Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Reality Tour
With 'Silence' we permit...
Monday, December 4th, 2007
Peace be upon you…
I spent last week with a delegation of the American Organization: "Global Exchange", as they came for a tour in Jordan and Syria which they call: A Reality Tour; meaning- to see things in reality concerning the Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. The program was crowded; meetings with organizations offering services to the refugees, then meetings with some families to observe things in reality, and to see their sufferings….
We met with organizations like UNHCR, UNRWA, Caritas, and Save the children. We listened to the representative of each organization as they explained the role their respective organizations played in soothing the suffering of the refugees, whether Iraqis or Palestinians…
But they were all angry at the bad behaviors of the politicians; waging wars, displacing people from their countries, putting them under cruel, difficult circumstances, and at the same time there is a somewhat slow response to fulfilling people's needs, people who live under the strain of displacement, asylum, and the shortage of financing these organizations to help them perform their humanitarian duties…
By God it is a saddening thing; the world's money being misused because of the corrupt politicians; as they exploit these moneys for wars, shedding the blood of the innocent, displacing people from their countries, and increasing people's suffering because of hunger, poverty, the shortages of medications, water supplies, electricity, fuels, and job opportunities… and at the same time, there aren't enough budgets to help the victims of those stupid, silly wars…
Where is justice? And why do we, the Earth's people, stand aside like dumb, helpless, negative creatures and watch a bunch of criminals who hold the political decision in their hands, watch them while they destroy this earth and whoever lives on it, and we haven't yet found a way to confront this destruction and ruin, or at least stop it at certain limits?
Isn't this a shame upon us?
*******************************
Then we went to Syria, and that was the first time I met with Iraqi families there…
The conditions of the Iraqis in Syria are indescribable…
The international organization's work there is limited and restricted, compared to the wide space they have in Jordan, in spite of some families' complaints because of the slowness and injustice of the given aid, but at least here there are some doors which the poor Iraqi family can knock upon in the hope that one of these doors might open to them…but in Syria, all doors are almost closed….
All my life I have never seen poverty like I saw among the Iraqis in Syria… widows or women who lost their sons because of criminal gangs and militias that entered Iraq after the occupation, and killed all Iraqis alike… whenever I met a woman who told her story while crying, I cried with her, at her situation, at the conditions of the sad Iraq, and at what happened to it; the destruction, the shredding. And when the women all gathered and we heard their stories with a member of the American delegation, I had my friend with me; Selma; a Turkish-American, a Muslim… I asked the women, with sorrow- but I had to ask the silly question: Are you Sunnies? Shia'ats?
It turned out they were a mixture of both sides…
This woman was a Sunnie; they threatened her and killed her son…and this is a Shia'at; threatened, and her husband was killed…
There is no difference; the Sunnies and the Shia'ats were displaced from Iraq to live side by side in exile, waiting for that who would pity them, give them a charity of food rations, a blanket, or a heater because winter is near, await some humanitarian organization to take care of their disabled children, or afflicted with cancer as a result of the depleted Uranium, with which the Iraqi environment is contaminated, since the Kuwait war in 1991, then the occupation war in 2003.
And…all is in God's will…..
*****************************
And there in Syria, the story spread about the Iraqi government's request for the Iraqis to return home, as the government would pay their return fees by bus to Iraq. I wondered at a government which abandoned its displaced people, not recognizing them, nor sending them food or medical aid for years, and now volunteers a free home- journey for the citizens, so the propaganda would spread that conditions are stable in Iraq, and this is an excellent, successful government….
I went to a bus terminal, and saw busses leaving with about 650 people. We asked some people- why did these people leave for Iraq; did they really believe the story of the returning stability, calm, and security to Iraq?
They answered; we don't know, but people got tired of poverty, the scant revenues, and waiting without effect, they would go back; they might live, or might die; only God knows, but perhaps this is better than staying here in exile without a result…
Others were talking in front of satellite-channels cameras, saying- we are Ba'athies, we ran from Iraq after being threatened to be killed, here we live through difficult conditions, but cannot go back for we will surely face certain death…
I stood aside watching the scene…. Exiled Iraqis, scattered around earth, poor, miserable, and sick. The reasons are many, but they are all deprived of aid, suffering from neglect, forgetfulness, and denial…
I don't know whether to be sad, or angry?
And what shall sadness or anger change?
******************************
And there is another sad phenomenon among the Iraqis in Syria, especially the women… the phenomenon of prostitution because of poverty…
I mean- here in Amman we hear about Iraqi women working in night clubs, more perhaps because they are professionals than being poor women driven by poverty into this path… but in Syria, when I met the women at the Sayeda Zainab area; the widows or the young women with children and a crippled, disabled husband; who shall stop those from drifting into the road of depravity if the doors of honest living were closed into their faces?
One women said- I work as a maid in a house, they give me (6,000) Syrian Liras a month, and my apartment rent is (7,000) S.L. a month. Another has a 15 years old son who works at a café, for a daily wage of (250) S.L.…(= 5 $)
We were staying in a hotel at Al-Marja Sq. in Damascus. I went to have a cup of fruit juice at the restaurant next door; I asked him what he thought about the Iraqis here. He said- their numbers are high, perhaps two millions, they caused a rise in rents in the country and a shortage of housing. "They also say, and please, Madame, don't be cross", he said, "that anyone who goes to Al- Sayeda Zainab area can get an Iraqi woman for 250 S.L…."… ( =5 $ )
I remained silent, and smiled….
This is the new Iraq that Bush and the villains who came with him, built for us….. This is the liberation of the Iraqi women that we got…. The free women became prostitutes….
Well, well, well….
And where are the leaders of Islam, and the Arab Nation? Are they a sleep or ignorant about what is happening to the Iraqi men, and women? Or are they Bush's partners in the "Liberation of Iraq"?
I don't know….
Each person should look for the answer….
My heart is sad, my soul is tired….but I am a faithful believer, and this is trial by God, The Lord of all creatures, hoping we will be among the enduring… not among the spoiling…
Hoping we will be among those who construct the land and what's on it… among those who aid the weak, the poor, and the deprived, and reproach the unjust until they stop their injustice…
****************************************
That reality tour wasn't only for the American organization and the delegation members, but was for me also; it opened my eyes more, and showed me more facts…
And I always say: the first step open your eyes; the second step put a plan of action to change the painful reality. And if you keep silent after what you learned, you are an accomplice in the crime….
You are an accomplice in what is happening to the Iraqis; the calamities, the disasters, the hunger, the poverty, the displacement, and the depravation….
And- peace be upon you, with God's mercy, and His blessings……
Peace be upon you…
I spent last week with a delegation of the American Organization: "Global Exchange", as they came for a tour in Jordan and Syria which they call: A Reality Tour; meaning- to see things in reality concerning the Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. The program was crowded; meetings with organizations offering services to the refugees, then meetings with some families to observe things in reality, and to see their sufferings….
We met with organizations like UNHCR, UNRWA, Caritas, and Save the children. We listened to the representative of each organization as they explained the role their respective organizations played in soothing the suffering of the refugees, whether Iraqis or Palestinians…
But they were all angry at the bad behaviors of the politicians; waging wars, displacing people from their countries, putting them under cruel, difficult circumstances, and at the same time there is a somewhat slow response to fulfilling people's needs, people who live under the strain of displacement, asylum, and the shortage of financing these organizations to help them perform their humanitarian duties…
By God it is a saddening thing; the world's money being misused because of the corrupt politicians; as they exploit these moneys for wars, shedding the blood of the innocent, displacing people from their countries, and increasing people's suffering because of hunger, poverty, the shortages of medications, water supplies, electricity, fuels, and job opportunities… and at the same time, there aren't enough budgets to help the victims of those stupid, silly wars…
Where is justice? And why do we, the Earth's people, stand aside like dumb, helpless, negative creatures and watch a bunch of criminals who hold the political decision in their hands, watch them while they destroy this earth and whoever lives on it, and we haven't yet found a way to confront this destruction and ruin, or at least stop it at certain limits?
Isn't this a shame upon us?
*******************************
Then we went to Syria, and that was the first time I met with Iraqi families there…
The conditions of the Iraqis in Syria are indescribable…
The international organization's work there is limited and restricted, compared to the wide space they have in Jordan, in spite of some families' complaints because of the slowness and injustice of the given aid, but at least here there are some doors which the poor Iraqi family can knock upon in the hope that one of these doors might open to them…but in Syria, all doors are almost closed….
All my life I have never seen poverty like I saw among the Iraqis in Syria… widows or women who lost their sons because of criminal gangs and militias that entered Iraq after the occupation, and killed all Iraqis alike… whenever I met a woman who told her story while crying, I cried with her, at her situation, at the conditions of the sad Iraq, and at what happened to it; the destruction, the shredding. And when the women all gathered and we heard their stories with a member of the American delegation, I had my friend with me; Selma; a Turkish-American, a Muslim… I asked the women, with sorrow- but I had to ask the silly question: Are you Sunnies? Shia'ats?
It turned out they were a mixture of both sides…
This woman was a Sunnie; they threatened her and killed her son…and this is a Shia'at; threatened, and her husband was killed…
There is no difference; the Sunnies and the Shia'ats were displaced from Iraq to live side by side in exile, waiting for that who would pity them, give them a charity of food rations, a blanket, or a heater because winter is near, await some humanitarian organization to take care of their disabled children, or afflicted with cancer as a result of the depleted Uranium, with which the Iraqi environment is contaminated, since the Kuwait war in 1991, then the occupation war in 2003.
And…all is in God's will…..
*****************************
And there in Syria, the story spread about the Iraqi government's request for the Iraqis to return home, as the government would pay their return fees by bus to Iraq. I wondered at a government which abandoned its displaced people, not recognizing them, nor sending them food or medical aid for years, and now volunteers a free home- journey for the citizens, so the propaganda would spread that conditions are stable in Iraq, and this is an excellent, successful government….
I went to a bus terminal, and saw busses leaving with about 650 people. We asked some people- why did these people leave for Iraq; did they really believe the story of the returning stability, calm, and security to Iraq?
They answered; we don't know, but people got tired of poverty, the scant revenues, and waiting without effect, they would go back; they might live, or might die; only God knows, but perhaps this is better than staying here in exile without a result…
Others were talking in front of satellite-channels cameras, saying- we are Ba'athies, we ran from Iraq after being threatened to be killed, here we live through difficult conditions, but cannot go back for we will surely face certain death…
I stood aside watching the scene…. Exiled Iraqis, scattered around earth, poor, miserable, and sick. The reasons are many, but they are all deprived of aid, suffering from neglect, forgetfulness, and denial…
I don't know whether to be sad, or angry?
And what shall sadness or anger change?
******************************
And there is another sad phenomenon among the Iraqis in Syria, especially the women… the phenomenon of prostitution because of poverty…
I mean- here in Amman we hear about Iraqi women working in night clubs, more perhaps because they are professionals than being poor women driven by poverty into this path… but in Syria, when I met the women at the Sayeda Zainab area; the widows or the young women with children and a crippled, disabled husband; who shall stop those from drifting into the road of depravity if the doors of honest living were closed into their faces?
One women said- I work as a maid in a house, they give me (6,000) Syrian Liras a month, and my apartment rent is (7,000) S.L. a month. Another has a 15 years old son who works at a café, for a daily wage of (250) S.L.…(= 5 $)
We were staying in a hotel at Al-Marja Sq. in Damascus. I went to have a cup of fruit juice at the restaurant next door; I asked him what he thought about the Iraqis here. He said- their numbers are high, perhaps two millions, they caused a rise in rents in the country and a shortage of housing. "They also say, and please, Madame, don't be cross", he said, "that anyone who goes to Al- Sayeda Zainab area can get an Iraqi woman for 250 S.L…."… ( =5 $ )
I remained silent, and smiled….
This is the new Iraq that Bush and the villains who came with him, built for us….. This is the liberation of the Iraqi women that we got…. The free women became prostitutes….
Well, well, well….
And where are the leaders of Islam, and the Arab Nation? Are they a sleep or ignorant about what is happening to the Iraqi men, and women? Or are they Bush's partners in the "Liberation of Iraq"?
I don't know….
Each person should look for the answer….
My heart is sad, my soul is tired….but I am a faithful believer, and this is trial by God, The Lord of all creatures, hoping we will be among the enduring… not among the spoiling…
Hoping we will be among those who construct the land and what's on it… among those who aid the weak, the poor, and the deprived, and reproach the unjust until they stop their injustice…
****************************************
That reality tour wasn't only for the American organization and the delegation members, but was for me also; it opened my eyes more, and showed me more facts…
And I always say: the first step open your eyes; the second step put a plan of action to change the painful reality. And if you keep silent after what you learned, you are an accomplice in the crime….
You are an accomplice in what is happening to the Iraqis; the calamities, the disasters, the hunger, the poverty, the displacement, and the depravation….
