After years of being a band on the run, Iraqi metal band Acrassicauda are finally safe and sound in their new home of the U.S. of A.
Word came today that band have been successfully resettled to the United States and are currently living in New Jersey, where they can now live out their heavy metal fantasies without fear of persecution, death threats or being next in the ever-growing list of civilian casualties.
You may remember Acrassicauda from the 2007 documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad, in which VICE told the tale of the band's struggle to bring rock'n'roll to a country torn apart by war in the midst of insurgency. Following the film's release, the band's dangerous circumstances escalated, to such a degree, in fact, that they were forced to flee Iraq and spent the last few years living a life of isolation in Syria and then Turkey.
"Like hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees, these young men were at grave risk and had to flee for their lives," said Bob Carey, vice-president for resettlement policy at the International Rescue Committee, which is resettling the band members with the help of VICE. "They were very fortunate to make it through the system to find safety here."
As for how the band themselves feel about their safe, new digs in the U.S., they released the following statement: "After eight years of waiting and struggling it feels good now that we all made it. We've got high hopes for the future that maybe after all we've been through it's time to become four musicians instead of four refugees, and finally to stand on stage steps away from everybody that helped us and supported us and believed in the band and its quest."
Word came today that band have been successfully resettled to the United States and are currently living in New Jersey, where they can now live out their heavy metal fantasies without fear of persecution, death threats or being next in the ever-growing list of civilian casualties.
You may remember Acrassicauda from the 2007 documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad, in which VICE told the tale of the band's struggle to bring rock'n'roll to a country torn apart by war in the midst of insurgency. Following the film's release, the band's dangerous circumstances escalated, to such a degree, in fact, that they were forced to flee Iraq and spent the last few years living a life of isolation in Syria and then Turkey.
"Like hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees, these young men were at grave risk and had to flee for their lives," said Bob Carey, vice-president for resettlement policy at the International Rescue Committee, which is resettling the band members with the help of VICE. "They were very fortunate to make it through the system to find safety here."
As for how the band themselves feel about their safe, new digs in the U.S., they released the following statement: "After eight years of waiting and struggling it feels good now that we all made it. We've got high hopes for the future that maybe after all we've been through it's time to become four musicians instead of four refugees, and finally to stand on stage steps away from everybody that helped us and supported us and believed in the band and its quest."
