CPTnet
10 February 2005
IRAQ: Update 1-7 February 2005
Tuesday 1 February
The Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq and three
members of a human rights organization in Kerbala
visited the U.S. army base near Kerbala. The group
met with Major Ken Booth and Major Jack Helmer from
the U.S. Army and Tom Cooney from the State
Department. CPT and the human rights organization
asked questions about detainees, compensation for
damaged property, and whether any U.S. prisons were
operating in the area. The Army and State Department
personnel did not give many answers but the people at
the base promised to meet members of the human rights
organization again. Tom Cooney wanted to know about
people's reactions to the election. The members of the
human rights organization said they were generally
happy with election but one had been unable to vote
due to police interference.
For the Tuesday day of prayer, the team visited the
Abbas and Hussain shrines and remembered those
impacted by war and the munitions of war.
Wednesday 2 February
The team had a follow up meeting with twenty-one
people who were interested in forming a Muslim Peace
Team. A committee of six volunteered to co-ordinate
subsequent steps. The first step would be a meeting
with students and staff of the Al Uhl Bait University
the following day. They also agreed to consider
working with CPT to assist in rebuilding a house in
Fallujah. Cliff Kindy and Peggy Gish remained in
Kerbala for the meeting with representatives from the
university. Maxine Nash and Allan Slater returned to
Baghdad. They drove through a bombed Iraqi army base
with Saddam Hussein's picture still intact.
Thursday 3 February
Kindy, Gish and MPT leaders met with a representative
of the Al Uhl Bait University who wanted to be sure
any Muslim peace team at the university would be based
on Islamic teachings. Despite his concerns, the
representative was supportive of proceeding with plans
to have a peacemaker training at the university.
After some difficulty getting visas, Anne Montgomery
and Greg Rollins arrived from Amman to join the team.
Saturday 5 February
The CPT team discovered that with six members they
needed to shop every day. They felt that the security
situation had eased enough to do that task and be
comfortable with their increased exposure in the local area.
Sunday 6 February
Gish and Montgomery visited The Sisters of Charity
orphanage in the morning. Gish reported to the
sisters on Omar, a teenager who had recently been
transferred from the orphanage to a facility in
Kerbala. Gish had visited Omar in his new home.
Gish, Kindy and Montgomery attended mass at St.
Raphael's church near the CPT apartment.
Fighter jets flew over the city all day.
Monday 7 February
Gish, Nash and Slater went to the residency office to
get resident status. The CPT members were given
two-month visa extensions because of the wait required
for the Ministry of the Interior to approve their applications.
Kindy, Montgomery and Rollins went to Baghdad
University to talk with refugees from Fallujah who are
staying there. Refugees emphasized that they want to
rebuild their own city and not put rebuilding
contracts into the hands of large foreign entities.
CPT members talked about the possibility of helping
rebuild the city in a way that would enact protest to
the presence of US and Iraqi forces. Refugees said
they might accept CPT members' offer.
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Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the
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