And- peace be upon you, with God's mercy, and His blessings……
19:00 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Dividing Iraq....posted by Faiza Al-Arji .....Monday, October 15th, 2007
Peace be upon you…
The holy month of Ramada is finished, and Al-Fiter Feast is here; we exchanged congratulations with each other; in person, or by mobile phone messages and phone calls. We prayed to God that the next Ramadan and Feast would come and we are in Iraq, and Iraq would be well, basking in peace and security, without a hateful occupation…
But we all realize that wishes cannot be achieved by prayers alone; action is very necessary to achieve wishes, and God will help his followers who work, try hard, and seek, but wouldn't help the lazy who sleeps while hoping God would grant him his wishes…
And we all know our wishes are very difficult to achieve, for after four and a half years it is becoming clear what is the goal of invading Iraq and occupying it; not just the oil and monopolizing its exploitation to American companies in the first degree, but there is also the spite against something called Iraq, the civilization of Iraq, the history of Iraq, and the unity of Iraq… and everything was shredded to pieces since the occupation entered into the Iraqi land, and they are still there…
The Iraqi Museum was bombarded and plundered since the first week, and thousands of valuable ancient pieces disappeared; pieces telling the story of the Mesopotamian civilization, one of the oldest civilizations on earth…
Then the National Library was burned down, which used to house thousands of historical documents of various Iraqi times…
Then, an ugly distorted constitution was composed under the supervision of Paul Bremer, the American civil governor after the invasion. He put down a constitution comprising the foundation to create a torn ethnic, sectarian state, which they called- Federalisms; meaning- giving it any name as long as it covers up their vicious intentions, trying to show that the principle of Federalism is democracy and freedom for the regions, while in truth it means tearing apart the country's unity, placing the heads of ethnics and sects to govern each region, and those will control the wealth of each region as they please. The wealth of Iraq will be crumbled in a suspicious rather than a just way, and the occupier will establish special relations and special interests with the leaders of each region, and bye-bye to Iraq… meaning- the entity called "Iraq" will be no more… just like they did as a first step when they divided us into Sunnies, Shia'ats, Arabs and Kurds, so that when we meet someone abroad they confront us with the stupid question: are you Sunnies or Shia'ats? Arabs or Kurds?
And after the division of Iraq, the question will become: are you from Kurdistan, Shia'atstan, or Sunniestan?
Just like they dissolved the word- Islam in Iraq after the war, and people came to be categorized into Sunnies and Shia'ats, now the name of Iraq will be dissolved and lost, after it will be divided into regions, or federalisms, or any other mishap, and people abroad will ask us their stupid question: from which federalism are you? From which region? Just like what happened to Yugoslavia, for example, when it's name disappeared from the map, and turned into regions like- Croatia, the Serb, Montenegro, and so on…
**********************************************
Every time it gets more gloomy in Iraq we say: soon things will be better…. But it seems such a notion will not take place, as long as there is an occupier residing with his military power on the land of Iraq. Why? Because the American administration is using the military power to carry out its political intentions….
Two days ago, the former American troops general commander in Iraq, Sanchez, said that the war in Iraq is an endless nightmare, that the American politicians are using the army to achieve their own interests…
By God this is something sad; the armies are the power of any country, and that power consumes up the country's budget to become highly ready with weapons, equipments, and trained personnel. That money spent to develop the army is taken out of the country's budget and out of people's pockets; I mean- from the tax money cut out of their salaries and earnings. And as a result, the ordinary American people are the financers of this war against Iraq, and the majority of American people, according to public opinion polls from time to time, are against the war in Iraq, or the continuing presence of the armies there. Who can believe that this is happening in America, and not in a country of those whom they call- a third world country, that doesn't respect democracy and human rights? Who can believe that in America there is a tyrant, corrupt minority that controls a weak, overwhelmed majority?
Perhaps America is like this for a long time now, but the people were busy with their own daily lives, and the war on Iraq changed a lot of things. People are no longer negligent as they used to be…
********************************************
Since the beginning of the invasion and the occupation of Iraq, we passed through a lot of hard times and many calamities. And whenever things calmed down a bit and headed towards a national reconciliation or an agreement among the contradicting parties to calm down the situation in Iraq, things somehow would turn back on to crises again. There is someone who kindles the fire so Iraq would keep on being in a state of fighting and conflict, without peace.
In 2006, the Dome of Samara shrine was blown up, right after the Iraqi's happiness with the elections, the beginning of uniting their ranks and putting down a program to get out of the ordeal. But the evil hands moved forth to scatter the Iraqis anew, and the sectarian death gangs spread to kill Iraqis from all sides, to blow up their houses and burn down their mosques… then, the situation became tense again, things kept on deteriorating until the "phenomenon" of displacing the Iraqis from their homes became one of the daily rituals, as if there was someone who put down a division map to every town and city in Iraq and was pushing on into the direction of implementing it on the ground; these are Sunnie towns and these are Shia'at towns, these are Sunnie neighborhoods and those are Shia'at neighborhoods… and in this chaos, millions of Iraqis emigrated to neighboring countries or asked for humanitarian asylum in various European countries…
And, the pressure kept on going in the issues of killings and sectarian displacement every day........ Veiled armed gangs would come from outside the neighborhoods and start writing threats on the walls of the houses, or send threatening messages to the families demanding they should leave the neighborhood… and of course, these mercenary gangs collaborate with the lowly people of that neighborhood; the criminals, jail-birds, and drug addicts, so they can be their eyes to watch the neighborhood and write them reports against the families, and then the houses would be attacked and burned, and its inhabitants would be threatened and forced to leave….
This series has been going on since 2006 until now, ignored by and met with the silence of the occupation forces and the present Iraqi government, but the Iraqis refuse the idea of a sectarian division and see it as the biggest catastrophe that could befall Iraq since it existed on the face of earth…
And in the middle of this daily violence and clashes, there were some parties in the parliament in opposition of the government and the occupation, who wanted to form an alliance to make the government fall and demand new elections, to pull the country out of this crises of violence, chaos and bloodshed… all the Iraqis' eyes were open and their hearts hanging in wait for the positive change on the ground last month, I was one among them, and I wrote the last post in which I said- Iraq is boiling in wait for change… but what happened?
There came the declaration of the American Congress suggesting to divide Iraq, to be a big rock falling over the poor Iraqis' heads, to be the uncovering of the real intentions of the American politicians; neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican have any vision that would satisfy the Iraqis about their future…
The Iraqis remained astonished!
We endured a lot, we were very patient, and sacrificed our souls and money, then, a decision to divide Iraq comes from America itself?
We were awaiting a decision to pull out the troops from Iraq, so we could begin our march of rebuilding our country and going back home.
Who gave them the right to issue decisions about the future of Iraq? Where did the 27 million Iraqis go, or- what is left of them, Where are they? Don't they have the right to decide the fate of their country and future? In all our lives, we never saw such rudeness and such venom directed against Iraq and its people…
But, they revealed their fangs, and it is very obvious now that invading Iraq wasn't only for the oil and monopolizing it, but to tear Iraq and its people apart, to turn them into shreds that cannot stand up one day united and strong enough to drive them out of the country…
Then, some of the Iraqi government people appeared to give justifications, to patch up the disaster that took place after the people rejected the decision. They declared that- the division is a federalism to ease up democracy and freedom…
Poison put into sweet words…
Then they said that the occupation forces will withdraw from Iraq, but will leave some camps and bases, to ensure the ""security of Iraq"", and a long-term treaty with the Iraqi government….
Aren't these the same old-new, repeated, boring stories?
Do they think that people are stupid and naïve?
**************************************
Anyway; let them do what they will…
For this world has a mighty creator who controls it, who is looking down upon all from high up in heaven, smiling; He gives one round to the unjust, then blows up the ground from under their feet, when He so wills…
We ask Him to aid the free, honest Iraqis in their struggle to liberate their country from the occupation and its followers… and to give patience to the poor, weak Iraqis who suffer still, whether they were inside, or those who had to emigrate to different exiles… and to have His mercy upon the martyrs whose blood filled the streets, walkways, and the cities of Iraq…
Amen.........
My conviction will not shake:
Victory is coming… no matter how long it takes…
And the occupation will walk out, defeated, let down, from Iraq…
No matter how long it takes…
………………..
May peace be upon you ......
00:27 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Emails from Iraq .....
Saturday, July 21, 2007
posted by Faiza Al-Arji
Peace be upon you…
These are samples of the Iraqi's suffering in their own country, recorded here for history, so we can remember what the occupation did to us.
These are live testimonies from inside Iraq, now.............
***************************************
Email No. 1 ,from Baghdad:
Good morning, my dear lady:
At last I managed to get out of the house. In the last four days there were daily clashes in Al-Adamiyah, causing most secondary streets to close down, as for the main streets, they are almost always closed, and most people who work outside get to their houses around 5 pm, through one outlet (in and out of Al-Adamiyah) subjected to a slow search procedure.
Yesterday they targeted and hit a humvee vehicle on the main street, around 11 am, so the Americans put a post at the street's end and started shooting every passer by in our smaller streets. They hit five pedestrians, who all died, including an old man who was out shopping and a young boy on a bicycle. They kept bleeding till death under the watchful eyes of people who gathered around the corner, and they shot at everyone who tried to get to them. We opened the doors of our houses and brought in the people who couldn't get to their homes, until the afternoon. Things remained like this until around 6.30 pm, then the shooting resumed, they hit two more people and one of them died. Then the ambulance arrived, and they shot at it too.
After about half an hour, they permitted the ambulance and the morgue car to enter.
Today Al-Adamiyah as a whole is closed to the outside, and traffic through "Anter Square" is not allowed, under orders of direct shooting, (as the soldiers who stood guard there said). So, everybody went back home, and God knows how long it will last this time.
I take God as my aid, for there is no power, no might, and no hope, but by Him.
************************************
Email No. 2,from Al-Kut , south-east from Baghdad
Dear Um Raid:
Peace be upon you, with God's mercy, and his blessings…
Regarding the information you requested from me about the displaced people from Baghdad; today, since morning and until about 4.30 pm, I was in a field round concerning them, but the battery of my camera ran out so I couldn't send the photos with this e-mail. But after my tour around the province in general I found that the total and actual number of the displaced is (1180) families. We visited some of these famines in the places listed here by:
1- the center of the province- as follows:
a- Al-Kut amusement park- the number of families there is ninteen families, a total of 46 people residing there, the rest of the families went out to camps in other locations.
b- Hay Al-Jawadain town, which is one of the largest gatherings for displaced, number of families there is 185 families, originally from Al-Naser and Abu Ghareeb in Baghdad. They need aid and their conditions are very bad.
c- Al-Thaqalain Hussayniya, at Hay Al-Jamaheer Dist., the number of families is- 120 families.
2- Al- Hussayniya Precinct, Al-Ahrar area in Kut, the number of displaced is- 50 families.
3- Al- Nu'maniya Precinct, Wasit province, number of displaced is-120 families.
4- Al- Hay Precinct, number of displaced is-90 families.
5- Al- Suweara Precinct, number of displaced is-58 families.
6- Al- Azeeziya Precinct, number of displaced is-44 families.
And we noticed some things that were painful and very impressing indeed. While we were in a visit to Hay Al-Jawadain area, the Salvadorian troops came to give them some aid, which were some gifts to the children, but the people burned the gifts in their mud furnaces. When I asked them why, they said- we, Iraqis, do not agree to take aid from foreigners while those nearest to us look at us without helping us, did the dignity of the Iraqis reach that stage, we do not need milk and toys, we need a facility for clean water, we need electric power, and a school for our children, because schools here do not take them, and besides, they are very far.
My thanks to you, I send here a part of the photos, and the rest, tomorrow.
These are samples of the Iraqi's suffering in their own country, recorded here for history, so we can remember what the occupation did to us.
These are live testimonies from inside Iraq, now.............
***************************************
Email No. 1 ,from Baghdad:
Good morning, my dear lady:
At last I managed to get out of the house. In the last four days there were daily clashes in Al-Adamiyah, causing most secondary streets to close down, as for the main streets, they are almost always closed, and most people who work outside get to their houses around 5 pm, through one outlet (in and out of Al-Adamiyah) subjected to a slow search procedure.
Yesterday they targeted and hit a humvee vehicle on the main street, around 11 am, so the Americans put a post at the street's end and started shooting every passer by in our smaller streets. They hit five pedestrians, who all died, including an old man who was out shopping and a young boy on a bicycle. They kept bleeding till death under the watchful eyes of people who gathered around the corner, and they shot at everyone who tried to get to them. We opened the doors of our houses and brought in the people who couldn't get to their homes, until the afternoon. Things remained like this until around 6.30 pm, then the shooting resumed, they hit two more people and one of them died. Then the ambulance arrived, and they shot at it too.
After about half an hour, they permitted the ambulance and the morgue car to enter.
Today Al-Adamiyah as a whole is closed to the outside, and traffic through "Anter Square" is not allowed, under orders of direct shooting, (as the soldiers who stood guard there said). So, everybody went back home, and God knows how long it will last this time.
I take God as my aid, for there is no power, no might, and no hope, but by Him.
************************************
Email No. 2,from Al-Kut , south-east from Baghdad
Dear Um Raid:
Peace be upon you, with God's mercy, and his blessings…
Regarding the information you requested from me about the displaced people from Baghdad; today, since morning and until about 4.30 pm, I was in a field round concerning them, but the battery of my camera ran out so I couldn't send the photos with this e-mail. But after my tour around the province in general I found that the total and actual number of the displaced is (1180) families. We visited some of these famines in the places listed here by:
1- the center of the province- as follows:
a- Al-Kut amusement park- the number of families there is ninteen families, a total of 46 people residing there, the rest of the families went out to camps in other locations.
b- Hay Al-Jawadain town, which is one of the largest gatherings for displaced, number of families there is 185 families, originally from Al-Naser and Abu Ghareeb in Baghdad. They need aid and their conditions are very bad.
c- Al-Thaqalain Hussayniya, at Hay Al-Jamaheer Dist., the number of families is- 120 families.
2- Al- Hussayniya Precinct, Al-Ahrar area in Kut, the number of displaced is- 50 families.
3- Al- Nu'maniya Precinct, Wasit province, number of displaced is-120 families.
4- Al- Hay Precinct, number of displaced is-90 families.
5- Al- Suweara Precinct, number of displaced is-58 families.
6- Al- Azeeziya Precinct, number of displaced is-44 families.
And we noticed some things that were painful and very impressing indeed. While we were in a visit to Hay Al-Jawadain area, the Salvadorian troops came to give them some aid, which were some gifts to the children, but the people burned the gifts in their mud furnaces. When I asked them why, they said- we, Iraqis, do not agree to take aid from foreigners while those nearest to us look at us without helping us, did the dignity of the Iraqis reach that stage, we do not need milk and toys, we need a facility for clean water, we need electric power, and a school for our children, because schools here do not take them, and besides, they are very far.
