CPT Iraq Team Report May 3, 12:30pm EDT
Lisa Martens phoned from the 6th floor roof of the team's apartment while a
beautiful sliver of a moon hung overhead and myriads of stars shone
brightly. She said that seeing the stars is one of the benefits of having
no electricity in the city. Daytime temperatures are around 25 degC.
Today was the day Iraqi schools were to open. Sis Levin visited an
elementary school where there were some teachers present but few students.
She also visited an intermediate school where there were even fewer
students. Both schools were dirty. There was little running water and the
water was not clean. There is little gasoline for transporting children to
school and little money to buy gasoline and there are roadblocks everywhere
making travel even more difficult. Teachers had been promised $20 by the
U.S. military but this has not been paid. Jerry Levin visited a high school
but students refused to enter because the building was so dirty. He also
visited Baghdad College School. It was open but there were no students as
staff were still cleaning it after the U.S. miliary had occupied the
building until now.
Lisa Martens returned to the big munitions dump in the Mansour
neighbourhood. It has still not been cleared or cordoned off. She then went
to the Jordanian Embassy which is very close to the dump to alert them to
the danger but they seemed uninterested in her report. At the Embassy she
met an Iraqi man desperately trying to get any passports or other travel
documents so that his family could visit his daughter in Norway who has
been receiving treatment for cancer but is now dying. The U.S. military
would not issue him documents and there is still no Iraqi administration of
any kind 3 weeks after the fall of the old regime.
Lisa went on to visit a family in the Kathamiya district in NW Baghdad.
This well-to-do neighbourhood appears to be intact and apparently suffered
no bombing or looting. The family invited the whole team to return for
lunch. She also had an interview with the remaining Toronto Star reporter,
and noted that all the checkpoints around the journalists' hotels
(Palestine, Al-Fanar, Andalus) have been removed. Crowds of Iraqis were
right at the hotel doors protesting the U.S./British occupation and the
lack of jobs.
A worker from Islamic Relief told the team that he had seen U.S. troops
parading a group of 20 naked Iraqi men through the streets. The worker said
Iraqis would rather die than be humiliated in this way. A similar incident
occurred earlier this week and the responsible U.S. Army lieutenant told
European reporters he felt it was an effective way of controlling suspected
looters.
Jerry Levin met with officials in a museum. They said that they have
evidence that most of the looting of antiquities was done by journalists
and U.S. soldiers.
While passing the UNICEF office, the team noticed several foreigners
arriving. It may be that some UN relief work may be beginning. The team
will follow up.
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-----------------------------------------------
Doug Pritchard
Canada Coordinator
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Tel (416) 423-5525
Fax (416) 423-9213
If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;
and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
Proverbs 25:21
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