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A report from the 11th Voices
in the Wilderness UK sanctions-breaking delegation to Iraq,
May 2002
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members of Voices in the Wilderness UK joined up with three
from Voices US to visit Iraq, from 8th to 18th May, on a sanctions-breaking
delegation. These pages detail some of the visits they made,
what they saw and the people they met.
A
family living on a date farm just outside Basra. In
December 2001, Voices UK imported half a tonne of
dates from a cooperative in this area. Under sanctions,
the economy has been severely reduced: there is very
little market for products such as dates.
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| Iraqi
Life |
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sanctions and the threat of war may not be the only factor
affecting peoples' everyday situation, they create an
every present insecurity and lack of hope - placing the
population in a state of vulnerability that has seen an
increase in crime, prostitution, street children and illiteracy.
Once a highly educated and professional society, the intellectual
embargo on study materials and the incentives to earn
rather than study are eating away at this achievement.
We met students who told of how difficult it was to afford
attendance at university and how many drop out, uncertain
of what study will bring them when they see family members
earn almost nothing. One student, Muhammad told us of
his neighbours house, that was destroyed in 1991, killing
half the family. |
Students Muhammad and Rita. |
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Karima's
children singing 'We shall overcome' in Arabic.
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We
met Karima and her family in their house in Baghdad.
They live in very poor conditions - only three rooms
with no windows and a tiny back yard. She has eight
children and is a single parent since her husband died
in a car crash. Despite the great hardships she and
her children face in simply meeting the daily costs
of living, it is hard to describe the energy, enthusiasm,
curiosity and affection with which we were welcomed.
However, if there is a military strike on Iraq, they,
like millions of others, will face the full brunt of
the so-called 'Shock and Awe' bombardment planned by
US strategists, in which 800 cruise missiles (more than
were launched in the whole of the 1991 Gulf War) will
rain down on the country in just the first 48 hours.
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voices uk - working in solidarity
with ordinary families in iraq
5 Caledonian Road, King's Cross, London N1 9DX
telephone : 0845 458 2564
voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk
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