My thanks to you, I send here a part of the photos, and the rest, tomorrow.
00:20 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: War, Iraq, New world order
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Some day we could share a similar fate.....We are from a country that floats over lakes of oil....posted by Faiza Al-Arji
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
Peace be upon you…
Through my work and visits to the Iraqi families here in Jordan for some months, I found that a lot of them live here without a legal residency permit, without the right to work, the right of free education for their children, or someone to cover the cost of their medical treatment if they suffer an accidental or chronic health condition…
I tried to visit rich Iraqi families; merchants, contractors, Sheiks, or parliament members, I tried to push them to donate something to such poor families, but they turned their heads away with disturbed moods, or either they changed the subject. I always tell them- let us make a donation box from the rich to the poor, don't we all love Iraq? Let us express our love by helping each other; a $100 from me, a $100 from you, a $100 from this and that, and we can come up with $1000 a month from 10 families, a fine figure, with which we can cover the needs of 10 poor Iraqi families, or more, or less, which means we can reduce the feelings of estrangement, loss, and sadness for each other…
But no one responded…
One day, someone called me from Baghdad to ask for help for an Iraqi girl called "Zemen"; she is sixteen years old, she was at school when a mortar shell fell in the school yard, a shrapnel piece hit her in the back of the neck, causing a paralysis of both hands and legs…
We joined efforts and bought a wheel chair for her, then I started the journey of looking for a way to treat the girl inside or outside of Iraq…
I cannot recall how many times I called Baghdad and talked to her father and mother, to tell them where to go to get a medical report of her case, to send it to me by e-mail, so I could show it to a doctor in Jordan, and get his opinion if there is any hope in treating her case? About a month and a half of efforts went on, until I met a doctor here from the Al-Adamiyah hospital who helped me, spoke with another doctor from the same hospital and gave them the girl's name, so we called her to go with her father for examination. And finally the doctor sent a hand-written report, describing the girl's case as he saw it…
I typed the report and took it to an Iraqi doctor in a private hospital here in Amman, I told him: tell me how to help the girl; do we bring her to Jordan for treatment, or do we keep her in Baghdad?
He read the report calmly and said: the hope, in this girl's case, is to strengthen her muscles and make her rely on her self to move the wheel-chair into the toilet or to take a bath, we do not hope to see her walking on her feet…
- well, ok., we agree, do we bring her here?
- He said: I wouldn't advice you; here, there is a state hospital for physical therapy, but the equipments in it are half there is at the Ibn Al-Qaf hospital in Baghdad, treat her there, let her stay in hospital for months, they will give her a long treatment program, and she will get well, by the will of God…
- I said: she is poor, the doctors and nurses won't take care of her, for they all seek money now; humanity is no longer in the hearts…
- He said: so, you assign a budget for her; some $1000 or a little more, out of the donations, and follow up her case, this is better than bringing her out of Iraq; for then you'll pay $500 for each passport, $500 for the car that would bring them from Baghdad, or some $1200 of plane tickets for her and her father, and then, she might be allowed to enter Jordan or they might refuse, so, why take the chances with all this? Send her a $1000, and let her go to Dr. "……." At Beirut Sq. in Baghdad; he will examine her case and refer her to hospital, and there she will find good care, as long as she has that much money to pay tips to the nurses or buy better food than the hospital's…
Well; I liked the idea, so I called her parents and told them, gave them some money to help…
A few days later, I received a donation from a friend in America, which he said was devoted to treat the girl "Zemen". I told him I would give her only a $1000 of the money, and can use the rest of it here in Amman to help poor Iraqi families. He sent me an e-mail saying- do what you see fit, I trust you, just notify me how you spent the rest of the money…
Ok., that's a deal…
I sent $500 to Zemen's parents; they took her to a good specialist, who directed her to the x-ray lab, where he discovered more shrapnel pieces in her neck that should be removed by another operation and to correct the position of the vertebra, then perhaps her condition would become better, the paralysis would be gone and she won't need the physical therapy…
By God I felt happy, this was good news…
Today they called and said- the date of the operation became near, and I promised them I will send another $500 soon so they could pay the doctor and the hospital…
I kept thinking how to use the rest of the money to help people?
I don't know where I got the idea to give loans without interest to some of the families I visited…
I found that a $100 or $200 might save a family from doom and loss, a family of five children plus the mother and father, for instance…
Now, after two weeks of intensive visits to the houses, I completed giving loans to five Iraqi families, something I consider as a first experience in my life…
The loans varied between buying an oven for baking bread to sell to the neighbors or to the Iraqi restaurants here, or to buy a sewing machine for a lady who can use it to sew for the neighbors or to nearby shops, bringing a small income to the family that can provide for their basic necessities. Or to buy a skin-cleaning set for a lady who works in a beauty salon, who wants to become a partner instead of a worker in the shop, threatened to lose her job any minute…
To another lady I gave a capital to manufacture straw baskets, very beautiful, and she also wants to make pickles to sell to neighbors…
The ladies I gave the loans to are either widows, or their husbands are around but are not allowed legally to work, and who are afraid to work illegally as they would then be liable to be deported from the country, according to the law here…
How can a family of six or seven people live, if the mother and father aren't allowed to work? How will they earn their daily bread?
These small loans brought happiness into their hearts, and sunshine into their homes. They might be temporary solutions until the fire in Iraq dies down, and we go back home one day….
I wrote a small agreement with each lady, like a small contract, in which she takes upon herself to pay back the price of the item I bought for her after two or three months, by small installments alternating between 10 to 20 Jordanian Dinaars a month, without any interest. This is called in Islam: the fair loan.
I ask God to grant me success in this- small project, so I can, through it, help the largest number of families in need… and they all know that when they pay back the loan, it will go to other families… I called my friends to buy the products of straw or embroidery the women made, and we actually sold some pieces, making us all happy.
This is better than knocking on the doors of the stupid, hard-hearted rich, who turn away their faces when we ask them to help a poor family.
I am so happy with this project, I have a feeling it will grow day by day, that I will visit more Iraqi families here to see how they are going, and to think of other small projects to help them… the money I have comes from private donations from friends in America, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. God bless them for helping their brothers and sisters in humanity.
The sum of the loans for five families cost about $950 only. We also collected donations from my small family and other friends, and sent 21 thermoses of 40 liters capacity each, to fifty displaced families living in skeleton houses on the outskirts of Baghdad, after they were driven away by sectarian militias… I sent the money to Baghdad to a friend I trust, he bought everything, and sent back the receipts and photos.
The weather is very hot in Baghdad now, and a drink of cold water is a blessing to poor and displaced families, as there is no electricity available. The water could be provided by tankers, and ice could be bought from factories that have generators to produce it. These thermoses are used to keep cold water so the young and the old could drink from it…
We also collected donations and sent them to Baghdad to buy two sewing machines that can be operated by hands and by feet, to send them to that same fifty families' camp, as there are four professional seamstresses among them. We also bought them 300 meters of summer cloth to make some summer nightdresses to boys and girls under 12 years of age. These cost $600, and everything is documented by receipts and photos.
I mean- these projects didn't cost large sums of money, but reduced a lot of the suffering of poor, displaced Iraqi families that endure poverty and negligence, in these tough conditions that befell Iraq… and to bring joy into their hearts with small projects, is to tell them- we are with you, we remember you while you suffer the ordeal.
**************************************************
Then I visited some Iraqi families whose children are being treated here from Cancer… I mean; every family is living a catastrophic condition that cannot be described, so that I found the afore mentioned poor people live in an indescribable paradise, for they are healthy… I found the others afflicted with legendary expenses; most of their children passed the critical stage, the tumors were removed and their conditions stabilized, but they need radio-chemotherapy, one year long for each case. And this treatment costs $1000-$3000 a month. Meaning- each family needs an average of $15,000- $40,000 a year…
The families say- in that Cancer hospital there are families from Yemen, Libya, and Qatar treating their children, and all their expenses are covered by their respective embassies, even down to the transportation and taxi fees are paid by the embassy, so why has the Iraqi embassy abandoned us, and we come from a country that floats on top of lakes of oil?
And where are our food monthly rations? Doesn't the Iraqi Trading Ministry import food rations for the citizens? Where are the rations of the families that emigrated from Iraq to neighboring countries? Where are the rations of the families that were displaced from their houses to other provinces in the west, south, or north of Iraq? Why do they live without their food monthly rations?
I don't know who has the answers to these questions.
The Iraqi government lives in another world, of tittle-tattle, armed and non-armed conflicts, and empty talk; who cares about the suffering of the afflicted Iraqis, as if they are orphans, without a father to protect them, or a mother to care for them.
So, for how long will this extraordinary situation go on, this suffering, and who will put an end to it?
Shall we blame the international organizations because they abandoned the Iraqis?
Shall we blame the American government because it destroyed Iraq and scattered the Iraqis?
Shall we blame the Iraqi government because it stole Iraq's money and didn't provide security, settlement or happiness to the Iraqi families inside Iraq and outside?
I don't know who to blame…
But I personally do not clear any of these parties from blame about what happened to the Iraqis; the calamities, the disasters…
And they will carry that responsibility until the day of judgment…
Where will they go, from facing God?
Peace be upon you…
Through my work and visits to the Iraqi families here in Jordan for some months, I found that a lot of them live here without a legal residency permit, without the right to work, the right of free education for their children, or someone to cover the cost of their medical treatment if they suffer an accidental or chronic health condition…
I tried to visit rich Iraqi families; merchants, contractors, Sheiks, or parliament members, I tried to push them to donate something to such poor families, but they turned their heads away with disturbed moods, or either they changed the subject. I always tell them- let us make a donation box from the rich to the poor, don't we all love Iraq? Let us express our love by helping each other; a $100 from me, a $100 from you, a $100 from this and that, and we can come up with $1000 a month from 10 families, a fine figure, with which we can cover the needs of 10 poor Iraqi families, or more, or less, which means we can reduce the feelings of estrangement, loss, and sadness for each other…
But no one responded…
One day, someone called me from Baghdad to ask for help for an Iraqi girl called "Zemen"; she is sixteen years old, she was at school when a mortar shell fell in the school yard, a shrapnel piece hit her in the back of the neck, causing a paralysis of both hands and legs…
We joined efforts and bought a wheel chair for her, then I started the journey of looking for a way to treat the girl inside or outside of Iraq…
I cannot recall how many times I called Baghdad and talked to her father and mother, to tell them where to go to get a medical report of her case, to send it to me by e-mail, so I could show it to a doctor in Jordan, and get his opinion if there is any hope in treating her case? About a month and a half of efforts went on, until I met a doctor here from the Al-Adamiyah hospital who helped me, spoke with another doctor from the same hospital and gave them the girl's name, so we called her to go with her father for examination. And finally the doctor sent a hand-written report, describing the girl's case as he saw it…
I typed the report and took it to an Iraqi doctor in a private hospital here in Amman, I told him: tell me how to help the girl; do we bring her to Jordan for treatment, or do we keep her in Baghdad?
He read the report calmly and said: the hope, in this girl's case, is to strengthen her muscles and make her rely on her self to move the wheel-chair into the toilet or to take a bath, we do not hope to see her walking on her feet…
- well, ok., we agree, do we bring her here?
- He said: I wouldn't advice you; here, there is a state hospital for physical therapy, but the equipments in it are half there is at the Ibn Al-Qaf hospital in Baghdad, treat her there, let her stay in hospital for months, they will give her a long treatment program, and she will get well, by the will of God…
- I said: she is poor, the doctors and nurses won't take care of her, for they all seek money now; humanity is no longer in the hearts…
- He said: so, you assign a budget for her; some $1000 or a little more, out of the donations, and follow up her case, this is better than bringing her out of Iraq; for then you'll pay $500 for each passport, $500 for the car that would bring them from Baghdad, or some $1200 of plane tickets for her and her father, and then, she might be allowed to enter Jordan or they might refuse, so, why take the chances with all this? Send her a $1000, and let her go to Dr. "……." At Beirut Sq. in Baghdad; he will examine her case and refer her to hospital, and there she will find good care, as long as she has that much money to pay tips to the nurses or buy better food than the hospital's…
Well; I liked the idea, so I called her parents and told them, gave them some money to help…
A few days later, I received a donation from a friend in America, which he said was devoted to treat the girl "Zemen". I told him I would give her only a $1000 of the money, and can use the rest of it here in Amman to help poor Iraqi families. He sent me an e-mail saying- do what you see fit, I trust you, just notify me how you spent the rest of the money…
Ok., that's a deal…
I sent $500 to Zemen's parents; they took her to a good specialist, who directed her to the x-ray lab, where he discovered more shrapnel pieces in her neck that should be removed by another operation and to correct the position of the vertebra, then perhaps her condition would become better, the paralysis would be gone and she won't need the physical therapy…
By God I felt happy, this was good news…
Today they called and said- the date of the operation became near, and I promised them I will send another $500 soon so they could pay the doctor and the hospital…
I kept thinking how to use the rest of the money to help people?
I don't know where I got the idea to give loans without interest to some of the families I visited…
I found that a $100 or $200 might save a family from doom and loss, a family of five children plus the mother and father, for instance…
Now, after two weeks of intensive visits to the houses, I completed giving loans to five Iraqi families, something I consider as a first experience in my life…
The loans varied between buying an oven for baking bread to sell to the neighbors or to the Iraqi restaurants here, or to buy a sewing machine for a lady who can use it to sew for the neighbors or to nearby shops, bringing a small income to the family that can provide for their basic necessities. Or to buy a skin-cleaning set for a lady who works in a beauty salon, who wants to become a partner instead of a worker in the shop, threatened to lose her job any minute…
To another lady I gave a capital to manufacture straw baskets, very beautiful, and she also wants to make pickles to sell to neighbors…
The ladies I gave the loans to are either widows, or their husbands are around but are not allowed legally to work, and who are afraid to work illegally as they would then be liable to be deported from the country, according to the law here…
How can a family of six or seven people live, if the mother and father aren't allowed to work? How will they earn their daily bread?
