Dear Friends, Watching "Meet the Press" last night, one might almost be hypnotized into believing that attacking Iraq is a reasonable action for the USA. The following reflections from Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members shocked me back to reality and energized me to continue to do whatever possible to prevent an escalation (yes, this was an intentional choice of word) of our War on Iraq. Ray Gingerich ************************************************************* Mind-Boggling by Robert Leonetti December 31, 2002 [The author, from Trinidad, CO, is a member of CPT's December 26-January 9 delegation to Iraq. Others in the group are: Anne Albright (McPherson, KS), Pat Basler (Webster, WI), Le Anne Clausen (Mason City, IA ), Bill Durland and Genie Durland (Cokedale, CO), Thomas Finger (Evanston, IL), Peggy Gish (Athens, OH), Sue Gray (Carbondale, CO), Charlie Jackson (San Antonio, TX), Larry Kehler (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Cliff Kindy (North Manchester, IN), Robert Leonetti (Trinidad, CO), Jim Loney (Priceville, Ontario), Mary Ellen McDonagh (Chicago, IL), Anne Montgomery (New York, NY), Michele Naar-Obed (Duluth, MN) and George Weber (Chesley, Ontario.)] The experience has been mind-boggling. The Christian Peacemaker Team delegation I am part of arrived in the heart of downtown Baghdad late in the evening of December 29th. Our itinerary since has been both educational and heart-wrenching. As I reflect on our journey thus far, two things strike me: the suffering of the common people of Iraq because of the sanctions, and the warmth with which I have been accepted by the people I've encountered, even as my country prepares to wage war against them. Our agenda has included a variety of activities: A presentation by Mr. Damacio A. Lopez ( Socorro, NM), at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office. As the director of the International Depleted Uranium Study Team, he reported on the pandemic health problems in Iraq caused by the America's use of depleted uranium (DU). The statistics he quoted are staggering-- 1.5 million Iraqis have died since the beginning of the Gulf War because of related health problems, 1/3 under the age of five. An additional 8,013 returning American veterans have died from "Gulf War Syndrome" which is increasingly believed to be a result of DU exposure. A visit to the Ameriyah Shelter where 480 non-combatants (300 women, 100 children) were killed by two American heat-seeking missiles during the war. A visit with an Iraqi family--Amal and Safa and their three children, Abeer, Omar, and Ali. They are the most gracious and hospitable people I have ever met. Once middle class, they are now mired (have been reduced to) in poverty. Before the Gulf War, Amal earned $450 (American) a month as a teacher. She quit her job recently because she was only earning $5 a month. It was costing her more to travel to work than she was making. Their story is typical of how the sanctions have devastated the Iraqi middle class. Amal has turned to selling her oil paintings to supplement the family income. A visit to two paediatric hospitals. Doctors, unable to treat their young patients because of the lack of medicine and equipment, can only stand by helplessly and watch them perish. According to one doctor, 20-30 percent of the children admitted will die. Another doctor told us that 750,000 children have died since the imposing of sanctions. The hospitals are scenes of terrible suffering. The children of Iraq are dying of cancer, congenital anomalies, immune-depressed disorders, cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, and radiation-related diseases--all directly related to environmental pollutants from the war and the enforced collapse of the Iraqi economy. And yet they receive us graciously. They are the common people of Iraq. They are the people who are suffering the most. They are the people who are the most caring. They are the people who are dying. It's all so mind-boggling. ************************************************************* > A Walk in The Park > by Pat Basler > > [The author, from Webster, WI, is a member of CPT's December 26-January 9 > delegation to Iraq.] > > It was late in the afternoon and I wanted to see the setting sun over the > Tigris River. While walking in the park, which must have been beautiful > before the war, I came upon a statue of an old Arab man sitting with one > hand extended, holding a chalice. It looked like someone from the Bible. > Nowhere could I find any writing in English to provide me a clue as to who > the man was. > As I left the park, I asked a man nearby if he knew any English and also if > he knew who was represented by this statue. His reply was that it was a > famous Iraqi poet and the street bears his name. > > He asked me where I was from. I told him that I was from the United States. > He looked at me in a very different way, stepped back, and appeared to be > very angry. > > This was a very tense moment, and I felt unwelcome for the first time since > I've been in Iraq. The CPT office had given me a handout sheet that > explained in both English and Arabic who I am and what I am here for, the > "Magic Sheet." The man took a long time to read and study the sheet, while > I was waiting for the "magic" to happen. > > When the man finished reading the document, he looked at me. His anger had > disappeared from his face, and he said, "Thank you for being here." He went > on to explain that his daughter had been exposed to D. U. (Depleted > Uranium) used during the Gulf War. Because of the U.S.- U.N. sanctions, she > was unable to get the treatment needed to help her or at least prolong her > life. She died a short time later. > > I told him how sorry I was, and that it was my tax dollars that helped > bring about his daughter's death. It did not give me a good feeling to know > that I had a part in this death and many others that I do not know about. > > He again thanked me for being in Iraq and held out his hand in friendship. > He told me to tell the American people that the people of Iraq want peace. > > The scene ended by me taking his hand and explaining to him that peace will > come when we meet like this, face-to-face in love. > > "Love is the warmth of the light." *************************************************************** Claire Evans Personnel and Delegation Coordinator Christian Peacemaker Teams PO Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 Tel: 773-277-0253; Fax: 773-277-0291 Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. _______________________________________________ Acpj mailing list Acpj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://zopyra.com/mailman/listinfo/acpj > > > Claire Evans > Personnel and Delegation Coordinator > Christian Peacemaker Teams > PO Box 6508 > Chicago, IL 60680 > Tel: 773-277-0253; Fax: 773-277-0291 > > Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches > (Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and > membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Acpj mailing list > Acpj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > http://zopyra.com/mailman/listinfo/acpj ------- Austin Mennonite Church, (512) 926-3121 www.mennochurch.org To unsubscribe: use subject "unsubscribe" sent to amc-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx