bell 1,000 times.

If 100 groups commit to 1,000 rings we will reach our goal of 100,000. The number of rings and the time commitment to complete them is an essential part of this project to demonstrate the seriousness of this ceremony and call to others regarding our grief and compassion over the lose of Iraqi lives in this unjust war.

• If you or your group will not be able to complete 1,000 rings of a bell please let us know the number of times you choose to ring a bell so that we might keep a close count of the sum of rings we can accomplish.

2.) Each ring will come every minute

This is the suggested duration of the each ring to let the bell fully reverberate to symbolize each individual Iraqi who has lost their life.

3.) Each Group will choose to do the ceremony on one, two, three, four, or five of the days (Oct 24th-28th)

a.) Depending on your or your groups abilities you can choose to do the bell ringing ceremony on:

• one day for a total of 16 hours and 40 minutes
• any 2 days for 8 hours and 20 minutes each day
• any 3 days for 5 hours and 34 minutes each day
• any 4 days for 4 hours 10 minutes each day
• or all 5 days for 3 hours 20 minutes each day

b.) if your groups consists of more than 2 people you can take turns. The more people that your group consists of the easier it will be to relieve one another.

4.) In choosing a public place it may help to consider the following:

a.) Foot traffic - Is the area good for visibility and press coverage?

b.) Close to a public bathroom

5.) Reading the Names

a.) If you choose you may read the names of Iraqis who are known to have died in the violence. If possible it will be helpful if one or more of the people in your group are familiar with Arabic names so that the names are pronounced correctly. Lists can be found here:

• Named and identified victims of the war on Iraq: In remembrance (from iraqbodycount.org)
• Iraqi Civilian War Casualties

6.) Printed Materials - Information and Talking Points

Iraq Mortality will provide and talking points in the coming weeks regarding the studies and the unfortunate controversy that surrounds the studies, especially within media.

It will be helpful to know some of the discussions surrounding the mortality studies when talking to the press.

Some auggested articles and analysis of the Lancet Study that have been posted on this site:

• Study: Iraq Invasion Has Killed 100,000 Civilians, Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman and Les Roberts, November 1 2004
• Responses to the 'Lancet Report' on Post-Invasion Mortality in Iraq, Iraq Analysis Group, November, 2004
• Dead Iraqis: Why an Estimate was Ignored, Lila Guterman, March/April 2005
• Researchers Who Rushed Into Print a Study of Iraqi Civilian Deaths Now Wonder Why It Was Ignored, Lila Guterman, January 27, 2005
• 100,000 + The Likely Death Toll In Iraq, Milan Rai, December 18 2004

7.) Press

It is our hope that the media will respond to our ceremony. Each group can do media outreach just prior to the ceremony. The better our efforts the better the response can be.

• Iraq Mortality will provide sample press releases in the coming weeks.

8.) Interaction During the Ceremony

We will interact with people who approach us, but in everything we do we will seek to maintain a solemnity that befits the recollection of people recently killed in war.

9.) Purchase or borrow a bell.

A Handbell is one option for the actual Bell used in the ceremony. Handbells may be purchased in most music stores as well as stores that sell religious sundries. Another option is to ask someone to lend one for the ceremony. If you know of a place to purchase a handbell in your area or would like to lend a bell for the ceremony please contact us and we will gladly put the information here on this website.

10) This website - Iraq Mortality

Iraq Mortality will give each participating individual or group the opportunity to upload their stories and photos. Information regarding this will be sent to participants aproximately 1 week before the ceremony.