These small loans brought happiness into their hearts, and sunshine into their homes. They might be temporary solutions until the fire in Iraq dies down, and we go back home one day….
I wrote a small agreement with each lady, like a small contract, in which she takes upon herself to pay back the price of the item I bought for her after two or three months, by small installments alternating between 10 to 20 Jordanian Dinaars a month, without any interest. This is called in Islam: the fair loan.
I ask God to grant me success in this- small project, so I can, through it, help the largest number of families in need… and they all know that when they pay back the loan, it will go to other families… I called my friends to buy the products of straw or embroidery the women made, and we actually sold some pieces, making us all happy.
This is better than knocking on the doors of the stupid, hard-hearted rich, who turn away their faces when we ask them to help a poor family.
I am so happy with this project, I have a feeling it will grow day by day, that I will visit more Iraqi families here to see how they are going, and to think of other small projects to help them… the money I have comes from private donations from friends in America, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. God bless them for helping their brothers and sisters in humanity.
The sum of the loans for five families cost about $950 only. We also collected donations from my small family and other friends, and sent 21 thermoses of 40 liters capacity each, to fifty displaced families living in skeleton houses on the outskirts of Baghdad, after they were driven away by sectarian militias… I sent the money to Baghdad to a friend I trust, he bought everything, and sent back the receipts and photos.
The weather is very hot in Baghdad now, and a drink of cold water is a blessing to poor and displaced families, as there is no electricity available. The water could be provided by tankers, and ice could be bought from factories that have generators to produce it. These thermoses are used to keep cold water so the young and the old could drink from it…
We also collected donations and sent them to Baghdad to buy two sewing machines that can be operated by hands and by feet, to send them to that same fifty families' camp, as there are four professional seamstresses among them. We also bought them 300 meters of summer cloth to make some summer nightdresses to boys and girls under 12 years of age. These cost $600, and everything is documented by receipts and photos.
I mean- these projects didn't cost large sums of money, but reduced a lot of the suffering of poor, displaced Iraqi families that endure poverty and negligence, in these tough conditions that befell Iraq… and to bring joy into their hearts with small projects, is to tell them- we are with you, we remember you while you suffer the ordeal.
**************************************************
Then I visited some Iraqi families whose children are being treated here from Cancer… I mean; every family is living a catastrophic condition that cannot be described, so that I found the afore mentioned poor people live in an indescribable paradise, for they are healthy… I found the others afflicted with legendary expenses; most of their children passed the critical stage, the tumors were removed and their conditions stabilized, but they need radio-chemotherapy, one year long for each case. And this treatment costs $1000-$3000 a month. Meaning- each family needs an average of $15,000- $40,000 a year…
The families say- in that Cancer hospital there are families from Yemen, Libya, and Qatar treating their children, and all their expenses are covered by their respective embassies, even down to the transportation and taxi fees are paid by the embassy, so why has the Iraqi embassy abandoned us, and we come from a country that floats on top of lakes of oil?
And where are our food monthly rations? Doesn't the Iraqi Trading Ministry import food rations for the citizens? Where are the rations of the families that emigrated from Iraq to neighboring countries? Where are the rations of the families that were displaced from their houses to other provinces in the west, south, or north of Iraq? Why do they live without their food monthly rations?
I don't know who has the answers to these questions.
The Iraqi government lives in another world, of tittle-tattle, armed and non-armed conflicts, and empty talk; who cares about the suffering of the afflicted Iraqis, as if they are orphans, without a father to protect them, or a mother to care for them.
So, for how long will this extraordinary situation go on, this suffering, and who will put an end to it?
Shall we blame the international organizations because they abandoned the Iraqis?
Shall we blame the American government because it destroyed Iraq and scattered the Iraqis?
Shall we blame the Iraqi government because it stole Iraq's money and didn't provide security, settlement or happiness to the Iraqi families inside Iraq and outside?
I don't know who to blame…
But I personally do not clear any of these parties from blame about what happened to the Iraqis; the calamities, the disasters…
And they will carry that responsibility until the day of judgment…
Where will they go, from facing God?
20:50 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Monday, June 11, 2007
Watch!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jghh00bn_DA&mode=relat...aA&mode=related&search=
12:20 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, May 11, 2007
We have none but patience ....
Monday, April 30th, 2007
posted by Faiza Al-Arji
Peace be upon you….
I haven't written for a long time, I no longer have the temperament to write.
I don't know; is it because of the silly, frustrating news from Baghdad, the continuance of violence, killings, the bloodshed of the innocent Iraqis, the plundering of the Iraqi wealth; or because I am busy with the people and their distress, for I receive calls from families in Baghdad or Amman asking for medical or humanitarian aid, or from Iraqi hospitals calling for help, asking for the most simple supplies, like Insulin, which was supposed to be available in all Iraqi hospitals, being the responsibility of the Iraqi Ministry of Health. Or they might ask for the medical Oxygen bottles, manufactured in Baghdad, but the bad security conditions prevent the medical supplies from reaching hospitals situated on the outskirts of Baghdad, or farther….
My mind is confused; I don't know where to start every day… I thought I'd write down the items I follow up in a small notebook so I would remember them everyday…
Ok; I'll try to organize my thoughts.
There are some water purifying units sent from an organization
www.iraqwaterproject.org
I work with them as a volunteer in Amman, bought to be sent to Iraqi hospitals. Up till now, we sent six units, as follows:
Al-Qa'aim Hospital, Falluja, Samara, Al-Diwaniyah, Hadeetha, and Al-Ramadi.
And I cannot describe my suffering and anguish to conclude each shipment; going between telephone calls to Iraq, sending daily e-mails to the doctors, following up buying the units here, then sending them either by cars or by plane to Baghdad, then the worries and waiting, until they notify me that the shipment arrived to Baghdad, then arranging a way to send it on to its final destination.
Sometimes, the doctor I was arranging things with would disappear, like what happened in Samara. I don't know where the man has gone; all news of him were completely cut off, no e-mail, no phone calls, and I don't know whether he traveled away, was arrested, or killed…
We had to send the unit with a driver from the transportation center to Samara, then wait until he delivered a signed receipt from a doctor there to assure the delivery…
As for my suffering with the transportation companies, well; it is of another type; most of them are deceitful and tiring, with whom I reach an agreement for a price, then they would turn around and ask for higher prices, under the pretext of the bad security conditions… I mean- I can hardly send one box or two, unless with a lot of hardship…
I sometimes feel we are trying to do the impossible, inside a whirlpool of chaos, terror, and ruin. But we make all possible efforts to accomplish something small, or perhaps to light a small candle in the middle of this intense darkness….
All this makes me happy, in spite of all my sorrow for what is happening to Iraq, but I console myself that there are those who make an effort to save the lives of Iraqis, either by sending a water purifying unit, a box of medicine and medical supplies, or food donations to displaced families that left their houses and live now in mere construction frames…
****************
The other issue that is hurting and worrying me that I do not sleep at night thinking about … there is an Iraqi child here, four years old, her name is "Eelaff", from Baquba. Her father called me asking for help; she has a malignant brain tumor, which was removed by an operation, and she is now undergoing chemical therapy…
I went to visit her at Al-Hussein Cancer Center; I found her with a shaved head, or perhaps her hair fell off because of the chemical therapy, her face was pale. An innocent child of four years, what has she seen of life?
I stood and put my hand over her head, reciting a verse from the Quran, or a prayer, I felt the high temperature of her body; she looked at me with withered eyes. Sorrow and sadness burned my heart for what befell her, what befell the children of Iraq because of this dirty war. I couldn't hold myself, and I burst into crying. Her father came to console me, and apologize….
I took some photos of her to send them to some friends, hoping that someone would take pity upon her and send some money to help her father pay her treatment fees. He said he needs some $1500 only to complete the treatment and get her out of hospital. I sent photos and hospital reports by e-mail, but nobody took the trouble to answer, not even with an apology….
And another child from Baghdad. Her name is "Zaman", and she is 16 years old, the age of flowers…
They sent me her photos and a brief medical report…
The girl was in school, in Al-Ada'amiyah, and in the recess between classes, a mortar shell fell upon the school, killing a number of students, and this girl was hit with a piece of shrapnel in her neck, causing a quadruple paralyses.
We joined as a group and bought a wheel chair for her. I asked them to send me her picture with a brief medical report. There is some hope in her treatment by natural therapy, but who would get her out of Iraq? And who will take care of her therapy expanses? I don't know. I sent her photos and report to many friends on the internet, but no one answered…
Each passing day, my sorrow for these two girls grows, and there are perhaps thousands like them in Iraq now, but I wanted to help these two because we learned about their names, photos, and the details of their cases…
***************
Thought the e-mails to the hospitals, I arranged with them how to send the water purifying units for the operating theaters. The doctors usually sent thankful and grateful replies, followed by aid requests, for medicines or medical supplies. I usually apologize, but with time, a load of requests accumulated; mostly similar requests, astonishing me …
For example: everybody wanted Insulin, to treat diabetics for children and adults…
Well then; here in Amman, an insulin bottle of 10 MLL is sold for $16, in Baghdad, I could get it for $10.
And when I ask a doctor: How much do you need monthly? The answer is usually: at least 40 bottles, for emergencies, not to cover the patient's requirements…
Well then; the smallest hospital needs some $400 to $500's worth of insulin a month? And in truth, they probably need some 100 bottles a month, as an average, meaning- a thousand dollars a month…
I said: there is no organization that can cover these requirements, these requirements should be provided by a government, not an organization…
Where is the Iraqi Ministry of Health? Where are the millions of dollars from the general budget allocated for the health sector in Iraq?
I don't know, and all the doctors have no answer…
Well then; is it bad management, or corruption and thefts…
The answer is usually: Both…
I read a report prepared by an official in the American administration some weeks ago, about the average daily thefts from the illegal leakage in the Iraqi oil, estimating it at about $20-30 millions a day… and the Iraqis are begging for medicine and treatment from organizations outside Iraq?
Where is justice?
*******************
Here in Jordan, all the stories of the Iraqis are sad, ranging from the humiliation of expatriation, the tight budgets, and the lack of resources. Even the rich Iraqis yearn for Iraq, not satisfied to take on another substitute country…
Amman is filled with Iraqi restaurants, and Iraqi bakeries, whose customers are Iraqis…
The restaurants closed their doors in the hell there, and moved on here, and the Iraqis are happy with them, for they remind them of their heritage and their past days, when they used to go their in Baghdad, and other, safe, Iraqi cities…..
As for the news from Baghdad; they are frustrating, as usual…….
Someone blasted the piers of the beautiful Al-Sarrafiyah Bridge, blowing it into Tigris…
And the occupation army is building a buffer wall around Al-Ada'amiyah area…
Doesn't this look like the acts of Israel against the Palestinians, by besieging towns and villages, erecting separating concrete walls, displacing and starving the population?
My sister used to live in a historically mixed area, as is usual in most residential areas in Baghdad, but Baghdad started to split into Shia'at and Sunnie neighborhoods, like Beirut… and someone started writing on the walls, writing threats against the Shia'at families, that they must leave the area, or else be killed……
My sister is looking for a house in another area, she will be forced to leave her house, a house she suffered a lot to provide its price, and bought some years ago, for she and her husband are state employees, and with very tough management they bought this small, modest house, and now they will have to leave it to rent another in another area, saying goodbye to the house, its memories, and their neighbors, whom they loved, and lived with through all their sweet and sad memories, for long years…
And so is the case with my brother, who lived with his family in another area in Baghdad, where the Shia'ats were threatened and displaced, so he left his house to another small house, rented in another area; an area wearing a purely Shia'at guise…
All this is happening now, and everyday, while they are filling the media with news of the Baghdad security plan, and its brilliant success…
The sectarian militia is still chasing the Iraqis, pushing them out of their houses; the kidnapping gangs are still kidnapping, threatening, and extorting people…
The unemployment is still high, and hunger entered Iraqi houses more than it did during the time of the embargo…
And shedding the Iraqi blood is still a daily ritual, morning and evening…
The terrorists entered Iraq to target the Iraqi people? Why?
No one knows the answer…
Everyday, some 100 Iraqis die, victims of trapped cars, exploding bombs, and mortar shells, all targeting the civilians…
Who brought these terrorists into Iraq?
Isn't Al-Qaida'a supposed to be Bush's enemy? So why are they killing the Iraqi civilians?
Is this the Iraq Bush promised us with?
Is this the new, free, beautiful, democratic Iraq?
It is an ugly Iraq, one we do not know, one who does not know us, one we do not even acknowledge….
Millions of Iraqis fled its hell…
This isn't our Iraq, the one we know, and love….
This is Bush's Iraq, and its gangs, spreading corruption, ruin, plundering, and killing, in Iraq against its people…
And until the withdrawal of the occupation armies from Iraq is decided, these will remain to be our daily vocabulary; explosions, killings, plundering, theft, sectarian militias, displacing, and dividing….
Thus our days will continue to spin, until the occupation ravens will go out of Iraq….
And we have none but patience….
* * *
00:13 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: war
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007: Letter From an American History Teacher
This is an email that mom received and asked me to post on her site (she is safe and sound, just busy)...
[i removed the name and address of the sender, because I was not sure if he wanted to have his name posted, but he agreed to have his letter posted.]
hope you all are well.
oh and, pass by my blog and drop me a comment, would you? ;0)
Majed*
----------------
Dear Faiza,
Assalam Aleikom,
I hope that this e-mail reaches you and your family in safety and
health.
