The Human Cost of War: Rebuilding From Conflict
Symposium at Trinity College Examines 
Impact of War Beyond the Headlines

Coverage/Interview Opportunity    

What:         What are the true costs of war for societies and their civilian populations?
                  Human costs of war will be discussed at a special symposium with a
                  distinguished group of experts. The event is free and open to the public. 
                  Sponsored by World Affairs Council, United Nations Association of Greater
                  Hartford, Department of Community Medicine- UCONN Health Center, and
                  Trinity College.

When:          Monday, March 10, at 7:00 p.m.

Where:         Washington Room, Mather Hall, on the Trinity campus

Background:  When most people think of war, they think of an armed conflict between
                     enemy armies. Casualty figures among combatants continue to be the main
                     calculus for assessing the costs of war. Modern warfare, however, inflicts
                     the heaviest damage on non-combatants, with women and children among
                     the main victims. The esteemed panel listed below will examine questions
                     such as: What is the economic impact of modern warfare? To what extent
                     should non-military policies such as economic embargoes be viewed as
                     weapons of war? How does the international community deal with the
                     humanitarian crises that follow wars? 

Charlie Clements is a public health physician and human rights advocate. He was the co-founder of the International Medical Relief Fund and was its president for fifteen years. He is the past President of Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Clements is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Vietnam War veteran. His 1984 book Witness to War was made into a documentary by the same name that won an Academy Award.

Richard Garfield is a professor of nursing at Columbia University and a member of the governing council of the American Public Health Association. He has conducted studies on morbidity and mortality changes among civilians in humanitarian crises around the world. Dr. Garfield has assessed the impact of economic embargoes in Cuba, Haiti, Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Liberia, and has visited Iraq four times in recent years.

Nicholas De Torrente is executive director of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres of the United States. Dr. de Torrente holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics. He has worked extensively in Tanzania, Rwanda, Somalia, Liberia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Macedonia, and Sierra Leone. Dr. de Torrente recently returned from a month-long field mission in Afghanistan.