archived: 31 Jul - 6 Aug, 2005 Back Next
JOY JOHNSON
“Recollections of a Visit to Pre-war Iraq”
I traveled to Iraq in February of 2003, and left the nation about a week before the U.S. started bombing Baghdad. Oftentimes, people ask me about what Iraq was like before the war, as they are so often caught up in the current situation in the war torn nation. So, I decided to write this article to share with everyone my experience in Pre-war Iraq. I traveled to Iraq with a group called Christian Peacemaker Teams (http://www.cpt.org/ ). CPT sends delegations into troubled areas of the world to raise awareness and seek non-violent alternatives to war. I chose to travel with CPT because they promote the true peace that Jesus Christ desires, not President Bush’s ideals of declaring war in the name of Christ. In reality, George W. Bush attacked an already war torn country, as Iraq had never recovered from his father’s war.
While in Iraq, I interacted with everyday people, as well as met with government and non-governmental officials. I remember the welcome I received when I first entered Iraq from the Jordanian border. The young man who checked my passport smiled and said “Welcome” in such a warm, friendly tone. In fact, the attendants at the Iraqi border were far less intimidating than some of the times I crossed the Canadian/USA border. I recall as we set in our vehicle waiting to drive across the border, a sparrow was perched on a nearby tree branch holding a twig. It served as reminder of the sereneness of nature, regardless of nation or borders.
On my first day in Baghdad, I faced one of the tragedies of the Gulf War. Our group visited the Amariya Bomb Shelter. A woman whose family was killed in this bombing gave us a tour, as the shelter had been turned into a museum to remember the victims killed. The U.S. sent two bunker blasters into the shelter, incinerating all those present. Over 400 people, including women and children, were killed. Their images still could be seen burnt into the concrete floor, even those of women holding babies. Inside the museum, there were pictures, names and belongings of those killed, from a child’s stuffed animal to a woman’s wedding dress.
The U.S. claims their missiles are accurate and would not intentionally hit civilian areas. However, because Iraqi government buildings are spread out through Baghdad, there is no way that civilian homes would not be hit. Not all countries have the amount of land to spread their buildings out as in the U.S. On that same day, our group also visited the cancer ward of the children’s hospital in Baghdad. I brought them toys, which made them smile, but one of the mothers commented, “Toys won’t help. We need medicine.” Unfortunately, the type of medicine needed, we could not deliver. The doctor explained how the children had to receive only half of their treatment doses due to the UN sanctions. Most of the mothers present were dressed in black because they knew their children would die.
On another day, we met with Dr. Yacoub, Dean of Al-Mustarsinya College of Medicine in Baghdad. He specialized in studying the effects of depleted uranium, which is lined around missiles and other weapons to make them armor penetrating. Dr. Yacoub conducted several studies in Basra, and found that leukemia had risen 300% among children. Other cancers, birth defects and malignancies have also increased. Iraq did not have problems with cancer until about three or four years after the Gulf War. Also, malignancies have quadrupled in Iraq since 1993. Dr. Yacoub concluded by saying “DU is a drug of mass destruction.”
We also visited with officials from UNICEF and WHO. According to UNICEF, Iraq had the highest infant mortality rate increase of any country in the 1990s. 30% of medicines are considered dual use, meaning anything that can be used for military purposes is against the sanctions. This includes hemorrhaging medications, because they can be given to soldiers on the battlefield who are bleeding to death. 60% of Iraqi women are anemic, but anemia drugs are also prohibited. The Iraqi government always places priority on health and food, according to UNICEF. The Oil for Food program was not meant to be used long-term and has no cash component.
While in Iraq, I was also immersed in their ancient history as well. The Iraqis are very proud of their heritage, and were more than willing to share it with our group. We traveled to Nineveh and saw Assyrian palaces that were still in the process of being excavated, but put on hold due to the poor economic condition of the country from the sanctions. I can only wander if these ruins still exist now. Also outside of Mosul, I visited a village where Christians, Muslims and ancient Sun-worshippers all lived in harmony without conflict.
Regardless of their desperate situation, everywhere I went in Iraq, the people were all gracious and forthcoming. They did not like the U.S. government, but do not blame the American citizens. They always made it very clear that there was a distinction between the government and the people. They blamed their hardships on sanctions, not their own government as many would think. Before the Gulf War, Iraq was prospering and had the best health care in the Middle East. One of the nurses at the Dominican sisters maternity hospital said, “I adore my land, I adore my country.” She had a British passport, but chose not to leave Iraq. I also went to a protest of the General Federation of Iraqi Women on International Women’s Day (this was the same day Women surrounded the White House in Washington, D.C.), where the crowd was yelling anti-Bush, yet I did not feel uncomfortable as many of the Iraqis thanked me for being there. I knew that when they yelled anti-American slogans, they really were against the American government, not the people.
I remember on the last day of my visit to Iraq, our CPT delegation held a rally outside of Al Wathba water treatment in Baghdad. This plant had been bombed during the first Gulf War. We planted a date palm tree to represent the Tree of Life, and as far as I know this tree still lives.
I was extremely disheartened the day the United States started bombing Iraq as I had hoped that we could stop this war, that our government would listen to the people. It struck me personally because I was there with the very Iraqi families that may have been killed in 2nd Gulf War. To this day, I do not know if some of the people I had my picture taken with lived.
So, when asked if Iraq is better off now than before the war. I would respond, no it is worse off, just as it was worse off after the first Gulf War. But for me personally, being in Iraq put a human face on the conflict, and once you start to see the human faces behind “collateral damage,” war cannot be justified. Every bomb has a target with a name and family behind it.
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Junkie: TPJ is grateful that Johnson authored this article for TPJ. In the daily grind of news of the “war on terrorism” it is easy to forget that the war has human faces and their individual stories. Johnson’s wonderful article makes critical points from many perspectives.
First, Johnson’s individual commitment to peace and justice sets a standard for us all. The political battle against the radical Republican right is worth fighting regardless of the disappointments and frustrations.
Second, Johnson’s personal assessment of pre-war Iraq stands in stark contrast of the false picture painted by the Bush administration. While Bush was scaring Americans into believing that nuclear mushroom clouds would be appearing, the stark reality is that Iraq was devastated by the first Gulf War and strangled by sanctions.
Third, can there be any doubt of the mindset of the Iraqi people, who have now been decimated in two wars, toward the United States for generations to come? The Washington Post recently wrote this assessment:
Efforts to rebuild water, electricity and health networks in Iraq are being shortchanged by higher-than-expected costs to provide security and by generous financial awards to contractors, according to a series of reports by government investigators released yesterday.
Taken together, the reports seem to run contrary to the Bush administration's upbeat assessment that reconstruction efforts are moving vigorously ahead and that the insurgency is dying down. – Washington Post
Instead of making American safer, Bush’s failed policies in Iraq have created a breeding ground for future terrorists.
Last Update: 03/23/2006