My name is S.... I am a college student in S......
studying to be a history teacher. I am currently doing a student
teaching internship at a local high school. My school is in a economically
diverse section of town and I have many students of color. They are mostly
Black, but there are also Asian students, students from the Pacific
Islands, Mexico and also several from Middle Eastern countries.
Since this week commemorated the beginning of the 5th year of my
country's military occupation of your country, I really wanted to
discuss the issue with my students. I initially wanted to show them
a movie that is very critical of the Bush administration's foreign
policies, and uncovers many of the lies that our president used to
convince Americans that invading Iraq was necessary. But then I
found a movie that was made by Michael Franti that shows the human
cost of war. I watched it and was was brought nearly to tears as I
saw these human costs of war in Iraq. I often think about this side
of the war story, but in America, we never get to actually SEE it on
our TVs. So, I decided to show this movie to my class instead as the
political one, because in the end, I think people are much more
important than politics and I wanted them to see how Iraqi people are
being forced to live.
My guess is that you would remember Michael Franti, an extremely tall
American musician who went to Baghdad with his guitar and a film crew
to capture what life is like in Baghdad under American military
rule. Also, you are featured in his film during several scenes. In
the film he goes around Baghdad singing his "Habibi" song.
Well, prior to showing Mr. Franti's film in my class, I had been
teaching my students about the American government's policies
regarding Native American during the 19th century, and I was able to
relate those policies to America's foreign policy regarding Iraq. I
told my students that Native Americans were pushed from their land
and had their lives and cultures destroyed for the benefit of a few
rich and powerful people who gained a lot by steeling Native
American's land. And in Mr. Franti's movie you of course said
exactly that; that Americans are destroying Iraqi people's lives and
culture for the benefit of a few very rich and powerful people. It
is so sad, and unfortunately so true. And many days, I am sorry to
be American.
So, I showed this film in my class, and as much as it affected me as
I watched it alone, it affected me so much more to watch it with my
students. I could see them begin to understand how much Iraqi people
are just like them, and how frightening it must be to live in Baghdad
at this time. They saw a family who had lived in their basement for
11 days while American's bombed your city. They saw children with no legs
from bomb attacks. They saw the sky black and dirty from all the
pollution caused by all of the generators that are now powering your
city. And they saw people very near their own ages just trying to
survive and create a life for themselves that is as close to normal
as they can possibly make it during this terrible war. And I saw the
looks in their eyes and on their faces as they realized that people
in Iraq can't even have their basic human needs met at this time.
But I don't want this e-mail to be all sad, and I hope maybe I can
put a smile on your face today as you read this story.
After the movie, I had a discussion with my students and asked them
to tell me good things and bad things they learned from the movie,
and also something that they found interesting. Then I had them
answer some questions in writing. So, I wanted to write to you and
show you some of the answers that my students provided to my
questions. Here are the questions I asked my students which are
followed by their responses.
Question 1: What did you find most surprising about the lives the
Iraqi people are living under the American military occupation:
Lolita said: "The thing I found most surprising about the lives the
Iraqi people are living under the American military occupation is
that everyone is treated the same by the American military no matter
who you are, man, woman, or child you could be killed at any time and
are treated very rudely.
Chase said: I'm surprised that they can't walk outside of their
homes because there is no security.
Romeo said: I'm surprised that are constant blackouts.
Antonio said: I'm surprised that they are still trying to live a
normal life.
Jeanene said: The most surprising thing I believe that I didn't know
what was happening in Iraq. That everyday they are living with fear
knowing that one of their family members might not survive, and that
Iraq isn't safe anymore. People are being rude to each other and
there's kidnapping.
Staci said: I'm surprised how most of the Iraqis tried to stay happy
even though times are tough.
Latisha said: I thought that the most surprising thing was that the
Iraqis have "no life". They have to be in their homes at 3:00pm
because they are terrified of violence.
Brian said: It was surprising that the people are afraid of the
American troops, and that people are dying who have nothing to do
with terrorism.
Question 2: Did you learn anything new about the Iraqi people or
culture? If so, what?
Ashley said: Yes, they just want to live a normal life.
Melanie said: Yes, they are just like us. They have dreams. They
are not different because they live in Iraq. They are just human,
they just want respect.
Fushia said: I learned that they never give up, no matter what.
Brianna said: Yes, they are just like us, and some of the Iraqi
people are Christian and that was surprising.
Edison said: I learned that Iraqis are friendly and peaceful.
Josh said: Yes, that they live dangerous lives, but they still found
things to be happy about and thankful for.
I asked several more questions as well. I asked my students why we
never see stories like yours and other Iraqi family's stories in our
news media, and nearly all of them understood that if we saw stories
like yours on our TVs that there would certainly be a lot more people
protesting the war here in America. I also asked them if they felt
it was important that we learn about different cultures and peoples
from around the world, and nearly all of them felt that it was. That
is the problem with American education, and the system keeps getting
worse under president bush. Our students want to learn about what is
happening in the world. They want to learn about different people
and cultures, but teachers are being forced to teach what the
government wants them too. I am lucky in that the government hasn't
yet decided what history teachers have to teach. But it is becoming
a sad state of affairs in America's schools. Hopefully, change is
coming soon for both of our countries, inshallah. And like Michael
Franti said: "Revolution never comes with a warning".
Finally, thank you so much for sharing your life on your blog. I was
reading through your archives, and I went back to when the war
started. Reading your stories made my stomach hurt. I can't even
imagine what it would have been like to live through that like you
and your family did. So thank you again, and I hope that you and
your family are safe and healthy.
Peace!
Maa' Assalama,
Yalla, bye.
S....
S...., USA.
19:05 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Monday, March 05, 2007
Letter to the UNESCO Regarding al-Aqsa Excavations
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The UNESCO has decided to send a technical mission to the Old City of Jerusalem, inscribed on UNESCO's Wolrd Heritage List and on the World Heritage in Danger List, to a carry out a technical assessment of the works on the access to the Sacred Sanctuary (Al-Haram al-Sharif)...
Several fellow bloggers have posted this on their blogs, a plan to start a campaign of sending letters TODAY (the 3rd of March) to the UNESCO and ask them to assign a permanent chamber in the Old City to monitor the excavations and stop any attempts to damage the foundations of the Aqsa Mosque as an important part of world's heritage.
Following extensive consultations with all the parties concerned, the Director-General requested the mission to leave as soon as possible, probably early next week. It will be led by the Director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, Francesco Bandarin, and include the Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), Mounir Bouchenaki; the President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Michael Petzel; and Véronique Dauge of the World Heritage Centre...
Below is a template of a letter that I strongly encourage You (You, reading this right now) to send on your behalf to the Director-General of UNESCO Mr Koichiro Matsuura (geneva (at) unesco (dot) org ), and Director of UNESCO office in Ramallah, Palestine - Mr. Bechir Lamine (b(dot)lamine (at) unesco (dot) org)).
Update: Mr. Bechir Lamine of the UNESCO office in Ramallah is currently on vacation, please contact Ms. Hala Tannous (h (dot) tannous (at) unesco (dot) org)
--
Dear Sir,
We acknowledge and appreciate your great efforts to protect and save the priceless human heritage all over the world. Recently, we read that a group of professional investigators has been sent by the Unesco to Jerusalem to investigate the situation of Israeli excavations at the area of the sacred sanctuary of Al Masjed Al Aqsa, which we have a big concern that this may affect the foundations and lead to buildings collapse for one of the most important historic elements of this area and all over the world.
We do support your efforts and your investigation group and looking for assigning a permanent chamber near this area to monitor, announce and stop any trial to destroy our heritage either for political or religion reasons.
Thank you and best regards,
Sincerely,
Several fellow bloggers have posted this on their blogs, a plan to start a campaign of sending letters TODAY (the 3rd of March) to the UNESCO and ask them to assign a permanent chamber in the Old City to monitor the excavations and stop any attempts to damage the foundations of the Aqsa Mosque as an important part of world's heritage.
Following extensive consultations with all the parties concerned, the Director-General requested the mission to leave as soon as possible, probably early next week. It will be led by the Director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, Francesco Bandarin, and include the Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), Mounir Bouchenaki; the President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Michael Petzel; and Véronique Dauge of the World Heritage Centre...
Below is a template of a letter that I strongly encourage You (You, reading this right now) to send on your behalf to the Director-General of UNESCO Mr Koichiro Matsuura (geneva (at) unesco (dot) org ), and Director of UNESCO office in Ramallah, Palestine - Mr. Bechir Lamine (b(dot)lamine (at) unesco (dot) org)).
Update: Mr. Bechir Lamine of the UNESCO office in Ramallah is currently on vacation, please contact Ms. Hala Tannous (h (dot) tannous (at) unesco (dot) org)
--
Dear Sir,
We acknowledge and appreciate your great efforts to protect and save the priceless human heritage all over the world. Recently, we read that a group of professional investigators has been sent by the Unesco to Jerusalem to investigate the situation of Israeli excavations at the area of the sacred sanctuary of Al Masjed Al Aqsa, which we have a big concern that this may affect the foundations and lead to buildings collapse for one of the most important historic elements of this area and all over the world.
We do support your efforts and your investigation group and looking for assigning a permanent chamber near this area to monitor, announce and stop any trial to destroy our heritage either for political or religion reasons.
Thank you and best regards,
Sincerely,
20:25 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
War or Peace ?
Monday, February 19th, 2007
Peace be upon you…
The news from Iraq are still annoying and uncomforting; the explosions didn't stop. It is true that they became less frequent than their numbers of some weeks ago, and it is true that the death bands reduced their presence, but people there are still controlled by fear, thinking that this is a temporary situation, due to the implementation of the new security plan, because the occupation forces, the police and Iraqi army are besieging areas, and because they raided the headquarters of the suspected militias, those involved in acts of sectarian violence, where they found weapons and explosives.
Some people say that this plan was late coming; for these criminal militias grew and spread, acquiring power on the streets more potent that the power of the government and the occupation forces. Those people are still fearful that these militias are hiding temporarily now, that they will eventually come back to slay the Iraqi people, Sunnies and Shia'ats, to carry out a plan to split Iraq, a plan over which most Iraqis are furious, Iraqis who would not accept the idea of dividing the country into regions or sectarian federalisms.
Others see that things are moving in a positive direction towards putting an end to violence and controlling matters. And these are steps towards stability in Iraq.
I personally hope that the second prospect is the correct one, but I do not like being naïve, for problems are not solved by mere wishes, while reality says something else….
The solution in Iraq should be political before being a military one. Meaning- all the national forces existing in the field should join in a national unity government. We believe that this would be the first step in the right direction, for then, everybody will work to calm things down, to lower the violence rate and reconstruct the country, and all shall benefit.
But if a portion of Iraqis were marginalized, then this would be a stupid negative act, for that marginalized portion will keep on stirring problems, hampering the government's work and embittering its life.
And I am talking about national Iraqi forces, not about terrorists, Al-Qaida'a, or some such silly talk, for those aren't among the national Iraqi forces.
Justice is needed, and so is balance, for these two are the way to pull the country out of its dilemma. As for blood shedding, violence and military attacks; all those are fruitless methods to achieve stability in the country.
************************
I do not work in politics, but the trials of life taught me how one can behave in times of crises. And the only sensible solution to create a safe and stable Iraq is by the participation of the Iraqi national intellects in manufacturing the decisions concerning Iraq's future. I mean, for four years now, the Bush administration has been supporting and encouraging only the faction that answers its demands, only the faction that obeys its orders. The faction that passes a request to the United Nations asking to renew the remaining of the occupation forces, without consulting the Iraqi people. The faction that supports the view of the new deformed constitution, the idea of sectarianism, of regions, and the dividing of Iraq. The faction that supports passing the Iraqi Oil Exploitation Law, for tens of coming years, with unjust conditions against the Iraqi wealth, and against the interests of the Iraqi people.
The country is destroyed, in need of billions of dollars to repair the infrastructure, and to create jobs for Iraqis, so they could live a good life. We do not want, for a country like Iraq, to be attached to the International Bank, where it's economy would be depleted by silly conditions that would hurt people. We do not want the rich to become richer and the poor to become poorer, as we have seen in a lot of countries around the world, due to the Privatization policies, the Free Market economy, and other new globalization laws that would inflict injustice and poverty upon most of the people, to make a limited number of individuals or companies rich.
These are the principles that the Bush administration wants to implement in the future- Iraq. And a lot of the national Iraqi intellectuals refuse them, and these people were marginalized and pushed away from decision making in Iraq, since the invasion till now.
I think the story of violence and civil war serves the Bush administration interests, for it distracts the people everywhere away from what is truly taking place; the-arrangements-under-the-table, to control the Iraqi economy and future.
These laws are being fixed and passed in the throng of this chaos, shouting, violence, and bloodshed. And when the storm calms down, we will go back to discover we are faced with a fait we cannot easily change; the constitution, the federalism and region's law, the Oil Exploitation Law, production association, and the existence of foreign military bases and an American embassy that is the largest in the world; all these are achievements that are being consolidated in Iraq, to become accomplished facts that can't be changed.
Now, while the Iraqis are drowning in seas of chaos, killings and displacement, they do not know what is happening around them, what Bush and his administration are planning for their future.
Iraq will not be calm if the occupiers kept killing, robbing and tricking. A withdrawal plan must be scheduled. Iraq must be left into the hands of Iraqi nationals who want their people's interests before all else.
This is the true story in Iraq.
As for the stories of Bush about Al-Qaida'a formation; that he is there to eliminate them, well- those went in there with him, to effectuate his play, called- war against terrorism.
The truth is; it is a war to control Iraq and its wealth, as was the case for all oil countries in the region. Is there an oil country in the Middle East, which doesn't have American military bases?
Well, I always wonder: they occupied the oil sources in many Arab countries, silently and without bloodshed. Why is this happening in Iraq?
