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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Speakers Witness the Devastating Results of Ten Years of U.S. Sanctions in Iraq |
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by Nancy Dietrich-Rybicki
Email: nancydietrich (nospam) juno.com (unverified!) |
25 Feb 2001
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Maher Bages and Mohammed Al-Heedi visited Iraq earlier this year. Ten years of U.S. Sanctions have resulted in the deaths of over 500,000 Iraqi children, and 250 people die each day as a result of the sanctions. Bages and Al-Heedi discuss the situation in Iraq, and two videos are shown which further describe the plight of the Iraqi people. |
Maher Bages and Mohammad Al-Heeti, both Central Illinois residents, spoke at the Illinois Disciples Foundation Sunday, Feb. 25th about their recent trip overseas to Iraq, where 10 years of U. S. sanctions continue to take their horrible toll on the people. Two videos detailing the plight of the Iraqi people were shown previous to the speakers. A group of about 40 turned out to hear their stories.
The first video showed graphic pictures of malnurished and gravely ill children, along with poverty-stricken families without the means to care for themselves. 500,000 Iraqi children have died in the last 10 years as a direct result of the U. S. sanctions against Iraq. 250 people still die each day because of the sanctions. At the end of the 5-minute video production, the Iraqi people ask, \"Why?,\" obviously referring to the continuing U. S. sanctions and attacks.
The second video, which was about 20 minutes long, contained interviews of various individuals involved with the anti-sanction movement. One gentleman interviewed stated that the sanctions have resulted in the complete isolation of Iraq and its people from other countries. Rania Masri, an Iraqi activist, said in the video that the continued bombing of Iraq by the U. S. has resulted in the agricultural irrigation systems and water sanitation systems being destroyed, leaving the people with no way to raise their own crops, or to even have a clean source of drinking water. Many Iraqi people do not have enough food to meet even basic nutritional needs. People are getting sick and dying from what once were controlled diseases. Hospitals simply are not allowed to receive even basic antibiotics to treat common infections. They are not allowed to receive basic parts to repair medical equipment, because the U. S. government believes these parts can be used to make weapons of mass destruction. \"We (the United States) are putting morality aside,\" she emphasized, referring to the U. S. government’s lack of regard for the well-being of the people living in Iraq.
Bishop Tom Gumbleton, another activist against continuing the sanctions, remarked in the video, \"We are committing a crime against Iraq.\" He went on to say that the killing of innocent people is against all codes of morality, and particularly against God’s code of morality. Bishop Gumbleton, who is a Catholic Bishop in the diocese of Detroit, also noted that Jesus aligned himself with the poor and the marginalized people of his day, and made it clear that these are the people he is within, and these are the people to whom we should reach out. Another activist stated that the best way she could sum up the situation was to quote from the Bible, \"When I was hungry, did you feed me? When I was naked, did you clothe me?\" stating that these are the questions we are to be held accountable for.
Maher Bages, a graduate student at Illinois State University, then spoke about his recent trip to Iraq, and how the sanctions have affected the people of Iraq. In regards to the Oil for Food program, he states that this is helping the United States, not the people of Iraq. \"More people have already died from the sanctions than died in the Gulf War itself,\" Bages explained. He noted that $39 billion worth of oil has been sold through the Oil for Food program, but the money generated by these sales does not go to Iraq. It first goes to the United Nations, Iraq must tell the U. N. what they need, and the U. N. subsequently decides what and how much they will get of what they requested. Much of that money, Bages said, never reaches the people of Iraq. Some stays in the U. N. coffers; some pays war reparations to the Kuwati’s.
Bages also noted that the sanctions against Iraq are an international war crime, as defined by the articles set down by the Geneva Convention. He stated that all of the countries in the United Nations are against continuing the sanctions against Iraq except for the United States, Great Britain, and Israel. Bages also mentioned that the \"no-fly zones,\" commonly referred to in the U. S. media, are not internationally sanctioned, but concocted solely by the United States.
Mohammed Al-Heeti, a resident of Champaign, added a few comments about the situation in Iraq. \"A bomb or a missle falls somewhere in Iraq once or twice a week,\" he said, revealing the fact that the U. S. has never stopped its attacks on Iraq, even though the war has been officially over for 10 years. \"Not only are these attacks killing people physically, they are killing the children mentally, as well,\" he observed. Al-Heeti stated that children in Iraq do not play- they are constantly on guard, waiting for the next bomb to drop. When the sound of a plane goes by, everyone scatters, fearing a bomb will be dropped on them.
There were many speculations discussed about why the United States continues its sanctions and attacks on Iraq when most other nations oppose them. Al-Heeti commented that he thinks the reason is because of the oil resources, and because of Israel. He feels that the most recent mass bombing of Iraq under the Bush administration could’ve been a way to divert attention from the situation in the Palistinian region back to Iraq. Other speculations from the audience included the need for the U. S. to stay in control of the region, and the need for the United States to create an enemy in order to keep the U. S. military budget on the rise.
Both Bages and Al-Heeti hope that the continued pressure by the rest of the world on the United States will help end the sanctions, even though it can never be soon enough. For more information on this topic, check out the following websites: www.iacenter.org, www.voicesinthewilderness.org, or www.iraqi-mission.org/us_war_crimes.htm.
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