Pathless
Fiercely Interdependent
As I come across them, I'll be posting quotes and sources here of Iraqis who want the U.S. military occupation to end. Some of these will also contain graphic descriptions of the atrocious daily reality that ordinary Iraqis are subjected to under occupation.
A good source for the feel of life in occupied Baghdad from the beginning of the war to last year is Riverbend's blog, Baghdad Burning. Two volumes of a book by the same name are also available. I have been reading through the first one, which compiles the first year of Riverbend's entries, and includes a foreword and introduction that are informative regarding the Iraqi people and the history of U.S. intervention and adventures in Iraq. Both volumes are published by and available from The Feminist Press.
In March of 2006, Code Pink hosted the Iraqi Women's Delegation which brought many Iraqi women to the United States to speak about life in their occupied country. Dr. Entesar Mohammad Ariabi, a pharmacist, had the following to say:
A good source for the feel of life in occupied Baghdad from the beginning of the war to last year is Riverbend's blog, Baghdad Burning. Two volumes of a book by the same name are also available. I have been reading through the first one, which compiles the first year of Riverbend's entries, and includes a foreword and introduction that are informative regarding the Iraqi people and the history of U.S. intervention and adventures in Iraq. Both volumes are published by and available from The Feminist Press.
In March of 2006, Code Pink hosted the Iraqi Women's Delegation which brought many Iraqi women to the United States to speak about life in their occupied country. Dr. Entesar Mohammad Ariabi, a pharmacist, had the following to say:
Dr.Entesar Mohammad Ariabi said:I have seen too many bodies of Iraqis maimed, bleeding, destroyed. They are shot by U.S. troops, blown up by roadside bombs, caught in the crossfire, mutilated by kidnappers. Iraq has become a continuous river of blood. The most beautiful thing God created is the human body. It should not be treated so violently.
I have seen too much suffering, too many orphaned children, too many mothers crying. I cry with them every day. I cry because I can't bear their pain. I cry because I feel so guilty that I can't help the sick and the injured. I cry because I see my people come to the hospital and die.
I remember one day in the hospital we started talking about the Americans and asking if they had brought us anything good. No, we said, with all their wealth and knowledge, they haven't shared their great technology, they haven't given us new equipment, they haven't even given us basic medicines. "Yes, they have given us something," said one doctor."They brought us cold storage for the corpses."
The U.S. invasion has killed our people, destroyed our lives, ruined our health care system. I want the U.S. troops to get out of my country. I want them to go home now. I think that if the Americans leave, we Iraqis will have more of a chance to come together to heal our wounded nation.
Since the day I arrived in the United States, people ask me if I have any hope. Of course. No one can live without hope. My one sliver of hope lies with the American people. No other force in the world can make the American troops leave our country. No other force in the world can make this government hear our cries. Please don't let us down.