CPTnet
14 September 2005
IRAQ UPDATE: 5-7 September 2005
Monday, 5 September
KERBALA: Will Van Wagenen and Sheila Provencher traveled to Kerbala, a city
sacred to Shi'a Muslims. Members of Iraqi Human Rights Watch in Kerbala
(IHRW), an Iraqi Non-governmental Organization (NGO), welcomed them. IHRW
had planned a memorial service for Othman, a Sunni man who drowned after
saving several of the Shi'a pilgrims who fell into the Tigris River in
Baghdad during the recent stampede. They organized the event to show
Shi'a/Sunni solidarity.
Members told the CPTers about other efforts to unite Sunni and Shi'a
communities. A sheikh from the Sunni community of Fallujah donated blood to
help survivors of the stampede. Others in Fallujah collected funds and
supplies, and some Kurdish groups organized to send relief to the victims.
Van Wagenen attended the memorial service for Othman, along with about 500
Shi'a residents of Kerbala. Van Wagenen and Provencher then spent some time
listening to an Iraqi who had served in the military under Saddam Hussain.
He admitted that most Iraqis were glad that Saddam's regime had ended, but
that most Iraqis were also disillusioned with the American occupation, and
felt that their great hopes had not been fulfilled.
BAGHDAD: A team translator expressed deep dismay for the suffering of the
American victims of Hurricane Katrina. He pointed out that it is always the
poor who suffer most, no matter what country they live in.
Chandler and Nash went to meet a sheikh in the primarily Sunni neighborhood
of Al-Adhamiya. The sheikh was still busy attending to matters related to
the stampede on the bridge adjacent to the mosque on 31 August, but he met
with the CPTers despite frequent interruptions. A few of the people who
came in during the meeting were family members of Othman, who drowned while
trying to rescue victims in the river.
The sheikh reported that people in Al-Adhamiya had suffered from unjust
arrests, torture and killings at the hands of Iraqi Security Forces.
Tuesday, 6 September
KERBALA: Provencher and Van Wagenen held a morning meeting with Muslim
Peacemaker Teams (MPT). They have been focusing on assisting refugees from
Tal Afar, a city near the Syrian border besieged by both foreign fighters
and U.S./Iraqi military attacks.
The CPTers then visited the refugee camp and listened to the stories of the
people from Tal Afar. Housed in an abandoned hotel were thirty-five
families. Most refugees had been in the camp for several months and had not
experienced the current military assault on the city. More families arrive
every day.
One woman with nine children stood in a tent, weeping. She had just arrived
that day and had no way to provide for her children, some of whom did not
even have sandals to wear.
During the group testimony, many refugees said that foreign fighters
-"terrorists" - had taken over the city, and that they sometimes literally
forced the people out of their homes, killed citizens with impunity, and set
fire to houses. The Tal Afar citizens blamed the American military for not
intervening when citizens were attacked, and claimed that the Iraqi Army had
secured the main road only for U.S. convoys.
The residents from Tal Afar, who were all Shi'a, said that Sunni and Shi'a
people got along very well in the city. During their testimonies, a Shi'a
man from Baghdad made an insulting comment about Sunni people. The entire
group of Shi'a refugees turned on him and denounced him for speaking against
Sunnis. He later came to the front of the room, kissed the only Sunni man
in the room, and apologized publicly for his comments.
BAGHDAD: The team's neighborhood was without power from the national grid
for the thirteenth day in a row.
The team learned of a new driving regulation in Baghdad that limits the
numbers of cars on the road. The rule is supposed to alleviate the current
fuel shortage. Cars with license plates ending in odd numbers drive on one
day, while cars with license plates ending in even numbers drive on the
alternate day.
Chandler and Nash met with an Iraqi human rights organization to discuss
collaboration with other international NGOs that document human rights
abuses. They met a man whose son has been detained in Bucca Camp by U.S.
forces for the past two years. He said that it has become more difficult to
visit his son. When they do have visits, they are only able to speak to
each other through a small hole in a barrier.
Wednesday, 7 September
KERBALA: Provencher and Van Wagenen traveled from Kerbala to Najaf, another
Shi'a holy city. They spent the day with members of several Iraqi human
rights and humanitarian NGOs. Conversation focused on the experience of
women in Iraq and the failure of reconstruction in Iraq. One women's leader
said, "The years 1977-79 were the golden years for women in Iraq. But since
then, because of the Iran Iraq war, the 1991 war, the sanctions, and this
war, women have lost their fathers, husbands, brothers, and they have had to
take on all of the family roles themselves."
When asked about the new constitution, she said, "The role of women is
getting worse. Many of the new political and religious societies limit the
role of women. And women are not taking more of a role because they are
scared. Our job is to be so active that we help women to be risen through
awareness, to be risen from sleep."
Concerning reconstruction, the Iraqi group agreed that "there is more
corruption in Najaf" than in any other Iraqi city. One man said, "I can
show you places where reconstruction projects were supposed to happen, and I
can tell you who the contractor was. The Iraqi contractors just pocket the
money, and the U.S. does not follow up to see what happens."
BAGHDAD: The team heard a loud explosion at a few minutes past 9:00 a.m..
Chandler and Nash visited Iraqi colleagues at a human rights organization.
While shopping, Chandler and Nash discovered that the loud explosion they
heard that morning was from a car bomb in the area. A nearby shopkeeper
told them that it was targeting a convoy of white GMC cars, like those
driven by U.S. contractors and nonmilitary government agencies. The
explosion missed its target, but killed one boy selling ice and another
bystander. Chandler and Nash then went to the site of the explosion and
found a young man from a photo shop standing amid the rubble. He and his
father were not there at the time, but their shop was destroyed. Dozens of
other shops in the area had their windows blown out.
In the evening, Chandler and Nash hosted a team translator for a dinner to
celebrate his birthday.
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