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I just got this in my inbox. A friend of mine from university sent it. I think she's a reformed Engliush major by the style of writing, and the length of the entries, but I took ages to get it formatted for easy reading (removing > marks), so please take the time to read it if you will.
Ta.
From: Amy Hendrickson [mailto:
>Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 2:01 PM
>To:
>Subject: [brooklinepeaceworks] Real News: First hand
account, and PHOTOS: REALITY OF THE WAR
Subject: First hand accounts from woman in Baghdad
Hello all,
>
>I want to share with you these accounts of the last
few days in Baghdad from a U.S. nurse who is living
there. She is an acquaintance of my friend, Lois
Lorentzen.
>
>While not everyone may share the same view of the
U.S. leaders' determination to go to war, it is
important now that we live with an understanding of
what is happening there from many perspectives, most
of all those living through it, civilian and military,
U.S., British, and Iraqi alike.
>
>Take a moment ....
>
>Lois
Subject: from cathy in baghdad
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 06:41:14 +0545
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 27 Mar 2003 00:56:17.0959
(UTC)Baghdad
Monday,March 23, 2003
Dear Friends,
Am so anxious to get some word off to you while there
is still time.
Even as I write you there is a bomb exploding
threatening to blow out the glass door/window in my
room. While I am not getting less fearful of the
bombs, I think I am getting more used to them. Or
maybe it is the overall lack of sleep that has me
moving more slowly. I slept in my room last night with
Bettejo in the bed next to me. Despite the periodic
bomb blasts through the night that caused the building
to strongly quake, only once did we actually flee
downstairs to be closer to the ground floor. This
waiting to be hit is a terrible thing. But then this
war is a terrible thing-too horrible to describe. I
just returned from visiting the Yermuke hospital where
a few of us were able to go to see some of the
wounded. A sad sight as I moved from one bed to
another and saw some of the victims of this senseless
massacre. The hospital received 108 patients in a
3-hour period on Friday evening, last night (Sunday)
another 40. Dr. Rajab Karim related the case of a 26
year old mother who came in with massive injuries
Saturday night. She was taken immediately to surgery
and is presently in intensive care. Her 2 year old
child, however, was killed instantly as the "rocket"
went directly through the door of their home.
I stood helpless at the bedside of a little 8 year old
boy, Ali, his head and abdomen completely wrapped in
gauze. Three people died in his family, including his
father when his home was destroyed yesterday. Fatima,
a 10 year old girl, was trying to escape from her home
during the bombing but wasn't quick enough. The walls
collapsed on her. She suffered multiple fractures to
her left leg. Living outside of the city, there was no
telephone nor transportation available, so she
couldn't be transported until the following day.
Having looked at the bone breaks on her Xrays, I could
only imagine the pain she must have suffered. We hear
conflicting accounts of both US/UK and Iraq casualties
and deaths. Prisoners have been taken on both sides we
understand. Some of our IPT folks saw US soldiers on
Iraq TV last night looking terribly frightened. My
heart goes out to each of them.
One said "I didn't come here to kill anyone; I was
only following orders." I heard that the US has taken
over a thousand Iraqi prisoners in the south?
One thing seems clear. The U.S. is meeting with a
resistance that they've not counted on. And this as
they move from the south toward Baghdad, a city of 5
million people. Here the skies are filled with gray
billowing smoke, and the sirens and bombs are becoming
constant companions. I couldn't help but think as I
lay in bed last night, or >was it in the early morning
hours between bombs?, that every bomb which drives
fear and terror into the heart, or takes a life or
maims a loved one can only serve to ignite anger in
each Iraqi. God knows how angry and distraught I am.
How can they not respond accordingly when faced with
advancing U.S. soldiers?
How could we ever think that the soldiers would be
welcomed triumphantly as liberators? Oh misguided
country that we are? Today in the hospital family
members and the wounded asked>me "Why is this
happening to us? Why? Why? In the five months that I
have been here I have only met with people who want
peace and who pray for peace. They do not want war.
They have done nothing wrong.
We must be clear about the fact that we have forced
them to go to war.
We have forced their young men and women to take up
arms and to kill just as surely as if we had put the
guns into their hands. Neville Watson's words moved me
so the other morning: Can somebody tell me what is the
purpose of this bombing? If it is to generate fear,
then it is certainly working. But isn't that what
terrorists do? Create fear through violence? In
opposing terrorism we have become the terrorists.
Yesterday we held a little birthday party for
Kariima's daughter, Amal, who turned 13. You know her
by now as I've referred to her and her family so often
in my letters. She is my Arabic teacher.
She and her family and a bunch of us from IPT, the
hotel staff, taxi drivers and other friends) went
across the street to a grassy area (not easy to find
in Baghdad) to have cake, play volleyball with
blown-up balloons and just have a good time of
celebrating life in the face of adversity. A
proclamation that no government or power can separate
the bonds of human friendship!
From myjournal: " The party for Amal was wonderful.
Everything fell into place. The blue balloons we used
as volleyballs, the peace-crane chain, the cake and
chicken! Amal was radiant. As the kids and ourselves
were playing and running around, the bombs began to
fall-heavy and shaking the earth and all of us to the
core. There were startled screams at first as they
were so close. But we remained outside. It seemed
safer than being inside. Children, energy, running
playfully, laughing together, embracing. A new year of
life for Amal. What youthful exuberance and joy!
Interspersed--the terrifying thunder of planes and the
blast of the bombs. Screams, death, trembling, fear
and clinging together. But the celebration went on. A
testimony to the power of love and life. I
will close with a little story. It was the 4th day of
bombing, about 2:30am. I couldn't sleep as the bombs
kept coming. I was just milling around the lobby area
and decided to head up the stairs to my room.
