  In January, 2003, I had the privilege
of traveling to Iraq with several members of
"Peaceful Tomorrows," family members who lost
loved ones on September 11, with Bishop Thomas Gumbleton,
and other members of the advocacy group, Voices in the
Wilderness.
For years I have wanted to travel to Iraq to put a human
face on the people our government has labeled our
"enemies," and to do what I could to promote
peace. With war already waged against Iraq, it is my hope
that these photos will help portray the compassion,
warmth, and hope of a people who long for peace and an
end to the sanctions and war.
 Although I have worked on human
rights issues for over 17 years, I wasn't quite sure how
the Iraqis would greet us. After all, we were
representative of a country who has issued sanctions
against them that have killed over 500,000 Iraqi children
(under  the age of 5) and has resulted in an
estimated 1.2 million deaths.
During my visit to this ancient civilization I saw a
tremendous amount of poverty and suffering, a debilitated
infrastructure, and hospitals struggling to care for
their patients. But I also was struck by the total  absence of hatred, or any adversity
towards us. In fact, when asked where I was from, I
tentatively responded - the United States. To my surprise
-- to my ignorance -- it almost immediately  provoked a smile, thumbs up, or some
other welcoming gesture. When asked about how they felt
about the US, more times than not, they recalled the
years when the US supported Iraq-and many hoped that soon
the two nations would be at peace again. And they always
made it a point to differentiate between the US people
and the policies of the US government. I saw no
billboards, banners or any other public display of
animosity towards the United States. Whether it was at a
university, in hospitals, on the streets, in the markets,
 in Mosques, visiting families who had
just lost loved ones or had been severely injured as  a result of US bombing strikes, I
always felt welcomed.
Prior to the 1991 Gulf War nearly all urban dwellers, and
over 70% of rural residents had access to clean water,
while nearly 95% of Iraqis had access to healthcare.
Iraqi social services were among the most comprehensive
and generous in the Arab World, and the populace enjoyed
one of the highest per capita food availabilities in the
region. But all this drastically changed as  a result of Desert Storm. The bombing
raids attacked the very core of civilian life, targeting
and severely debilitating water treatment facilities and waste disposal systems; they knocked
out electrical grids and communication lines. In all, the
total tonnage of bombs dropped during the last Gulf War
exceeded that of 7 Hiroshima's. Through 2002, over 70% of
deaths were attributed to water-borne diseases such as
diarrhea and respiratory ailments.
 During Desert Storm, the U.S. used
Depleted Uranium (DU) on the tips of many warheads. It is
an extremely hard metal and the most effective weapon to
pierce amour. But DU is also a heavy, radioactive
material with a 4.4 billion-year half-life. Upon impact,
approximately 60-80% of DU becomes
sub-aerosol particles. It can enter the body through
inhalation, ingestion, or an open wound. It can also be
transmitted from the father, and is able to pass through
the placenta to a child. More than  400,000 vets were exposed to over 315
tons of DU dust, much of it contained trace elements of
plutonium, the most toxic element known to humankind. The
Veterans Administration cites over 164,000 Gulf War
veterans on disability status, and nearly 15,000 have
died since Desert Storm.
Depleted Uranium has contaminated water supplies and
devastated crops. Since 1991, cancer rates and the
appearance of congenital malformations in Iraq have
increased at least 5 fold. I witness first-hand the
effects of the sanctions and the use of DU while visiting
hospitals in Basra and Baghdad.  Many of the children photographed  are dying from either leukemia or
hemophilia. In the US, childhood leukemia has an
estimated 85% cure rate. In Iraq, it is a death sentence.
And now, 12 years later the US has once again blanketed
Iraq with Depleted Uranium.
The sanctions either prohibited and/or prevented the
medicines from getting through in a timely manner. In
fact, the sanctions preclud ed air-conditioned
trucks and the parts to repair them, so many medicines
that require refrigeration are not able to survive the
intense summer temperatures. 
The woman photographed with the veil over her head,
sitting with 2 other relatives, is holding a photo of her
husband who had been killed by a U.S. bombing attack. She
readily invited us into her home and thanked us for our
compassion. She went on to say "I understand that
some of you are Christians, Catholics, Jews… I am
Muslim, and in my belief we are all one family under
God." It made no difference to her that our
government was responsible for the death of her husband,
what mattered was that we had traveled to her country
with a message of unity and peace.
 The photo of the young woman in bed
was also a victim of a U.S. bomb. She suffered severe
head and leg injuries. Although optimistic, her family
was not sure if she would ever walk again. With her
wounds still fresh, she would not have been able to flee
from the bombs that were raining down on her village.
The man walking in the doorway is entering
Al-Mustansiriya, one of the oldest universities in the
world and the oldest Arabian-Islamic University for the
studies of theology, astronomy, Philosophy and math. It
is located in Baghdad along the Tigris River. Built in
A.D. 1233, it covers an area of over 4,800 sq. meters and
includes 1,700 sq.m. of open courtyard. Major renovation
had recently been co mpleted. On March 23,
2003 the University was hit by U.S. bombs following air
strikes on Baghdad.
Thousands of children have become the sole providers for
their family. They must resort to foraging for scraps of
food in city dumps, or working on the streets selling
candy or shining shoes. As a result of the sanctions,
over 1 million children suffer from chronic malnutrition.
Ahmed, the young boy photographed to the right, is a shoe
shiner. In a brief conversation with him, he stated that
he longed to go to  medical school so
that he could help end the suffering in his country.
Prior to the sanctions, every Iraqi citizen had access to
free education through the doctorate level.
"Old Basra" is known for its canals and
balconies, which are meticulously crafted. The Iraqi
people pride themselves on their culture and their
ancient ways. Unfortunately many historic sites, such as
the building  displayed in this
photo, have either been destroyed by US bombs, or have
deteriorated as a result of the sanctions.
The woman looking off in the distance is standing on the
banks of where the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers meet. Not
far up river is where some believe that the Garden of
Eden and the Tree of Life  resided. Ironically,
this region is the focal point of intense fighting,
maiming and death.
Who are the targets/the enemy? As we have seen through
ongoing conflicts worldwide, it is one  that can never be contained, and
possibly never subdued; but perhaps that is to our
government's advantage rather than being its nemesis as
they would like us to believe. The impetus of this war
was apparently to avenge the attacks of 9/11. When that
did not garner enough support, President Bush called for
the ousting of Saddam Hussein for harboring weapons our
government not only sanctioned, but U.S. corporations
provided to Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War.
What are the current motives and gains? The Bush  administration, along with weapons
manufacturers, and certainly oil mongers (especially
Halliburton, whose former CEO was V.P. Cheney) plan to
capitalize on the war. Already contracts worth billions
of dollars have been allocated by the US government. And
who will finance the ongoing occupation and the
“clean-up?” Many Iraqi’s are starving and
have no access to  potable water, the
infrastructure is in disarray, and the US has been
importing gas as Iraqis wait in gas lines for over 24
hours in some regions. Thousands of Iraqi children have
lost one or both parents - - will the U.S. compensate
these families, or will they simply be viewed as
“collateral damage?” In the short term and
certainly in the foreseeable future, billions of dollars
will be needed. Will this money be taken from our already
crippled welfare system, from our school's budgets, or
from social services earmarked for the most in need?
As the major battles wind down, giving way to low
intensity conflict; pockets of resistance continue to
create fear, insability and chaos. Each week more Iraqi
civilians are killed, and US soldiers continue to be sent
home in body bags. When the smoke and ashes are cleared
throughout Iraq, what will exist? 50% of the Iraqi
population is under the age of 18, and it is these  children, this ancient civilization
that the U.S. and Britain aimed to "shock and
awe" into submission. In this, the cradle of
civilization, where every door was readily held open for
us, where we were welcomed as sisters and brothers, many
are left pondering what will become of Iraq... can peace
and stability take root from the devastation that has
occurred and continues to ensue?
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