And I think the answer is: because the Iraqis have comprehension, culture and civilization . They refuse to be controlled by the occupier or the foreigner. They love independence, self-esteem, and courage. So, how can all this be destroyed in them, how to vanquish them, and make them accept the presence of the occupier?
So; on to break their noses, their dignity, and their unity, to spread death bands and mercenary sectarian militias, to kill the Iraqis, tear them to shreds, and spread the myth of civil war among them.
Well then, did this plan work?
Apparently, to an extent; yes, it did.
For the whole world was tricked with these false stories about sectarian fighting, about the necessity for the occupying forces to remain in order to protect the civilians from insurgents and Al-Qaida'a.
While in fact, the plan failed.
For the Iraqis are still holding on to their unity; they reject the occupier, they reject sectarianism and federalism, they reject the remaining of the occupation forces, they reject the exploitation of their oil by foreign monopolizing companies, who suck their blood, and drown them in hunger and ignorance.
This is the truth of what struggles are taking place in Iraq after the occupation.
Days will go on, and all shall be cleared.
********************** *
Two weeks ago, I attended a conference in Malaysia about war crimes, held by a non-governmental organization, headed by the former Malaysian Prim Minister, Mahateer Muhammad.
This was the first time I meet him or listen to him talk.
I respected him very much…
He said in his meeting with the delegations that nations should understand that the decision of war isn't one of the options. Meaning- when a problem would arise between two countries, war shouldn't be placed as one of the solutions, but problems must always be solved in peaceful ways. And nations should also elect peace-loving heads of states, they should sign a pledge not to wage war as long as they were in power.
I liked the idea. All the people on earth are peace-loving, even the American people, but the American government is greedy and aggressive, fooling their people, presenting forged justifications in order to wage wars, or to continue financing those wars.
At the end of the conference, he said a sentence that I liked very much. He said: In this world, there are two great powers; one- the power of armies, the other- the power of the public opinion. We, as peace-loving people, should work together to support the second power, the power of public opinion.
This power can topple governments, like they did lately and changed the governments of Italy and Spain, and like they changed the majority of congress in America from republicans to democrats. All these governments supported the war on Iraq, but they fell because of the people of these countries.
By God, his words gave me a great optimism.
We are certainly passing now through a sad phase. People around the world are walking in demonstrations against the war, refusing violence and bloodshed, rejecting the civilian victims, denouncing the destruction of the lives of peaceful families, how their lives turned into a fearful nightmare, full of kidnapping, killings, and explosions. Like what is happening to the Iraqi people since four years. Some were killed, kidnapped, or run away from their country, families scattered or lost some members, fled their homes to live in tents or skeletons of buildings, drinking unfiltered water, yearning for a blanket or a heater in this cold weather, or even longing for a kilo of flour to bake some bread for the children.
And still, there are some fools in the governments who would say that this war deserves the sacrifices, that the important thing is that we toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Well then, ask yourselves; what is the alternative you presented to the miserable Iraqis? You destroyed their houses and their economy, you messed up their lives, killed their men, women and children?
Could there be more foolishness or stupidity than this?
I remembered my father, God bless his soul, who always used to tell us a story that looks like what the American administration has done in Iraq: there was a man who had a bear, the bear loved his master, and one day a fly landed on the man's nose, and the bear ran to drive away the fly, so he carried a big stone and threw it on the man's nose, smashing his face and nose.
The man said to the bear: may God curse you, and curse whoever takes you as a friend, for nothing good comes out of a foolish, stupid friend.
Ha,ha,ha. I always used to laugh when I listen to my father tell the story…
Isn't that what happened to the Iraqis when the American administration came and invaded Iraq, under the pretext of rescuing us from the regime of Saddam Hussein, the dictator?
***********************
In many cases I am asked; did some relative or a friend of mine die in this war?
And I usually go into deep thinking to remember the names and the faces that we lost.
Today I want to remember some of these names and faces, and how we lost them during this silly war, and the illegitimate occupation of our country…
The first one we lost was a doctor, our family doctor, one of the best doctors in Iraq, head of the Doctors' Union, Dean of the University of Baghdad. I don't care if he was a Ba'athie or not, for these are silly, empty words.
The man was a genius, peaceful, and friendly to everyone.
An armed gang entered his clinic, and shot him in front of his patients, his secretary, and his wife, the pediatrician, who shares his clinic.
That was the first catastrophe, then, pieces kept falling, like the domino effect…
My friend, the pharmacist; I saw her wearing black in mourning for her young brother, who was killed in a trapped car in the street.
My uncle's wife was hanging the laundry in the garden, when a shrapnel of an American missile landed on Al-Qadisiyah District in Baghdad, killing her immediately.
My brother's brother in law, (the husband of his wife's sister) was shot dead in his shop without a reason, or perhaps for sectarian reasons, and that was a new trend, which came to us after the occupation.
A pharmacist friend of mine, who has three children; someone entered her pharmacy in Al-Ghazaliya and shot her. She remained for weeks in hospital, then died. I couldn't believe; she was so merry, so active and life-loving.
Another pharmacist, our neighbor in the Doctor's Quarters in Al-Ameriyah; one day I saw a black banner on her pharmacy, and I learned that an armed gang attacked her and her daughter in the pharmacy, killed her and wounded her daughter, intending to rob them.
Our neighbor the car dealer; they killed him in Al-Ameriyah Street and stole his car.
The driver who used to take my son Raed to the south of Iraq, when he used to work with "Civic" organization collecting statistics for the Iraqi wounded and dead in Iraq, the driver didn't come on that next week, for he was killed and his car stolen.
Among the commercial department stores on the 14th of Ramadan St.; the owner of "the Master of Prices" department store was killed. It was the most famous store on the street; he used to offer beautiful Chinese wares, clothes, objets d'art, carpets, and electrical equipments. He was killed with his son in front of the store, we don’t know why.
The owner of a toy shop in Al-Mansoor was killed with his sons, I don’t know why.
The staff working in the bakery shop in front of us, an armed gang killed them inside the shop, and ran away.
The owner of a furnishings store in front of us was killed, when a trapped car exploded in front of the store, destroying it.
The wife of our friend, a doctor, was out shopping when she was shot, and her car stolen.
An engineer we know, who works in building contracts, was killed by random shootings on the road to the airport, fired by some occupation soldiers terrified from their own shadows.
The relative of my sister's driver was killed by a stray bullet, entering his head while sitting on a chair at the front gate of his house.
University professors and doctors we know- everyday you hear a new story:
- Do you know Dr. "…."?
- Yes, what about him?
- He was killed yesterday in front of his house…
And the sentence is usually followed by an intake of breath, then a long, sad bow of the head…
In my last visit, I no longer asked about: where is this woman, or that man…
My heart couldn't endure to listen to more stories of sadness…
Did all those people go as the victims to the play of liberating Iraq?
And what would be the size of the memorial monument we shall build one day to commemorate their memory?
What have we gained until now?
************************************
What can I say about the Iraqis here, in Amman?
They spend their days in panic; thinking- will the residency permit be extended or not? What would be the fate of their children in the private schools, will they continue their studies, or shall we take them back to Baghdad? That is, if the family was well off to pay for school fees. But for the poor families, the children are just sitting home without studies, because if you do not have a yearly residency permit, you cannot put your children in the free public schools. And a permanent residency means depositing the sum of a $ (100,000) in the bank for one year.
Who has that much money?
The poor families are suffering, not being able to pay the rent of the flat, the living expanses, or the medical fees. They are in a cross fire, between the burning expanses here with the lack of resources, and going back to the hell of exploding cars and the free killing in Iraq.
And the international organizations; the United Nations or the Refugee Aid, are residing on the margins of what is taking place in Iraq, as if they are organizations sleeping under the sand, and have nothing to do with the calamities befalling the Iraqis.
They closed their offices in Iraq after they were bombed, well then, what are their offices outside Iraq doing?
Nothing. They are extinct organizations without deprived of will, which Bush would awaken from their sleep only when he wants to use them to pass on a penalty against some country…
Huh, a comedy by god, about which you don’t know whether to laugh, or cry…
*****************************************
The summery of it all is, as I see it, is that the world is going through an astonishing phase; for those who posses the money and the decision-making power are in most cases stony-hearted people, greedy, without conscience, or morals, or mercy. And the people who posses mercy, morals and conscience are usually the poor and the crushed, without the power to produce any decision. And here, I remember the call of Mahateer Muhammad: the role of these people should be activated, when we put our hands together, we, the ordinary, peace-loving people, shall have a way to be rid of those villains from that first category, who ruined our lives and turned the globe into a place we no longer like to live in…
There must be away to get rid of those criminals, to remove them from the position of decision-making…
This is the responsibility of us all…
* * *
Peace be upon you…
The news from Iraq are still annoying and uncomforting; the explosions didn't stop. It is true that they became less frequent than their numbers of some weeks ago, and it is true that the death bands reduced their presence, but people there are still controlled by fear, thinking that this is a temporary situation, due to the implementation of the new security plan, because the occupation forces, the police and Iraqi army are besieging areas, and because they raided the headquarters of the suspected militias, those involved in acts of sectarian violence, where they found weapons and explosives.
Some people say that this plan was late coming; for these criminal militias grew and spread, acquiring power on the streets more potent that the power of the government and the occupation forces. Those people are still fearful that these militias are hiding temporarily now, that they will eventually come back to slay the Iraqi people, Sunnies and Shia'ats, to carry out a plan to split Iraq, a plan over which most Iraqis are furious, Iraqis who would not accept the idea of dividing the country into regions or sectarian federalisms.
Others see that things are moving in a positive direction towards putting an end to violence and controlling matters. And these are steps towards stability in Iraq.
I personally hope that the second prospect is the correct one, but I do not like being naïve, for problems are not solved by mere wishes, while reality says something else….
The solution in Iraq should be political before being a military one. Meaning- all the national forces existing in the field should join in a national unity government. We believe that this would be the first step in the right direction, for then, everybody will work to calm things down, to lower the violence rate and reconstruct the country, and all shall benefit.
But if a portion of Iraqis were marginalized, then this would be a stupid negative act, for that marginalized portion will keep on stirring problems, hampering the government's work and embittering its life.
And I am talking about national Iraqi forces, not about terrorists, Al-Qaida'a, or some such silly talk, for those aren't among the national Iraqi forces.
Justice is needed, and so is balance, for these two are the way to pull the country out of its dilemma. As for blood shedding, violence and military attacks; all those are fruitless methods to achieve stability in the country.
************************
I do not work in politics, but the trials of life taught me how one can behave in times of crises. And the only sensible solution to create a safe and stable Iraq is by the participation of the Iraqi national intellects in manufacturing the decisions concerning Iraq's future. I mean, for four years now, the Bush administration has been supporting and encouraging only the faction that answers its demands, only the faction that obeys its orders. The faction that passes a request to the United Nations asking to renew the remaining of the occupation forces, without consulting the Iraqi people. The faction that supports the view of the new deformed constitution, the idea of sectarianism, of regions, and the dividing of Iraq. The faction that supports passing the Iraqi Oil Exploitation Law, for tens of coming years, with unjust conditions against the Iraqi wealth, and against the interests of the Iraqi people.
The country is destroyed, in need of billions of dollars to repair the infrastructure, and to create jobs for Iraqis, so they could live a good life. We do not want, for a country like Iraq, to be attached to the International Bank, where it's economy would be depleted by silly conditions that would hurt people. We do not want the rich to become richer and the poor to become poorer, as we have seen in a lot of countries around the world, due to the Privatization policies, the Free Market economy, and other new globalization laws that would inflict injustice and poverty upon most of the people, to make a limited number of individuals or companies rich.
These are the principles that the Bush administration wants to implement in the future- Iraq. And a lot of the national Iraqi intellectuals refuse them, and these people were marginalized and pushed away from decision making in Iraq, since the invasion till now.
I think the story of violence and civil war serves the Bush administration interests, for it distracts the people everywhere away from what is truly taking place; the-arrangements-under-the-table, to control the Iraqi economy and future.
These laws are being fixed and passed in the throng of this chaos, shouting, violence, and bloodshed. And when the storm calms down, we will go back to discover we are faced with a fait we cannot easily change; the constitution, the federalism and region's law, the Oil Exploitation Law, production association, and the existence of foreign military bases and an American embassy that is the largest in the world; all these are achievements that are being consolidated in Iraq, to become accomplished facts that can't be changed.
Now, while the Iraqis are drowning in seas of chaos, killings and displacement, they do not know what is happening around them, what Bush and his administration are planning for their future.
Iraq will not be calm if the occupiers kept killing, robbing and tricking. A withdrawal plan must be scheduled. Iraq must be left into the hands of Iraqi nationals who want their people's interests before all else.
This is the true story in Iraq.
As for the stories of Bush about Al-Qaida'a formation; that he is there to eliminate them, well- those went in there with him, to effectuate his play, called- war against terrorism.
The truth is; it is a war to control Iraq and its wealth, as was the case for all oil countries in the region. Is there an oil country in the Middle East, which doesn't have American military bases?
Well, I always wonder: they occupied the oil sources in many Arab countries, silently and without bloodshed. Why is this happening in Iraq?
And I think the answer is: because the Iraqis have comprehension, culture and civilization . They refuse to be controlled by the occupier or the foreigner. They love independence, self-esteem, and courage. So, how can all this be destroyed in them, how to vanquish them, and make them accept the presence of the occupier?
So; on to break their noses, their dignity, and their unity, to spread death bands and mercenary sectarian militias, to kill the Iraqis, tear them to shreds, and spread the myth of civil war among them.
Well then, did this plan work?
Apparently, to an extent; yes, it did.
For the whole world was tricked with these false stories about sectarian fighting, about the necessity for the occupying forces to remain in order to protect the civilians from insurgents and Al-Qaida'a.
