Emma Sangster

Volunteer, Voices in the Wilderness UK

Wednesday March 17, 2004

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/voices/story/0,12820,1168171,00.html

It seems both unbelievable but also totally predictable that Iraq is in the mess it is today. A year after the start of the invasion and so much of what so many predicted has come to pass. Countless people and families have been damaged and still the country is in chaos.

And how has this country and the US benefited - certainly the soldiers on the ground will be having a rough time for some time to come. Really, I see the only people to have benefited from waging such a war and occupying a country to be the corporations involved, some of whom have provided the weapons for destruction as well as the tools for reconstruction. A clever game to be in.

I'm reading all kinds of different reports from Iraq and know people who have gone there recently, many of whom are exiles returning after a long time. I can't say I feel at all hopeful for the country right now. Apart from the day-to-day tragedies, hardship and injustice for so many (lack of basic services even a year later, detention without charge on a huge scale, large and small acts of violence and attacks by occupying troops) there seem to be many long-term concerns. There are reports of increasing sickness: the coalition forces used depleted uranium in Iraq and the long-term health impact of this is unknown.

I am particularly concerned about the situation for women in Iraq. Not only are they facing enormous day-to-day difficulties such as increased sexual violence and honour killings, which has kept many effectively imprisoned in their homes, but their equal status is under threat. It seems that the new constitution does not guarantee the equality they won back in 1959. In January the Governing Council tried to pass an order that would give a religious jurisdiction over family and marriage matters. The long-term picture looks bleak for Iraqi women.

I think there is also a significant concern about the long-term economic future of Iraq. Some of the first things the Coalition Provisional Authority turned their attention to were measures to restructure the economy for the benefit of foreign investors.

Iraqi companies have largely been passed over when contracts have been issued, despite their ability to do such work better and at a fraction of the cost. It's been one long string of stories about corruption, cronyism and large sums of money going to waste as massive contracts were handed out to George Bush's friends, and it looks like privatisation of Iraq's public sectors is inevitable. Looking elsewhere in the world, I can only think that this will lead to even more unemployment and poverty for Iraqis. This is exactly why a real democratic process is needed - so that the Iraqi population themselves can determine their own future.

The level of death and destruction is devastating. Well over 10,000 Iraqi civilians have lost their lives so far (nobody knows how many Iraqi soldiers) and people are being killed every day. On top of this, many, many thousands have been injured, maimed for life, or lost their loved ones, their livelihoods. The CPA won't recognise their claims for compensation, just paying out the odd $500 to keep people quiet. This is perfectly symbolic of the lack of value the West have attached to the lives of Iraqi people for so long.

To be honest, I don't think the issue of whether WMD is found in Iraq is significant - its just part of the game of politics that allows for terrible acts to be committed by "our" governments, with the slightest of justifications. How many missiles loaded with chemical weapons would have to be found to justify the invasion and deaths of at least 10,000 Iraqi civilians?

06.02.2003: Read Emma Sangster's first Voices on Iraq interview
21.05.2003: Read Emma Sangster's second Voices on Iraq interview