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We are the Children

25/06/01 From:  Abdu-7yrs, Hamza-11yrs &  Ru-14yrs 

WE ARE THE CHILDREN 

 - a Poem about Sally and Corinne-


Once upon a time,
There were two girls,
Who said to one another,
Let us  unpack,
Let us be free,
And walk the miles,
For the children of Iraq.


They phoned to tell us,
About the razor wind,
That cut their tents,
But not their will,
About the blisters,
That kissed  their feet,
But still gave us hope.


Keep walking Sally,
Keep walking Corinne,
You are the stars,
In an empty street,
That has no mercy,
For the dying date-palms,
In the desert's heat.

Sally and Corinne,
Are two brave girls,
Who took on the giants,
And pulled off their hair,
To tell the world ,
We all are here ,
We all are people.

No matter what,
We are all people,
Who are in love,
Despite the skin,
And the colour of tongues,
Despite the faiths,
And our different moons.


We are the children
For a better  world

-by the Izzidien children

To send your own letter of support click here

 

 

IRAQ: 1000 miles…1000 untold stories. Walking all over “Smart” sanctions.

 

Leeds students Corinne Fowler and Sally Entwistle set out today to walk from John O'Groats to Land’s End for a 1,200 mile, 2 month long protest. They will be protesting against the decade long sanctions policy and challenging the new US-backed British proposed changes to the Iraqi sanctions regime. They aim to bring the reality of the new so called "Smart" sanctions to the public's attention. In addition they will be raising money for humanitarian projects in Iraq.

 

Follow their 'Daily Diary': www.basinet.org

 

Day 5: Sunday 25th June 2001

The girls were chased out of their garden camp by a swarm of midges at 5:45am. Despite a long 12 hour trek they failed to reach their day 5 destination - read on to see why ? They are currently kipping in their tents, two miles south of Tane, six miles short of Baderchonmacher....nursing four very swollen and blistered feet. They covered 16 miles today.


-Having been in constant contact with the girls all day I rang them at 8:00pm to get their diary entry. Sally answered.


Sally: We got lost for four hours today. The roads didn't seem to be marked on the map and every time we got the map out it rained! And I've never seen so many midges in all my life!

Corinne: So we covered ourselves in insect repellent and called it a day around 5:00pm and put our tents up.

(where are you pitched?) Corinne: We're camping in someone's private wood tonight. Its really peaceful and we're looking forward to a long night's rest.

Sally: We're aching but OK. I have 14 blisters and the balls of my feet are pretty sore.

All your messages of support were passed on to the girls today. A poem written by 3 children reduced the girls to tears (and a few of us in the office)...Corinne asked me to tell the children that they were an inspiration [read the poem]

 

DAY 4: Saturday 24th June 2001
They left Sally’s friend’s house in Helmsdale at 7:00am and reached the other side of Lock Fleet 12 hours later.  Having reached their intended destination at about 5:00pm they trudged on for another 1½ miles to reduce tomorrow’s stretch to (only!) 22 miles.  Today they covered a total of 21½ miles.

 

-I got through to Sally at 8:00pm this evening.  She seemed a bit deflated (very unusual for Sally!)

 

Sally:  We’re still badly hampered by our blisters. We stopped so many times today, for up to half an hour each time.

 

Corinne: And we’re being bitten to death by midges, they’re all over us!

 

(Where are you now?) Sally: We’re staying at somebody’s lodge tonight.

 

(Aah, another night in luxury?!) Sally: No, we’ve been given a corner of the garden. We begged the lady to let us stay but the boss isn’t supposed to know we’re here!

Corinne: The lawn has been freshly cut and its ever so soft to walk on. A rare moment for our feet!

The campaigning starts for real this week with a series of media interviews lined up for the girls.

 

The girls would like to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ to those of you who have sent them messages of support over the last four days, they are truly appreciated.  It can be quite lonely where they are and they’ve told me the messages really give them a lift and put a spring in their step. Messages have been pouring in from all over, including one from an anti-sanctions campaign in Arizona, USA!
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