The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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The difficulty for campaigners and NGOs is that Iraq does not really have a Government any more. The continuous use of the word 'regime' by the media served two purposes - firstly to legitimise action against the government of Iraq and secondly to obscure that action was being taken against a government with all the implications that that entails. Note that the anti SH rhetoric was shown to be just that. Even though he was gone, everything else had to be destroyed - incompetence or deliberate policy? Ordinary Iraqis could be forgiven their impatience. They saw how quickly the US/UK destroyed their country and how they maintained and improved on that destruction through sanctions. Why isn't that wealth and power able to restore to Iraqis what they had before in a similar time? If the US/UK want to maintain control and be successful in Iraq then they will need to spend serious money and quickly. The political conditions for this can only come about by exposing the lies and deception which led to the war and by exposing the serious damage done to Iraq. The only other solution would be for the US/UK to turn over Iraq to the UN and pay reparations to help finance reconstruction. To spend serious money will be difficult for the US. It could be argued that the war was a great distraction from the economic problems faced by the American people. Sounds familiar - isn't that why SH invaded Kuwait and because he thought he could get away with it? Either way, CASI etc are needed. The alternatives all look very bad for the Iraqi people at the moment. On 18 Jul 2003 at 14:33, Tom Nagy, Ph.D. wrote: > Dear Colleagues & especially AS-ILAS (sorry, don't know your name), > > Well, I too am buffaloed by the lack of more CASI and HRW, etc. > activity re the killing off of Iraqis, especially infants by the fact > that the U.S. puts lower priority of safe water, even for infants and > children, than on important stuff like looting the oil. > > I think this silence is killing not only Iraqi kids but is at > least positively correlated with the armed reply to the US/UK forces, > which is really tragic because the victims tend to be poor and > without any control. I'm not aware of any general or admiral having > been even inconvenienced, much less suffered wounds or death itself. > > Is hard for me to imagine that the US/UK casualties would > increase rather than decrease if the US just let the NGOs with over a > decade experience in Iraq distribute water to at least all infants > and children IMMEDIATELY. Yes, I know there are plans advertised by > the US for killing fewer kids, but given history like Afghanistan, a > person would have to be in utter denial or worse, complicity to > believe the promises. > > And so the poor and powerless (U.S./UK troops and Iraqi > infants and children alike continue to die. If we don't act to end > the insanity (W.W.I comes to mind) and let HRW get away with > substituting rape stories for coverage of the waterborne deaths, then > I feel you and I are complicit. I am ENTIRELY in FAVOR of coverage of > RAPE to reduce and end this CRIME, but I don't favor its use as a > SUBSTITUTE for stories about killing kids with disease ridden water. > I think we need to eliminate all horrors, not close our eyes to any. I > also feel there is need for some prioritization and need to see if one > horror is being systematically used to block coverage of another. > > May the gods forgive us our crimes for certainly is hard to imagine > that the Iraqi mothers can ever forgive us, > > Om mani padme hum. > > tom > > > Dear all, > > > > Maybe I haven't recognized the pattern yet, but there isn't really > > any concerted and dedicated and (precisely) mapped out strategical > > CASI effort to deal with that topic, is there ? > > > > I've got the impression Tom (Nagy) is rather a lonely rider against > > windmills which appear to be more animated than many people/orgs in > > this respect. > > > > Is that because CASI is in the state of "disbanding" or > > "disintegration" or .... ? > > > > Please, correct me if I'm wrong. > > > > I would love to be wrong on this. > > > > Best > > > > Andreas > > > > -------------------- > > > > "This is only the beginning of the summer of diarrhoea," Anne > > Morris, CARE emergency response director in Iraq, said recently. "If > > proper monitoring, testing and prevention mechanisms are not quickly > > put back in place, the breeding ground will spill over the brim of > > the cup. The entire Iraqi population is at risk of a public health > > crisis." > > > > ------------------- > > > > http://www.irinnews.org/ > > > > 17 Jul 2003 > > > > Iraq: Water-borne diseases increase with summer temperatures > > > > BAGHDAD, 17 Jul 2003 (IRIN) - The World Health Organisation (WHO), > > along with NGOs in Iraq, told IRIN on Thursday that high summer > > temperatures, sometimes touching 50 degrees Celsius, were > > contributing to ongoing health problems throughout the country. "In > > this particular season we are faced with increased incidence of > > diarrhoea, including bloody diarrhoea and watery diarrhoea," Dr > > Faris Bunni, a WHO medical officer said. > > > > Although the searing heat is normal in most parts of Iraq at this > > time of year, ongoing difficulties with electricty and clean water, > > as well as a degraded health system, were all contributing to the > > increase in disease, health experts said. Power supplies to major > > population centres remain intermittent and raw sewage remains > > untreated in many cities. > > > > According to CARE International, the US-based charity, about two > > million mt of raw sewage are dumped into Iraq's rivers every day, > > four times the amount before the war. In the southeastern city of > > Basra, it seeps from the canals into the irrigation channels that > > are used for drinking and bathing. In the capital, Baghdad, 300,000 > > mt escape into the Tigris daily. For many, there is no other water > > source. > > > > The deteriorating situation is compounded by the lack of electricity > > and cooking fuel which prevent Iraqis from boiling water and making > > it safe to drink. Given the scorching temperatures, and the fact > > that 50 percent of Iraq's population have no access to clean > > drinking water, aid agencies are concerned. Inevitably, they say, it > > is the children who are most at risk from disease and death through > > dehydration. > > > > "This is only the beginning of the summer of diarrhoea," Anne > > Morris, CARE emergency response director in Iraq, said recently. "If > > proper monitoring, testing and prevention mechanisms are not quickly > > put back in place, the breeding ground will spill over the brim of > > the cup. The entire Iraqi population is at risk of a public health > > crisis." > > > > Marilyn Hurrella, a medical officer with Medecins Sans Frontieres > > (MSF), told IRIN from Basra that the number of diarrhoea cases there > > had been rising along with the temperature. "People don't have clean > > water to drink. They are drinking dirty water because they get very > > thirsty, then people get diarrhoea," she said. > > > > WHO is doing what it can to monitor the disease by setting up a > > surveillance system and supporting the activities of the Ministry of > > Health. "We are doing early detection of this disease on a daily > > basis in Baghdad and on a weekly basis in other governorates of > > Iraq," Bunni said. > > > > The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is currently the leading UN agency > > for water and sanitation in Iraq. UNICEF information officer > > Geoffrey Keele told IRIN that 7.5 million litres of clean water are > > being distributed every day in Iraq. > > > > But with clean water still in short supply in many parts of Iraq, > > this amount remains inadequate. "We are targeting to provide access > > to the most vulnerable people in need. The water distribution system > > needs to be repaired in order the meet the needs of 27.5 million > > Iraqis," Keele said. > > > > Seventy cholera cases have been reported in Basra, and one in > > Baghdad. This is up from figures for May and June, although no > > deaths have been reported. WHO reported diarrhoeal disease in the > > four main hospitals of Basra amounting to a total of 1,549 cases of > > acute watery diarrhoea. > > > > [ENDS] > > > > [This Item is Delivered to the "Asia-English" Service of the UN's > > IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect > > the views of the United Nations. For further information, free > > subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: > > IRIN@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.irinnews.org . If you > > re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this > > credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires > > written IRIN permission.] > > > > Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs > > 2003 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on > Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit > http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the > list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings > are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk > Mark Parkinson Bodmin Cornwall _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk