CPTnet
2 June 2005
IRAQ UPDATE: 22-27 May 2005
Sunday, 22 May 2005
One of the team's translators tried to set up a visit to Amiriya Shelter,
where more than 400 people died in the first Gulf War, for an upcoming CPT
delegation. He told the team that the group that maintains the site was open
to the visit but felt that if they were seen hosting North Americans they
might be targeted as collaborators and killed.
Tuesday, 24 May 2005
In the morning Carr and VanWagenen went to the residency office with
a translator. Originally, the office told CPT that the translator could come
with a letter from CPT to apply for CPTer visas. When he showed up with the
letter, the residency officials said the letter was void and the CPTers
applying for the visa needed to come in person. The process for the paper
work was more complex than when Greg Rollins went the prior week.
In the afternoon, the CPT delegation arrived. Rollins, Carr and Van Wagenen
took them to St. Raphael's hospital. The women of the delegation toured the
maternity ward of the hospital but the men were asked to stay in the
manager's office because hospital staff felt it was inappropriate for men
to enter that area.
Wednesday, 25 May 2005
Carr, Fox and a translator traveled to the U.S. military base Falcon south
of Baghdad to conduct exit interviews of Iraqis who had gone seeking
compensation or to check on detained loved ones. At first the Iraqi
security guards (and the Americans giving them instructions on the radio)
did not want them to stay in the parking lot since it is next to a busy
highway and snipers had fired from there. Eventually, they allowed the
CPTers to interview people at the first security checkpoint (which had
concrete barriers blocking visibility from the highway). They interviewed
twelve people involved in eight different cases. Two cases involved
accidental death as a result of crossfire between Multinational Forces (MNF)
and insurgents. In both cases, the MNF admitted responsibility for the
deaths but denied compensation claims. Fox and Carr also went into Falcon
to talk to the U.S. Army troops who maintain the waiting area.
The CPT delegation met with two Iraqi psychiatrists who spoke about the
difficulties their hospital has faced due to the poor security situation.
Thursday, 26 May 2005
The delegation met with a member of the Iraqi Provisional Assembly
who represents the Iraqi Communist Party. The man said his goal for
the next set of elections (scheduled for December of this year) is to
encourage the voters of Iraq to vote for a party's program, not on a party's
religion or ethnicity.
In the afternoon, the delegation met with a woman who owns a shop that the
team frequents. She told the delegation she has lost two years of her life
due to the U.S. occupation. She was working on her master's degree but with
the lack of security she does not feel safe traveling at night to attend
classes. She said she had to sell her car to buy a large electric generator
for her shop since the city power grid is only on several hours a day.
Friday, 27 May 2005
The delegation traveled to see an Iraqi Chaldean priest whose parish
covers much of Northern Baghdad. He discussed the situation in Iraq
as well as his experience as an Iraqi Christian. When asked whether
the U.S. troops should stay or go he said the question was moot because the
U.S. will stay for years to secure its own interests. The priest showed the
delegation his Kalashnikov machine gun and explained how he has regrettably
decided to arm himself in order to protect his church as well as the
neighbors. He told the delegation "When your hand is in the fire, it is
different than when your hand is in the snow."
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