CPTnet
April 2, 2003
AMMAN, JORDAN: Report from CPTer Scott Ker who left Baghdad on April 1,
2003

On April 1, members of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq and the
Christian Peacemaker Team delegation to Iraq arrived in Amman, Jordan. On
the trip from Baghdad they saw many civilian cars, buses, ambulances and
houses that allied bombing runs had destroyed.

The team decided to leave for a number of factors, including the fact that
food is becoming increasingly scarce. In consultation with the Iraq Peace
Team, they decided that Having twenty people doing the work of eight was a
poor use of resources. "Everyone in Baghdad is making cutbacks, so we
decided to cut back too," said Scott Kerr in a phone interview.

Kerr reported that 95% of street activity has ceased, especially since the
allies have begun bombing in the day as well as in the evening. For the most
part, said Kerr, the bombing's degree of accuracy has been "incredible. But
what people don't realize is that each bombing blows out all the glass from
the windows for two or three blocks around the bomb site. That's what's
causing most of the injuries. We had pictures shaking in our room and felt
gusts of air when bombs fell blocks away. These gusts can blow out birthday
candles even when the bomb falls several miles away."

When asked about civilian areas that have been bombed, Kerr wondered whether
such bombings were intentional--including the bombing of a school they
visited. "In baseball, we call it 'chin music' when a pitcher throws a
baseball at a batter's chin to shake him up. Maybe the bombings in the
civilian areas are meant to show that no one's safe."

After a while, air raid sirens became so frequent and unreliable that the
team stopped listening to them. What made more of an impression was the the
Muslim call to prayer coming from mosque minarets on most nights just as the
bombs started to fall. "In the middle of the bombing, you are reminded that
God is great," Kerr said.

When asked to comment about increasing restrictions that the Iraqi
government had placed on the team, Kerr said, "It's like after 9/11 when our
government became more watchful of foreigners. This included being more
concerned for our safety. They didn't want someone who had just lost a child
in a bombing to take revenge." Additionally, the Iraqi government was
concerned that photos the CPT delegation was taking might be used by U.S.
intelligence. It has been burning oil around Baghdad to make U.S. satellite
photography intended to assess the damage its bombs were inflicting more
difficult.

However, at the time of the team's departure, they were still mostly
experiencing great hospitality and friendship from ordinary Iraqis.

The team in Amman will spend the next few days discerning next steps. They
are not ruling out a return to Baghdad, and still feel a deep concern for
the plight of civilians there. "Like CPTers have seen in Colombia,
Palestine and Afghanistan, we have seen that most of the people killed and
injured in this war have been civilians," he said.

Members of the CPT's Iraq team who left Baghdad on April 1 are Scott Kerr,
(Downers Grove, IL) Lisa Martens (Winnipeg, MB), Stewart Vriesinga (Lucknow,
ON), and Jerry and Sis Levin (Birmingham, AL.) Members of the delegation are
Jim Douglass (Birmingham AL), David Havard (Sheffield, England), and Sean
O'Sullivan (Los Angeles, CA.)