While in fact, the plan failed.
For the Iraqis are still holding on to their unity; they reject the occupier, they reject sectarianism and federalism, they reject the remaining of the occupation forces, they reject the exploitation of their oil by foreign monopolizing companies, who suck their blood, and drown them in hunger and ignorance.
This is the truth of what struggles are taking place in Iraq after the occupation.
Days will go on, and all shall be cleared.
********************** *
Two weeks ago, I attended a conference in Malaysia about war crimes, held by a non-governmental organization, headed by the former Malaysian Prim Minister, Mahateer Muhammad.
This was the first time I meet him or listen to him talk.
I respected him very much…
He said in his meeting with the delegations that nations should understand that the decision of war isn't one of the options. Meaning- when a problem would arise between two countries, war shouldn't be placed as one of the solutions, but problems must always be solved in peaceful ways. And nations should also elect peace-loving heads of states, they should sign a pledge not to wage war as long as they were in power.
I liked the idea. All the people on earth are peace-loving, even the American people, but the American government is greedy and aggressive, fooling their people, presenting forged justifications in order to wage wars, or to continue financing those wars.
At the end of the conference, he said a sentence that I liked very much. He said: In this world, there are two great powers; one- the power of armies, the other- the power of the public opinion. We, as peace-loving people, should work together to support the second power, the power of public opinion.
This power can topple governments, like they did lately and changed the governments of Italy and Spain, and like they changed the majority of congress in America from republicans to democrats. All these governments supported the war on Iraq, but they fell because of the people of these countries.
By God, his words gave me a great optimism.
We are certainly passing now through a sad phase. People around the world are walking in demonstrations against the war, refusing violence and bloodshed, rejecting the civilian victims, denouncing the destruction of the lives of peaceful families, how their lives turned into a fearful nightmare, full of kidnapping, killings, and explosions. Like what is happening to the Iraqi people since four years. Some were killed, kidnapped, or run away from their country, families scattered or lost some members, fled their homes to live in tents or skeletons of buildings, drinking unfiltered water, yearning for a blanket or a heater in this cold weather, or even longing for a kilo of flour to bake some bread for the children.
And still, there are some fools in the governments who would say that this war deserves the sacrifices, that the important thing is that we toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Well then, ask yourselves; what is the alternative you presented to the miserable Iraqis? You destroyed their houses and their economy, you messed up their lives, killed their men, women and children?
Could there be more foolishness or stupidity than this?
I remembered my father, God bless his soul, who always used to tell us a story that looks like what the American administration has done in Iraq: there was a man who had a bear, the bear loved his master, and one day a fly landed on the man's nose, and the bear ran to drive away the fly, so he carried a big stone and threw it on the man's nose, smashing his face and nose.
The man said to the bear: may God curse you, and curse whoever takes you as a friend, for nothing good comes out of a foolish, stupid friend.
Ha,ha,ha. I always used to laugh when I listen to my father tell the story…
Isn't that what happened to the Iraqis when the American administration came and invaded Iraq, under the pretext of rescuing us from the regime of Saddam Hussein, the dictator?
***********************
In many cases I am asked; did some relative or a friend of mine die in this war?
And I usually go into deep thinking to remember the names and the faces that we lost.
Today I want to remember some of these names and faces, and how we lost them during this silly war, and the illegitimate occupation of our country…
The first one we lost was a doctor, our family doctor, one of the best doctors in Iraq, head of the Doctors' Union, Dean of the University of Baghdad. I don't care if he was a Ba'athie or not, for these are silly, empty words.
The man was a genius, peaceful, and friendly to everyone.
An armed gang entered his clinic, and shot him in front of his patients, his secretary, and his wife, the pediatrician, who shares his clinic.
That was the first catastrophe, then, pieces kept falling, like the domino effect…
My friend, the pharmacist; I saw her wearing black in mourning for her young brother, who was killed in a trapped car in the street.
My uncle's wife was hanging the laundry in the garden, when a shrapnel of an American missile landed on Al-Qadisiyah District in Baghdad, killing her immediately.
My brother's brother in law, (the husband of his wife's sister) was shot dead in his shop without a reason, or perhaps for sectarian reasons, and that was a new trend, which came to us after the occupation.
A pharmacist friend of mine, who has three children; someone entered her pharmacy in Al-Ghazaliya and shot her. She remained for weeks in hospital, then died. I couldn't believe; she was so merry, so active and life-loving.
Another pharmacist, our neighbor in the Doctor's Quarters in Al-Ameriyah; one day I saw a black banner on her pharmacy, and I learned that an armed gang attacked her and her daughter in the pharmacy, killed her and wounded her daughter, intending to rob them.
Our neighbor the car dealer; they killed him in Al-Ameriyah Street and stole his car.
The driver who used to take my son Raed to the south of Iraq, when he used to work with "Civic" organization collecting statistics for the Iraqi wounded and dead in Iraq, the driver didn't come on that next week, for he was killed and his car stolen.
Among the commercial department stores on the 14th of Ramadan St.; the owner of "the Master of Prices" department store was killed. It was the most famous store on the street; he used to offer beautiful Chinese wares, clothes, objets d'art, carpets, and electrical equipments. He was killed with his son in front of the store, we don’t know why.
The owner of a toy shop in Al-Mansoor was killed with his sons, I don’t know why.
The staff working in the bakery shop in front of us, an armed gang killed them inside the shop, and ran away.
The owner of a furnishings store in front of us was killed, when a trapped car exploded in front of the store, destroying it.
The wife of our friend, a doctor, was out shopping when she was shot, and her car stolen.
An engineer we know, who works in building contracts, was killed by random shootings on the road to the airport, fired by some occupation soldiers terrified from their own shadows.
The relative of my sister's driver was killed by a stray bullet, entering his head while sitting on a chair at the front gate of his house.
University professors and doctors we know- everyday you hear a new story:
- Do you know Dr. "…."?
- Yes, what about him?
- He was killed yesterday in front of his house…
And the sentence is usually followed by an intake of breath, then a long, sad bow of the head…
In my last visit, I no longer asked about: where is this woman, or that man…
My heart couldn't endure to listen to more stories of sadness…
Did all those people go as the victims to the play of liberating Iraq?
And what would be the size of the memorial monument we shall build one day to commemorate their memory?
What have we gained until now?
************************************
What can I say about the Iraqis here, in Amman?
They spend their days in panic; thinking- will the residency permit be extended or not? What would be the fate of their children in the private schools, will they continue their studies, or shall we take them back to Baghdad? That is, if the family was well off to pay for school fees. But for the poor families, the children are just sitting home without studies, because if you do not have a yearly residency permit, you cannot put your children in the free public schools. And a permanent residency means depositing the sum of a $ (100,000) in the bank for one year.
Who has that much money?
The poor families are suffering, not being able to pay the rent of the flat, the living expanses, or the medical fees. They are in a cross fire, between the burning expanses here with the lack of resources, and going back to the hell of exploding cars and the free killing in Iraq.
And the international organizations; the United Nations or the Refugee Aid, are residing on the margins of what is taking place in Iraq, as if they are organizations sleeping under the sand, and have nothing to do with the calamities befalling the Iraqis.
They closed their offices in Iraq after they were bombed, well then, what are their offices outside Iraq doing?
Nothing. They are extinct organizations without deprived of will, which Bush would awaken from their sleep only when he wants to use them to pass on a penalty against some country…
Huh, a comedy by god, about which you don’t know whether to laugh, or cry…
*****************************************
The summery of it all is, as I see it, is that the world is going through an astonishing phase; for those who posses the money and the decision-making power are in most cases stony-hearted people, greedy, without conscience, or morals, or mercy. And the people who posses mercy, morals and conscience are usually the poor and the crushed, without the power to produce any decision. And here, I remember the call of Mahateer Muhammad: the role of these people should be activated, when we put our hands together, we, the ordinary, peace-loving people, shall have a way to be rid of those villains from that first category, who ruined our lives and turned the globe into a place we no longer like to live in…
There must be away to get rid of those criminals, to remove them from the position of decision-making…
This is the responsibility of us all…
* * *
15:00 Posted in War & Peace: Pieces of War: | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Saturday, February 17, 2007
.The testimony of former Iraqi prisoner in Abo Graib
posted by Faiza Al-Arji
Good morning..
still we are working to hear from former Iraqi detainees or prisoners,
after the invasion of our country.
or is it so-called liberation?
this is the testimony of the man who was in the famous photo from AboGraib
prison, the man with hood , wearing black blanket, standing on a box, with electrical wires connected to his hands.
want you to read with me, to see the real face of the occupation in Iraq.
and let us all work to stop this invasion, and pull out the troops from Iraq.
we want our country back....
faiza
**********************************************
STATUTORY DECLARATION
I, Ali Sh. Abbas (alias Ali Shalal) of full age and an Iraqi citizen do hereby solemnly and sincerely declare as follows:
1. I am 45 years old.
2. I now live in Amman, Jordan.
3. I was an Islamic education lecturer in the city of Al-Aladamiya, Iraq
4. The purpose of making this statutory declaration is to put on record my torture experience in the Abu Ghraib prison.
5. On the 13th October, 2003 while I was going to prayer in the mosque in Al-Amraya, Baghdad, the American troops arrested me. They tied my hands to the back of my body and put a bag over my head. They took me to a small prison in a U.S. military camp in Al-Amraya.
6. The Commander of this military camp, one Captain Philips told me that he had received an order from his superior to arrest me and he did not know the reasons for my arrest. I was left alone in the prison.
7. After two days, they transferred me to the Abu Ghraib prison. The first thing they did to me was to make a physical examination of my body and abused me. Together with other detainees, we were made to sit on the floor and were dragged to the interrogation room. This so called room is in fact a toilet (approximately 2m by 2m) and was flooded with water and human waste up to my heel level. I was asked to sit in the filthy water while the American interrogator stood outside the door, with the translator.
8. After the interrogation, I would be removed from the toilet, and before the next detainee is put into the toilet, the guards would urinate into the filthy water in front of the other detainees.
9. The first question they asked me was, “Are you a Sunni or Shiia?” I answered that this is the first time I have been asked this question in my life. I was surprised by this question, as in Iraq there is no such distinction or difference. The American interrogator replied that I must answer directly the questions and not to reply outside the question. He then said that in Iraq there are Sunnis, Shiias and Kurds.
10. The interrogators wore civilian clothes and the translator, an Afro-American wore American army uniform.
11. When I answered that I am an Iraqi Muslim, the interrogator refused to accept my answer and charged me for the following offence:
(a) That I am anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic.
(b) I supported the resistance
(c) I instigated the people to oppose the occupation
(d) That I knew the location of Osama bin Ladin
I protested and said that Muslims and Jews descended from the same historical family. I said that I could not be in the resistance because I am a disabled person and have an injured hand.
12. The interrogator accused me that I had injured my hand while attacking the American soldiers.
13. The interrogator informed me that they knew that I was an important person in the community and therefore could help them. As an inducement for my cooperation, the interrogator offered medical help for my injured hand.
14. When I did not cooperate, the interrogator asked me whether I considered the American army as “liberator” or “occupier”. When I replied that they were occupiers, he lost his temper and threatened me. He told me that I would be sent to Guantanamo Bay where even animals would not be able to survive.
15. They took me to another room and took record of my thumb print, a photo of my eye and a sample of my saliva for DNA analysis. After this procedure, they tagged me by putting a band round my wrist with the following particulars: my name, a number, my religious status and whether I had previous arrest.
16. They then beat me repeatedly and put me in a truck to transfer me to another part of the Abu Ghraib prison.
17. This part of the prison, was in an open space and consisted of five sectors, surrounded by walls and barb wires and was called “Fiji Land”. Each sector had five tents and surrounded by barb wires. When I was removed from the truck, the soldiers marked my forehead with the words “Big Fish” in red. All the detainees in this camp are considered “Big Fish”. I was located in camp “B”.
18. The living conditions in the camp were very bad. Each tent would have 45 to 50 detainees and the space for each detainee measured only 30cm by 30cm. We had to wait for 2 to 3 hours just to go to the toilets. There was very little water. Each tent was given only 60 litres of water daily to be shared by the detainees. This water was used for drinking and washing and cleaning the wounds after the torture sessions. They would also make us to stand for long hours.
19. Sometimes, as a punishment, no food is given to us. When food is given, breakfast is at 5.00 am, lunch is at 8.00 am and dinner at 1.00 pm. During Ramadhan, they bring food twice daily, first at 12.00 midnight and the second is given during fasting time to make the detainees break the religious duty of fasting.
20. During my captivity in the camp, I was interrogated and tortured twice. Each time I was threatened that I would be sent to Guantanamo Bay prison. During this period, I heard from my fellow detainees that they were tortured by cigarette burns, injected with hallucinating chemicals and had their rectum inserted with various types of instruments, such as wooden sticks and pipes. They would return to the camp, bleeding profusely. Some had their bones broken.
21. In my camp, I saw detainees brought over from a secret prison which I came to know later as being housed in the “Arabian Oil Institute” building, situated in the north of Baghdad. These detainees were badly injured.
22. After one month and just before sunset my number was called and they put a bag over my head and my hands were tied behind my back. My legs were also tied. They then transferred me to a cell.
23. When I was brought to the cell, they asked me in Arabic to strip but when I refused, they tore my clothes and tied me up again. They then dragged me up a flight of stairs and when I could not move, they beat me repeatedly. When I reached the top of the stairs, they tied me to some steel bars. They then threw at me human waste and urinated on me.
24. Next, they put a gun to my head and said that they would execute me there. Another soldier would use a megaphone to shout at me using abusive words and to humiliate me. During this time, I could hear the screams of other detainees being tortured. This went on till the next morning.
