CPTnet
May 13, 2003
IRAQ UPDATE: May 13, 2003 10 pm/2pm EDT
Lisa Martens reported in by satellite phone to Doug Pritchard. She said at
her Arabic lesson today, the teacher's eight-year-old daughter arrived home
early from school, announcing that a boy had found an unexploded bomb in
their school yard. U.S. troops had declared the school safe before it
reopened a few days ago. It is not clear whether this bomb was missed at the
time or
newly planted. The school is now closed until a thorough search can be done
again.
Stewart Vriesinga tried to find the eleven-year-old shoeshine boy Shayef who
was reported arrested some days ago near the Sheraton Hotel. U.S. soldiers
in the area referred him to the Iraqi police. He went to two local jails.
Police there said that they had no information on this case, but that some
Iraqis are posing as police. He met many other Iraqis having similar
difficulties getting information on the whereabouts of friends and family.
Vriesinga also accompanied an Iraqi translator seeking employment with
Engineer Franz in the U.S. Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian
Assistance (ORHA) at the Republican Palace. The U.S. soldiers at the
entrance refused admittance and told them to leave a phone number. When
they pointed out that the phones were still not working, the soldiers said
they should leave their hotel address. When asked if the office would send a
runner to the hotel, the soldiers shrugged. At another meeting later in the
day, U.S. military relief workers said they were desperate for translators.
On the street, the team met a family of Palestinian shopkeepers. Recently
they had used a truck to transport the goods from their shop to their home
for safekeeping from looters. They were stopped by U.S, soldiers who
confiscated the truck and goods. Eventually the soldiers said they could
have it back if they paid $200. After the family made the payment, the
soldiers eturned the truck, but kept the goods. When the family asked how
they could get their goods back, the soldiers gave no clear answer.
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