Maybe I'll try again to sleep? Hamed, a young fellow
who works here at the hotel called after me "Cathy, a
cup of tea? Iraqi tea?" And so I sat in a quiet area
and had tea. It was a good tea. But then Hamed is
good. These people are good. You can tell when a cup
of tea, or anything for that matter, is made with
love. Julian of Norwich's words rang in my ears "All
will be well again I know." I remembered the words
that came so strongly as we knelt by the Iraq/Kuwait
border a few weeks ago our faces towards the 90,000 US
troops amassed in Kuwait. "Straighten up your back for
what is to come. But don't be afraid. All will be
well."
I pray together with you that all will be well again.
If ever there is a time to resist it is now. Keep up
the good work. Love cathy
This early morning in between the terrible assault of
bombs I thought about these dear folks here, so quick
to smile and to assure. Do you know how much you call
forth hope in my own sad heart? You are tired,so
tired. But you haven't given up. You stand straight
and tall despite the heavy burden that you bear-maybe
because of the burden.
You are gentle and kind to me despite the crushing
cruelty of my country. Tonight we are all afraid, but
I can feel your peace. Tonight I will let myself be
enveloped in your peace. Tonight the bombs are falling
over your city destroying your loved ones and the work
of your hands. And yet you still do not accuse me.
BAGHDAD DIARIES - Cathy Breen, RN March 26, 2003 >
Dear Friends,
It is impossible to describe. It is like we are
submerged in a glowing yellow-orange cloud here in the
city. Our Iraqi friends say they have never seen
anything like it. It is eerier than any science
fiction film I've ever seen. Some say it is caused by
a combination of the burning oil and the billowing
smoke from the bombs. Both near and far the bombs
continue to fall. Heavy bombing woke me out of a deep
sleep last night. Earlier I'd been on the telephone
with a friend who told me that in her neighborhood a
missile had struck the day before wounding 29 and
killing 5. Among the dead was a 12 year old. "Cathy"
she said, "please tell them (the U.S.) to stop talking
about humanitarian aide." Apparently this keeps coming
on over the television news. "Please tell them to shut
up!" How ludicrous to speak of humanitarian aide as
the country is being bombed, people being killed and
wounded and their homes destroyed!
The Bush administration said a couple of days ago that
the war has been successful because so far there have
been only 500 casualties. I am anxious to get word to
you about some of these "casualties" as I've been to
the trauma hospitals these last 3 days to see for
myself. This is not to mention the trauma of fear and
terror of the bombing which has no end. As I write you
the bombs continue and the windows threaten to
explode. Should I move somewhere else? There really is
no safe place.
Let me tell you about Amar, a 7 year old boy whom I
saw in the hospital this morning. He has an emergency
chest tube to drain blood as he suffered multiple
shell injuries. His mother, Hannah, died in the direct
hit to their house this morning. He is from a farming
village on the outskirts of Baghdad. Then there is
Mueen, 8 years old also the son of a farmer, but from
another area. He is in the bed alongside Amar and also
has a drainage tube. But his is from the abdomen. The
doctor showed us a plastic bag holding parts of his
small intestine which had to be removed during surgery
in order to try and get to all of the shrapnel. His
father died in that bombing, and his 6 year old
brother Ali was wounded in the head. Shall I go on?
Ten year old Rusel was wounded in an explosion outside
her door.
We saw the shrapnel in her chest on the Xray and she
too has a chest tube. Her right hand is fractured. I
had seen her yesterday and to my surprise she
remembered me. We played with the finger puppet of the
frog for a moment and I decided to leave it with her.
I told her that I was going to tell other children
what a brave little girl she is.
Her father said "Bush said he'd bring democracy to
Iraq. This is not democracy. This is terrorism!" Nada
Adnan is a 14 year old high school student who came in
with a deep gash and fracture to her right forehead.
She also has a hunk of shrapnel in her upper thigh..
Some of our folks were present when she and her family
were brought into the hospital. Her mother had to be
restrained as she was so distraught. A missile had
crashed into her uncle's home where they were staying,
causing the walls to collapse. Nada's 8 year old
sister had died as a result. Nada said "Is this good
what is happening here?
How many children have been killed? How many wars
they've done to us?
And we have so much pain...All the countries know that
Bush has committed a crime." An elderly woman, Fatima,
had fallen in fear during the bombing and fractured
her hip. She had already had surgery for the hip, but
her ankle too is in a cast and her knee is wounded.
Mohammed her husband said "We are not the enemy or
against you. We love freedom for everyman, for every
human in the world. Bush is not human. He is the enemy
against humanity."
We meet Ali and his wife in the hospital, the parents
of four young children. They tell us that they want
the war to stop for the children's sake, for the
mothers. They say that families are all leaving their
homes to run away from the bombs. They try and stay
all together at one of their relatives homes. "If we
die, we want to die together." Ali works in a food
shop, they explain. But all of the stores are closed
and there is no work. No money coming in. The children
no longer go to school.
All of their children are fearful and hiding under
the covers. And Mr. Bush says the war is successful.
Children maimed for life. Children orphaned in an
instant. Their homes destroyed. Their young men forced
to fight. A peaceful people visited by unspeakable
terror and violence. Oh tell me Mr. Bush, what should
I do with my anger, with my rage? Can you tell me what
to say to the people here when they ask me what have
they done?, when they ask me why is this happening?
They know I am from America. As I meet their
questioning eyes and despairing expressions I have no
words. Mr. Bush, shall I tell them that the war so far
is a success. I can only say "I'm sorry" on behalf of
us all. And, please God stay the hand of my nation.
Love,
Cathy |
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