CPTnet
December 29, 2005

IRAQ UPDATE: December 19-25, 2004

Sunday, December 19
Sheila Provencher and a translator met with a young Iraqi artist,
who gave her an original painting depicting Iraq on the verge of new
but dangerous birth. Provencher also visited with a neighbor whose
husband had disappeared, and learned that he had contacted his family and
was safe in Iran.

A translator called to notify the team that three members of the
Human Rights Organization of Iraq (HROI), with whom CPT has worked,
had been ambushed and shot in Baghdad. The three, whose identities
were not released, had been working on the upcoming elections.

Cliff Kindy and Doug Pritchard attended services at a neighborhood church.

Suicide bombs in the cities of Najaf and Kerbala killed more than sixty
people. Because the team was planning an immanent trip to Kerbala, they
met for discernment and prayer. A neighbor stopped by to tell them the
roads were dangerous and they should not go. Their contact in
Kerbala called to say that the roads were passable and he could have
two cars ready on Tuesday.

 Monday, December 20 The team spoke again with contacts in Kerbala who had
arranged for the trip, and decided to go as planned on Tuesday.

 Tuesday, December 21 Kindy, Maxine Nash, Pritchard and Provencher traveled
to Kerbala in order to spend several days with a local Iraqi human rights
group exploring possibilities for Muslim peacemaker teams (MPT.) The trip
along somewhat dangerous roads was uneventful except for the moment the team
passed the smoking ruins of a vehicle. They could not tell whether it had
been destroyed by a rocket, improvised explosive device (IED), simple crash,
or mortar.

The team observed their regular Tuesday bread and water fast for the
Day of Prayer, Fasting, and Action for Iraq (see
www.prayerandactionforiraq.blogspot.com). \They joined Muslim worshippers
for an hour of prayer at the shrine of Imam Hussein, one of the most
sacred pilgrimage sites in the world for Shi'a Muslims.

Outside the shrine, locals had hung portraits of young people killed in
the recent suicide blast. Next to the portraits, a banner listed the
polling places for the coming elections. Most polling stations are
primary schools, which will be closed until the elections because of the
possibility that insurgents will attack them.

 Wednesday, December 22 Provencher, Pritchard, Nash and Kindy visited
Ahlulbeit University, a private school founded almost immediately after the
invasion in 2003. The founders built the college in what used to be an army
building.
 An area once used for target practice is now the main lecture hall. The
student body of 1200, which includes students of all ages, uses a computer
lab, library, and numerous classrooms and offices.

The CPTers first met with the administration and faculty, then enjoyed a
question-and-answer session with more than one hundred students. In all
three meetings, the Iraqis expressed dismay that the stereotype of Islam
in the West is one of terrorism. "We suffer bitterly" because of this
misuse of Islam, many said. CPTers and their Iraqi host from the local
Iraqi Human Rights Watch shared examples of successful nonviolent action,
and many students were excited about the possibilities for Muslim
peacemaker teams.

The CPTers then met with a group of lawyers interested in the MPT concept.
 The lawyers also shared their frustration with the Western view that
Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists represent Islam. "We do not consider
Osama Bin Laden to be a Muslim, because his methods are so violent," said
one. When CPT shared that much of CPT's work is focused on breaking down
stereotypes and doing other advocacy in the West, they encouraged the
team. They also welcomed the idea of increased nonviolent action in Iraq,
and the group discussed various ways that this undoubtedly long and
difficult work could be undertaken.

Thursday, December 23
The team visited the Al Husainy Hospital, a 350-bed facility that serves a
community of one million from Kerbala and surrounding areas. Treatment is
free, but antibiotics, anesthesia, pain killers and hot water are in short
supply. The team visited ten patients injured in the two suicide bombs in
Kerbala, one on December 15 near the Imam Hussain Shrine and one on
December 19 near the bus station.

Bombing victims ranged in age from thirteen to fifty-seven. One, Hassan
Yousef, thirty0eight years old, was seven meters from the explosion. His
seventeen-year-old son died instantly. Hassan had severe burns on his
face and his heavily bandaged hands, and was also injured by shrapnel. He
wondered how he will be able to support his wife and eight children. "We
are weak and poor people trying to make a decent living. We are peaceful,
not close to any military target. God knows what happens next."

Team members also met Iklas Sa'ab, a six-year-old shepherd girl who was
shot in the leg on September 1st by someone in a passing convoy of six
cars. Fifteen operations later, her flesh and bones are not healing, and
she still cannot walk.

Next the team met with a prominent Shi'a imam to discuss possibilities for
a Muslim Peacemaker Team. The imam had left Iraq in 1971 and moved to the
U.S. in 1986, where he founded an Islamic school before returning to Iraq
in 2004. He talked about salaam (peace) as the basis of Islam and
described ways that the Prophet Mohammad and his successors pointed toward
peace in their living. He mentioned the fourth imam's teaching concerning
nonviolence: 1) Do good even if others don't do it to you. 2) Keep lines
of communication open with enemies. 3) Give to those who don't give to
you. 4) Pardon those who act unjustly.

The team also met with members of a local Iraqi humanitarian group which
formed to help their community after the 2003 invasion. They heard that
CPT was in Kerbala and came to ask if CPT could help them get new
radiation equipment for the Atomic Radiation Hospital in Baghdad. The
entire country of Iraq now has only three radiation machines, each
manufactured in 1983. They are so old that treatments require 30 minutes
of radiation instead of five. Kindy and Provencher had heard those same
figures during pre-war delegations. e team made plans to visit the
hospital in Baghdad to get more information.

Friday, December 24
The team visited refugees from Fallujah, about 2,500 of whom have settled
in five camps. Families in the camp CPT visite