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Voices
Call to End Sanctions and Occupation
by
Kathy Kelly, Bitta Mostofi, Danny Muller, and Ceylon Mooney, Voices in the
Wilderness
Dissident Voice
May
16, 2003
Dear Friends,
Experiences
of Iraq Peace Team members during
months leading up to Operation "Shock and Awe" and throughout the US
bombing, invasion and occupation confirm for us the simple adage: "Where
you stand determines what you see." Today we read several reports of
ongoing chaos,exchanges of gunfire, and outbreaks of water-borne diseases, such
as cholera, which the World Health Organization warns could become epidemic. As
we continue to focus a spotlight on Iraq, we agree with Mil Rai, of Voices in
the Wilderness UK, who insists that in order to prevent a "next" war
we must effectively counter the propaganda surrounding this current war and
occupation.
We're
indebted to Voices in the Wilderness members
living in Iraq to help us gain insights into experiences of ordinary Iraqi
people as they try to cope with the aftermath of "Operation Iraqi
Freedom." In the desperately poor Al Thawra district, three generations in
one family spoke with Caiohme Butterly, a Voices delegate currently in Iraq,
about the uncertainty and apprehension they now face:
"It
is like waking up from an operation," said Dr. Karim. "The
anaesthetic not quite worn off, one slowly trying to get a sense of things
around oneself, trying to discern shapes, objects. There is pain, and fear, and
apprehension dulled a little by the anaesthetic, but still there. It is pure,
and complete confusion, we feel we are dreaming, waking up from one nightmare,
the previous regime, perhaps to descend into another."
A
neighbor, a young engineering student, explains, "Perhaps we have less to
fear than others. We have little to lose. The services the municipal
authorities once provided to others, we never received, because of this we
don't miss them in their absence. We are used to surviving with little
resources. The only thing the government ever brought us was suffering. Our
people are our only resource. We are an oil state, but look at the poverty we
live in."
His
mother agrees, "Oil is our curse. It brought us nothing but tragedy under
Saddam. It will bring us nothing under the Americans. They should not have
subjected us to another war."
"But
let me dream," says Karim's father. "Maybe they have changed."
Today
the U.S. presents to the UN its resolution, calling for a lifting of sanctions
and further the appropriation and authority of Iraqi oil sales to be dictated
solely by the US and UK. To our dismay, and to further devastation for Iraqi
people, their struggle to regain control of their resources and right to live
in peace is once again dictated by a power that does not represent them. The
United States has insisted on the implementation of sanctions for 13 years,
sanctions that have killed innocents, among them children, the sick, the
elderly, and now have the nerve to criticize anyone that questions their
intentions, as made evident by comments made by Ari Fleicher this week
concerning possible European opposition: "There is no reason for the
people of Iraq to suffer sanctions any
longer."
There
has not been a single, justifiable, reason for Iraqi people to have suffered
for over 13 years. Economic sanctions are inherently criminal, as they fail
time and time again to achieve any goal beyond the punishment of people,
innocents. We stand for the lifting of economic sanctions, as their continuation
will only prolong the desperately needed reconstruction of civilian
infrastructure and transport of much needed medical aid and supplies. We
support their removal and the commitment to realizing their abolition, and the
recognition of economic sanctions as both a failed and genocidal policy. We
continue to oppose the umbrella of military violence, occupation, corporate
control, and foreign developed leadership that Iraqis have been told is their
"liberation."
Like
Karim, we too dream that things can change. We dream that Iraqis will at last
be able to live without the fear of a brutal dictator or a corrupt
U.S.-installed regime, without incessant threats from foreign invaders and the
perpetual violence that has been waged against them for far too long, and
without the sanctions that have robbed them of their ability to maintain their
health, society, and economy. We also dream of a U.S. where our money is not
concentrated in the militarization of our society, where we feel represented in
our own communities and governments, and where all people are granted education
and medical care.
There
is much work to be done. Please continue to stay with us. We need each other
now to continue the work more than ever.
Sincerely,
Kathy Kelly
Bitta Mostofi
Danny Muller
Ceylon Mooney
for Voices in the
Wilderness
May 09, 2003
Voices
in the Wilderness is a joint US/UK campaign to end the economic
sanctions and military warfare against the people of Iraq. VITW has sent
numerous delegations of non-violent peace workers to Iraq to deliver
humanitarian aid to Iraq and to provide a voice for the Iraqi people in the
West. Visit VITW’s website to learn more and consider supporting their
important work: www.vitw.org