25. In the morning, an Israeli stood in front of me and took the bag from my head and told me in Arabic that he was an Israeli had interrogated and tortured detainees in Palestine. He told me that when detainees would not cooperate, they would be killed. He asked me repeatedly for names of resistance fighters. I told him that I do not know any resistance fighters but he would not believe me, and continued to beat me.
26. This Israeli dressed in civilian clothes tortured me by inserting in turn first with a jagged wooden stick into my rectum and then with the barrel of a rifle. I was cut inside and bled profusely. During this time, when any guard walked past me, they would beat me. I had no food for 36 hours.
27. The next morning, the Israeli interrogator came to my cell and tied me to the grill of the cell and he then played the pop song, “By the Rivers of Babylon” by Pop Group Boney M, continuously until the next morning. The effect on me was that I lost my hearing, and I lost my mind. It was very painful and I lost consciousness. I only woke up when the Israeli guard poured water on my head and face. When I regain consciousness, he started beating me again and demanded that I tell him of the names of resistance fighters and what activities that I did against the American soldiers. When I told him that I did not know any resistance fighters, he kicked me many times.
28. I was kept in the cell without clothes for two weeks. During this time, an American guard by the name of “Grainer” accompanied by a Moroccan Jew called Idel Palm ( also known as Abu Hamid) came to my cell and asked me about my bandaged hand which was injured before I was arrested. I told him that I had an operation. He then pulled the bandage which stained with blood from my hand and in doing so, tore the skin and flesh from my hands. I was in great pain and when I asked him for some pain killers, he stepped on my hands and said “this is American pain killer” and laughed at me.
29. On the 15th day of detention, I was given a blanket. I was relieved that some comfort was given to me. As I had no clothes, I made a hole in the centre of the blanket by rubbing the blanket against the wall, and I was able to cover my body. This is how all the prisoners cover their bodies when they were given a blanket.
30. One day, a prisoner walked past my cell and told me that the interrogators want to speed up their investigation and would use more brutal methods of torture to get answers that they want from the prisoners. I was brought to the investigation room, after they put a bag over my head. When I entered the investigation room, they remove the bag from my head to let me see the electrical wires which was attached to an electrical wall socket.
31. Present in the room was the Moroccan Jew, Idel Palm, the Israeli interrogator, two Americans one known as “Davies” and the other “Federick” and two others. They all wore civilian clothes, except the Americans who wore army uniforms. Idel Palm told me in Arabic that unless I cooperated, this would be my last chance to stay alive. I told him that I do not know anything about the resistance. The bag was then placed over my head again, and left alone for a long time. During this time, I heard several screams and cries from detainees who were being tortured.
32. The interrogators returned and forcefully placed me on top of a carton box containing can food. They then connected the wires to my fingers and ordered me to stretch my hand out horizontally, and switched on the electric power. As the electric current entered my whole body, I felt as if my eyes were being forced out and sparks flying out. My teeth were clattering violently and my legs shaking violently as well. My whole body was shaking all over.
33. I was electrocuted on three separate sessions. On the first two sessions, I was electrocuted twice, each time lasting few minutes. On the last session, as I was being electrocuted, I accidentally bit my tongue and was bleeding from the mouth. They stop the electrocution and a doctor was called to attend to me. I was lying down on the floor. The doctor poured some water into my mouth and used his feet to force open my mouth. He then remarked, “There is nothing serious, continue!” Then he left the room. However, the guard stopped the electrocution as I was bleeding profusely from my mouth and blood was all over my blanket and body. But they continued to beat me. After some time, they stopped beating me and took me back to my cell.
34. Throughout the time of my torture, the interrogators would take photographs.
35. I was then left alone in my cell for 49 days. During this period of detention, they stopped torturing me. At the end of the 49th day, I was transferred back to the camp, in tent C and remained there for another 45 days. I was informed by a prisoner that he over heard some guards saying that I was wrongly arrested and that I would be released.
36. I was released in the beginning of March 2004. I was put into a truck and taken to a highway and then thrown out. A passing car stopped and took me home.
37. As a result of this experience, I decided to establish an association to assist all torture victims, with the help of twelve other tortured victims.
38. I feel very sad that I have to remember and relive this horrible experience again and again, and I hope that the people will answer our call for help. God willing.
And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1960.
***********************************************************************
still we are working to hear from former Iraqi detainees or prisoners,
after the invasion of our country.
or is it so-called liberation?
this is the testimony of the man who was in the famous photo from AboGraib
prison, the man with hood , wearing black blanket, standing on a box, with electrical wires connected to his hands.
want you to read with me, to see the real face of the occupation in Iraq.
and let us all work to stop this invasion, and pull out the troops from Iraq.
we want our country back....
faiza
**********************************************
STATUTORY DECLARATION
I, Ali Sh. Abbas (alias Ali Shalal) of full age and an Iraqi citizen do hereby solemnly and sincerely declare as follows:
1. I am 45 years old.
2. I now live in Amman, Jordan.
3. I was an Islamic education lecturer in the city of Al-Aladamiya, Iraq
4. The purpose of making this statutory declaration is to put on record my torture experience in the Abu Ghraib prison.
5. On the 13th October, 2003 while I was going to prayer in the mosque in Al-Amraya, Baghdad, the American troops arrested me. They tied my hands to the back of my body and put a bag over my head. They took me to a small prison in a U.S. military camp in Al-Amraya.
6. The Commander of this military camp, one Captain Philips told me that he had received an order from his superior to arrest me and he did not know the reasons for my arrest. I was left alone in the prison.
7. After two days, they transferred me to the Abu Ghraib prison. The first thing they did to me was to make a physical examination of my body and abused me. Together with other detainees, we were made to sit on the floor and were dragged to the interrogation room. This so called room is in fact a toilet (approximately 2m by 2m) and was flooded with water and human waste up to my heel level. I was asked to sit in the filthy water while the American interrogator stood outside the door, with the translator.
8. After the interrogation, I would be removed from the toilet, and before the next detainee is put into the toilet, the guards would urinate into the filthy water in front of the other detainees.
9. The first question they asked me was, “Are you a Sunni or Shiia?” I answered that this is the first time I have been asked this question in my life. I was surprised by this question, as in Iraq there is no such distinction or difference. The American interrogator replied that I must answer directly the questions and not to reply outside the question. He then said that in Iraq there are Sunnis, Shiias and Kurds.
10. The interrogators wore civilian clothes and the translator, an Afro-American wore American army uniform.
11. When I answered that I am an Iraqi Muslim, the interrogator refused to accept my answer and charged me for the following offence:
(a) That I am anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic.
(b) I supported the resistance
(c) I instigated the people to oppose the occupation
(d) That I knew the location of Osama bin Ladin
I protested and said that Muslims and Jews descended from the same historical family. I said that I could not be in the resistance because I am a disabled person and have an injured hand.
12. The interrogator accused me that I had injured my hand while attacking the American soldiers.
13. The interrogator informed me that they knew that I was an important person in the community and therefore could help them. As an inducement for my cooperation, the interrogator offered medical help for my injured hand.
14. When I did not cooperate, the interrogator asked me whether I considered the American army as “liberator” or “occupier”. When I replied that they were occupiers, he lost his temper and threatened me. He told me that I would be sent to Guantanamo Bay where even animals would not be able to survive.
15. They took me to another room and took record of my thumb print, a photo of my eye and a sample of my saliva for DNA analysis. After this procedure, they tagged me by putting a band round my wrist with the following particulars: my name, a number, my religious status and whether I had previous arrest.
16. They then beat me repeatedly and put me in a truck to transfer me to another part of the Abu Ghraib prison.
17. This part of the prison, was in an open space and consisted of five sectors, surrounded by walls and barb wires and was called “Fiji Land”. Each sector had five tents and surrounded by barb wires. When I was removed from the truck, the soldiers marked my forehead with the words “Big Fish” in red. All the detainees in this camp are considered “Big Fish”. I was located in camp “B”.
18. The living conditions in the camp were very bad. Each tent would have 45 to 50 detainees and the space for each detainee measured only 30cm by 30cm. We had to wait for 2 to 3 hours just to go to the toilets. There was very little water. Each tent was given only 60 litres of water daily to be shared by the detainees. This water was used for drinking and washing and cleaning the wounds after the torture sessions. They would also make us to stand for long hours.
19. Sometimes, as a punishment, no food is given to us. When food is given, breakfast is at 5.00 am, lunch is at 8.00 am and dinner at 1.00 pm. During Ramadhan, they bring food twice daily, first at 12.00 midnight and the second is given during fasting time to make the detainees break the religious duty of fasting.
20. During my captivity in the camp, I was interrogated and tortured twice. Each time I was threatened that I would be sent to Guantanamo Bay prison. During this period, I heard from my fellow detainees that they were tortured by cigarette burns, injected with hallucinating chemicals and had their rectum inserted with various types of instruments, such as wooden sticks and pipes. They would return to the camp, bleeding profusely. Some had their bones broken.
21. In my camp, I saw detainees brought over from a secret prison which I came to know later as being housed in the “Arabian Oil Institute” building, situated in the north of Baghdad. These detainees were badly injured.
22. After one month and just before sunset my number was called and they put a bag over my head and my hands were tied behind my back. My legs were also tied. They then transferred me to a cell.
23. When I was brought to the cell, they asked me in Arabic to strip but when I refused, they tore my clothes and tied me up again. They then dragged me up a flight of stairs and when I could not move, they beat me repeatedly. When I reached the top of the stairs, they tied me to some steel bars. They then threw at me human waste and urinated on me.
24. Next, they put a gun to my head and said that they would execute me there. Another soldier would use a megaphone to shout at me using abusive words and to humiliate me. During this time, I could hear the screams of other detainees being tortured. This went on till the next morning.
25. In the morning, an Israeli stood in front of me and took the bag from my head and told me in Arabic that he was an Israeli had interrogated and tortured detainees in Palestine. He told me that when detainees would not cooperate, they would be killed. He asked me repeatedly for names of resistance fighters. I told him that I do not know any resistance fighters but he would not believe me, and continued to beat me.
26. This Israeli dressed in civilian clothes tortured me by inserting in turn first with a jagged wooden stick into my rectum and then with the barrel of a rifle. I was cut inside and bled profusely. During this time, when any guard walked past me, they would beat me. I had no food for 36 hours.
27. The next morning, the Israeli interrogator came to my cell and tied me to the grill of the cell and he then played the pop song, “By the Rivers of Babylon” by Pop Group Boney M, continuously until the next morning. The effect on me was that I lost my hearing, and I lost my mind. It was very painful and I lost consciousness. I only woke up when the Israeli guard poured water on my head and face. When I regain consciousness, he started beating me again and demanded that I tell him of the names of resistance fighters and what activities that I did against the American soldiers. When I told him that I did not know any resistance fighters, he kicked me many times.
28. I was kept in the cell without clothes for two weeks. During this time, an American guard by the name of “Grainer” accompanied by a Moroccan Jew called Idel Palm ( also known as Abu Hamid) came to my cell and asked me about my bandaged hand which was injured before I was arrested. I told him that I had an operation. He then pulled the bandage which stained with blood from my hand and in doing so, tore the skin and flesh from my hands. I was in great pain and when I asked him for some pain killers, he stepped on my hands and said “this is American pain killer” and laughed at me.
29. On the 15th day of detention, I was given a blanket. I was relieved that some comfort was given to me. As I had no clothes, I made a hole in the centre of the blanket by rubbing the blanket against the wall, and I was able to cover my body. This is how all the prisoners cover their bodies when they were given a blanket.
30. One day, a prisoner walked past my cell and told me that the interrogators want to speed up their investigation and would use more brutal methods of torture to get answers that they want from the prisoners. I was brought to the investigation room, after they put a bag over my head. When I entered the investigation room, they remove the bag from my head to let me see the electrical wires which was attached to an electrical wall socket.
31. Present in the room was the Moroccan Jew, Idel Palm, the Israeli interrogator, two Americans one known as “Davies” and the other “Federick” and two others. They all wore civilian clothes, except the Americans who wore army uniforms. Idel Palm told me in Arabic that unless I cooperated, this would be my last chance to stay alive. I told him that I do not know anything about the resistance. The bag was then placed over my head again, and left alone for a long time. During this time, I heard several screams and cries from detainees who were being tortured.
32. The interrogators returned and forcefully placed me on top of a carton box containing can food. They then connected the wires to my fingers and ordered me to stretch my hand out horizontally, and switched on the electric power. As the electric current entered my whole body, I felt as if my eyes were being forced out and sparks flying out. My teeth were clattering violently and my legs shaking violently as well. My whole body was shaking all over.
33. I was electrocuted on three separate sessions. On the first two sessions, I was electrocuted twice, each time lasting few minutes. On the last session, as I was being electrocuted, I accidentally bit my tongue and was bleeding from the mouth. They stop the electrocution and a doctor was called to attend to me. I was lying down on the floor. The doctor poured some water into my mouth and used his feet to force open my mouth. He then remarked, “There is nothing serious, continue!” Then he left the room. However, the guard stopped the electrocution as I was bleeding profusely from my mouth and blood was all over my blanket and body. But they continued to beat me. After some time, they stopped beating me and took me back to my cell.
34. Throughout the time of my torture, the interrogators would take photographs.
35. I was then left alone in my cell for 49 days. During this period of detention, they stopped torturing me. At the end of the 49th day, I was transferred back to the camp, in tent C and remained there for another 45 days. I was informed by a prisoner that he over heard some guards saying that I was wrongly arrested and that I would be released.
36. I was released in the beginning of March 2004. I was put into a truck and taken to a highway and then thrown out. A passing car stopped and took me home.
37. As a result of this experience, I decided to establish an association to assist all torture victims, with the help of twelve other tortured victims.
38. I feel very sad that I have to remember and relive this horrible experience again and again, and I hope that the people will answer our call for help. God willing.
And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1960.
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