by Tasneem Fatima
On a recent trip to Iraq with a group of 60 other Americans, we visited the Amariya Bomb Shelter. In 1991, 1,200 civilians, mostly children and women, were burned to death by a U.S. bomb dropped on the shelter. There are imprints of people on the wall as they were thrown against it by the intense force upon impact of the bomb. There is one very distinct imprint of a woman holding her baby in her arms. Hair, eyes, and even skin can be seen still stuck to the walls' surface, which remained even after the clean up. Our entire delegation was in tears as we followed this lady who took us to the basement where all the pipes and water storage tanks exploded and people in the basement liquefied to death in 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Our visit to a hospital in Baghdad was another tragic experience. It was shocking to see that the intensive care unit had no machines, no monitors---not even a thermometer. It was basically a hall with beds where sick children were lying. They were simply dying from non else than lack of medicine. Their mothers sat beside them wearing blank and helpless expressions on their faces.
5,000 children have been dying every month since the start of the sanctions. That amounts to 170 children per day, according to UN and UNICEF figures. Dr. Atir took us through the intensive care unit and explained that many children were dying even though they had simple problems such as gastroenteritis, dysentery or diarrhea---caused by unsanitary water because chlorine is a sanctioned item. All doctors uniformly believe that patients, who could easily be saved under normal conditions, die every day.
There were large numbers of children suffering from common communicable diseases such as measles, mumps, cholera, typhoid, diseases that were normally prevented with vaccination before sanction. Iraq is also seeing many cases of severe malnutrition- cases of Marasmus and Kwashiorkor.
Then we saw a lot of children with leukemia. Dr. Atir explained that children under 5 usually do not get cancer, but most of these children were under 5. This was due to the effect of depleted uranium weapons used. The U.S. has dropped 25 million ounces. This has caused childhood leukemia, cancer, tumors, and tremendous increase in birth defects and congenital abnormalities. Young people are afraid to marry for fear of having children with such abnormalities such as webbed feet, missing limbs, missing ears, and missing eyes.
Depleted uranium weapons were used inspite of International Law which forbids them due to their inherent cruelty and deadly effect. All people of conscience need to come forth in support of the dying children of Iraq. Ask yourself these questions: What if these children were American? What if these children were your own? Western media should expose the human face and suffering of the Iraqi people. Enough about Saddam Hussein and his intransigence towards the UN weapon inspectors.
The sick and dying children of Iraq cannot be blamed for the sins of their leader, they cannot possibly pay with their lives to satisfy the empty pride of Clinton and Blair. The Iraqis are a very proud and dignified people but in the face of genocide they are crying for help. Iraqi children cry by day and night, hoping against hope that their cries would be carried in Western newspapers and television stories. They are hoping that the American Administration would listen to the voice of the people and lift the deadly sanctions.
As a U.S. citizen who loves her country and values freedom and justice, I cannot keep quiet after witnessing the horrors of the sanctions. I believe in the goodness of my fellow Americans. Remember how we reached out to the Vietnamese when the horrors of that war came to light? Can't we do the same to the people of Iraq?
As Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney says, "Anyone's death diminishes us, but these (Iraqi) deaths destroy our humanity." Please call your congressman, call your senator, and demand that the sanction on Iraq be lifted immediately.