Western 'Human Shields' Head for Iraq By REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) - Proclaiming they were prepared to die if necessary to stop war in Iraq, the first convoy of Western ``human shield'' volunteers drove out of London on Saturday on double-decker buses bound for Baghdad.
The roughly 50 volunteers, ranging from a 19-year-old factory worker to a 60-year-old former diplomat, formed the vanguard of a series of caravans organizers say will take hundreds, possibly thousands, of anti-war activists to Iraq. Dismissing criticism by some that they are naively playing into Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's hands, the volunteers plan to fan out to heavily populated areas of Baghdad and other parts of the country as a deterrent to possible U.S.- led bombing. ``We're not a bunch of nutters. We have thought about this,'' Scottish businessman Stevan Allen, 31, told Reuters at the send-off on the banks of the Thames river. ``I could die, but I'd rather live a short life achieving something useful than a long one doing nothing to change the terrible state of the world.'' Neither Washington nor London, who are preparing for possible military strikes over Saddam's alleged programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, have said if the presence of Western human shields would affect their plans. But the volunteers insist the possibility of Western casualties once bombing starts will force them to re-think. ``Our strategy is potentially dangerous but that is the risk we must take in standing beside our brothers and sisters in Iraq,'' said former U.S. marine Ken Nichols, whose Human Shield Action Iraq group was coordinating the London departures. ``We have been inundated by volunteers. This is just the first wave. I am calling for 10,000 to get down there and stop this war,'' he told Reuters as he saw his first group off. ACROSS EUROPE Saturday's convoy -- like others planned for early February -- will travel across Europe, picking up more people, loading provisions and stopping to promote their cause. The three buses were led by a white taxi with a huge peace flag on the top. On board were volunteers from across Europe, Canada and the United States, plus one Norwegian-based Iraqi. ``Let them end the sanctions, stop this crazy war and allow us Iraqis sort out our own problems,'' 49-year-old actress Namaa Alward said as she climbed onto the bus. Nichols' group is one of several around the world mobilizing peace activists to Iraq on a variety of solidarity visits. The campaign has upset some among the thousands of Westerners detained by Saddam to act as shields against attacks after his 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing 1991 Gulf War. They feel the volunteers do not appreciate the seriousness of what they are doing and are unaware of their past suffering. ``The majority went through hell on wheels,'' said Steve Brookes, who ran a support group for British victims. ``Of the 1,800 or so British hostages, most suffered from some form of post-traumatic stress.'' Many volunteers had trouble convincing their families over the mission. ``Nine out of 10 of the people going as human shields are more scared of what their mothers say than the bombs in Iraq,'' said lecturer Uzma Bashir, 32, from northern England. In the Muslim world, the main rallying point for would-be human shields is in Jordan. There, a campaign led by leftist parties and civic bodies is seeking 100,000 volunteers.
