Devorah, How do you come down personally on the Iraq war?
I was ambivalent on the US going in. Now that they are in I wish them a speedy win. The human shields have made their choices and they have to bear the responsibility for their actions. arthur -----Original Message----- From: devorah [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 8:24 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Futurework] Fw: [Alef] Baghdad Update Couldn't resist sending some more 'nonsense'. Devorah From: "Yigal Arens" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Alef" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 5:44 AM Subject: [Alef] Baghdad Update > For those curious about what some, um, *real* human shields have to say. > > Yigal > > > > Dear Friends, > > > > Today we received a flood of phone and email updates from our people > > in Baghdad. On most everybody's mind is the looming siege on Iraq's > > capitol. What follows is a collection of excerpts from today's > updates: > > > > April Hurley: > > > > "I'm at the al Fanar Hotel right now. Baghdad is still being bombed. > > We were bombed as recently as fifteen minutes ago. It rattled all the > > windows and shook the walls. It was a series of explosions, but that > > seems to have passed. I don't know where the bomb hit, but it was not > > too far from here, apparently." > > > > Kathy Kelly: > > > > "General Tommy Franks described the bombing as a mosaic and we can > > understand that. We simply don't know the time of day when bombs are > > suddenly going to burst overhead. It continues to be horrifying when > > you think about what's happening to families, particularly now as > > members of the Iraq Peace Team have started to go to the hospitals and > > to the sites where family people have been harmed. We were utterly > > appalled when we heard that the Bush Administration is saying the war > > is a success because there have only been hundreds of casualties in > > spite of ... thousands of cruise missiles and bombs. > > > > "But we now know of some of these so-called success stories and it can > > make you wonder what kind of perversity can be possessing the oval > > office and the defense planners. Some of our team members today, with > > Dr. April Hurley, encountered a family that was just rushing into a > > hospital after a bomb hit the picnic lunch they were having in front > > of their home. At least one child was killed, two others are in > > uncertain condition. > > > > "And at both of the hospitals we visited today, doctors are working > > around the clock really trying their best to heal people and - if they > > have minimal injuries - send them on their way so that they can make > > beds available for the many, many more casualties they expect to come. > > Particularly as there are reports of more massive bombings and a > > possible siege of Baghdad. > > > > "Meanwhile of course, we are very, very concerned for people of Basra > > on their third day without electricity and water [ed. note: we are > > hearing water service has been partially restored in Basra]. They cant > > survive without water. > > > > "The air raid sirens are wailing. This has been a frequent daily and > > nightly event. We are all sleep-deprived. I continue to marvel at how > > well people handle themselves - from the youngest of children to the > > most seasoned of peace activists to the people who are new to war > > zones. And of course these many, many families that are no strangers > > to war." > > > > Lisa Ndjeru: > > > > "We get many phone calls from the media wanting to know casualty > > numbers and information about places hit. There's a lot of talk about > > precision. Are the Americans hitting precise targets? Are they keeping > > casualties to a minimum? It makes me very angry. Even if it were > > precision bombing, precision being that not a single civilian or home > > were hit, it still doesn't make this war legitimate. > > > > "I don't know how were going to hold the American administration > > accountable. But it isn't that precise. We've gone to a hospital to > > see the civilian casualties. We've gone to visit bomb sites. There are > > civilian homes that are being hit. It makes me angry. I wonder how > > many people, little girls, little boys, mothers, fathers, grandparents > > do we need to see either dead or maimed in order to say this is wrong. > > > > "I watched TV yesterday and I saw some American casualties, some > > prisoners of war and some dead, and it breaks my heart to see those > > young soldiers stripped of their gear and their teams and their > > armaments and their weapons and their certainties, alone in the enemy > > camp. It shouldn't come to that." > > > > Scott Kerr: > > > > "The city has been engulfed in a thick black smoke caused by large > > ditches of oil fires. These smoke clouds are supposed to make it more > > difficult for missiles to hit their mark. There were also winds from > > the south today which brings a heavy dust covering. It seems like > > twilight everyday. > > > > "We have all heard about 'shock and awe' but I can tell you that on > > the ground it feels a lot more like 'misery and terror'. For the last > > week people have not been working, there has been a very limited > > access to food, and other basic necessities. I would say that about 95 > > percent of the city is shut down." > > > > Stewart Vriesinga: > > > > "Most of the Iraqis we meet seem to remain calm in the face of > > bombing. They ask us, 'Why?' They ask us after each bomb, 'How many > > people do you think died in that one?' The question is rhetorical. We > > know that. We do not respond because there is really nothing to say. > > > > "While the Iraqis continue to be friendly, many see the invasion as > > hostile, and there are many civilians with guns. Perhaps not state of > > the art guns, and perhaps not with any uniforms, but it seems clear > > that there are many people here who - in addition to the armed forces > > - are prepared to defend themselves from any invasion forces." > > > > Thorne Anderson: > > > > Note: Thorne Anderson and Jerry Zawada left Baghdad for Amman, Jordan > > yesterday. Having heard reports about everything from bombing to > > looting on the road connecting the two capitals. We were relieved to > > receive this update from Amman this afternoon: > > > > "The trip from Baghdad was lonely and creepy . We saw burning oil > > pits, bombed and burned out cars on the side of the road, a couple of > > downed bridges, a destroyed roadside tea stand (the place we always > > stop on the trip to Baghdad from Amman), a destroyed ambulance > > abandoned down the embankment, a few routes hastily blocked with piles > > of rocks, etc. > > > > "The Iraqi border crossing was surprisingly painless - Jerry and I had > > separate 'conversations' ('This is not an interview or an > > interrogation,' the man told me) with a Jordanian official on the > > border. UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees) observers > > at the border told us that they had seen ZERO Iraqi refugees crossing > > into Jordan and were worried about that. Many young Iraqi men were > > being expelled from Jordan back into Iraq. They walk across the border > > into the empty dark desert with small bags slung over their > shoulders." > > > > To read more, visit http://iraqpeaceteam.org. > > > > Today we also received the first in a series of reports and > > photographs from Baghdad's emergency rooms. The first of those > > reports, written by physician April Hurley, can be seen at: > > > > http://electronicIraq.net/news/394.shtml > > > > Some of the pictures are quite graphic. Our decision to share the > > images is an urgent attempt to show the real face of war at a time > > when so much of what we see is antiseptic and distant. > > > > Thanks to all of you who have called or emailed us with words of > > support. It means a lot to all of us - from Chicago to Baghdad - to > > know people are listening...and acting! > > > > Sincerely, > > > > Jeff Guntzel, for Voices in the Wilderness > > _______________________________________________ > Alef mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://list.haifa.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/alef _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
