Iraq diary
IRAQ DIARY
Looking out over the Tigris River from our hotel
window as it flows through central Baghdad, it is hard
to imagine what military planners in Washington and
London might have in store for this most beautiful,
ancient and civilised of cities. Our international
solidarity delegation of 122 people arrived in Iraq on
Sunday, April 14th. We have come to see for ourselves
the effects of the 12-year embargo and the results of
previous military action, including the use of
depleted uranium weapons. We have visited the Saddam
Hussein Teaching Hospital where doctors and medical
students struggle to help their patients with pathetic
amounts of medicine and medical equipment. Seeing
incubators in the premature baby wards rendered
unusable for lack of complimentary parts, reminded us
of the fabricated story of Iraqi soldiers throwing
Kuwaiti children out of incubators, which helped
persuade public opinion to back the 1991 war. Now the
reality is that many Iraqi babies die because of lack
of incubators and the doctor told us they were kept in
the wards purely as a psychological prop for the
mothers. Dr. Selma Taher from the University Medical
Centre told us of the increase in genetic deformities
in children all over Iraq. She is convinced that it is
due to the radiological weapons used by the allies
during the bombings and is very frustrated that she
does not have the materials to make a proper
diagnosis. Only once has she received material for
culture in the past 12 years and that was from the
World Health Organisation in 1996. She told us of many
cases, including that of three children in the same
family born with no limbs at all and no previous
history of genetic abnormality.
Since the Gulf conflict of 1991, environmental and
human health problems have resulted in the deaths of
over 1 million innocent civilians in Iraq. The
exposure rates to external Gamma radiation were
measured in 110 regions of the study area and 77 soil
samples were collected and tested by gamma-rays
spectrum using high purity Germanium detector. The
average exposure rate shows an increase as high as
11.38 and 10.11 uR.hr-1 in Mosul City and Nineveh
Province respectively, indicating the presence of
radiological pollution. The laboratory results also
show elevated concentrations of Ra-226 (an indictive
nuclide for the presence of Uranium).
There is no doubt that the embargo is crippling the
lives of Iraqi people. A minimum of goods arrives in
Iraq under the oil for food deal. The economy has
collapsed and the majority of people have no work or
earn pitiful wages. The private sector is growing
slightly and there are more goods in the shops but one
seldom sees any customers. All the country's life
support systems were bombed in the Gulf war, including
water and sanitation, power generation, schools,
hospitals and civilian shelters. For Iraq to truly
recover, the whole infrastructure will have to be
rebuilt. The suffering is immense and people here are
terrified at the prospect of another war. This is the
real terrorism. The heart of it lies in Washington and
London, not Baghdad and Kabul.
The US Congress recently passed the "Law of
Liberation" for Iraq.
Who does the US want to liberate Iraq from???? They
are not at war with anyone at the present time. The
only war Iraq is suffering is the war by sanctions on
medical and much needed emergency supplies required to
help the citizens regain some of there dignity and
humanity!
Jo Baker (Pandora DU Research Project) & Bernie
McPhillips (Gulf Vet)
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
