The most brutal economic sanctions regime of modern times; a generation of children stunted by
malnutrition, at the deadly mercy of treatable diseases; your society reduced to a post-Industrial Age
level, by a world that seems callously unable to grasp that you are a human being; you steel your
will, ignore it all, and simply go on. 

I have written many articles on Iraq since my return to the U.S. in November 2002, but have not until
now thought to let the witnesses speak for themselves. 

Saeed Al-Musawi-Former Iraqi Foreign Minister: Our suffering is helping the world to see that the
hegemony of one country (the U.S.) over others will return us to the law of the jungle. The U.S. is
using the issue of the weapons of mass destruction to further their geopolitical interests in the
region. (In the end) they will only destabilize the whole region. Those who raise the voice of reason,
of love, are so few. They (the U.S. government) should be proud of the you (peace activists)."

American UNICEF Representative-speaking anonymously: "Schools lack sanitation, desks, windows, heat.
There are, on average, 60 students per classroom. Since the implementation of U.N. Resolution 661
(economic sanctions, 1990), there have been no advances in study curriculums. Most schoolbooks are 15
years old and in tatters. More and more items have been placed on hold (by the U.S. and Britain) in
the last 3 years. The Iraqi government is not allowed to even purchase food produced in Iraq without
approval." Asked if such purchases would not help Iraq's economy, he looks surprised. "The U.S.
doesn't want to improve their economy."

Dr. Makki Alwash-Medical professor: "Tell your people that they are responsible for this crime (the
sanctions). Why don't we have good water, civilized water? Why? My own wife comes to me with a lump in
her breast, cancer, I am an oncologist, I can do nothing, there are no treatments I can give her, and
I must watch my own wife die this way. 

"Blood bags prohibited, matches...doing operations without anesthetics, 24 bombings near my house (in
'91), they bomb the hospital, 40 are killed, the children are crying...Bush says he works for humanity
purpose (sic). This is not humanity purpose! You want to liberate Iraq! To liberate, you kill?"

Dr. Abdul-Hameed Yacoub-Dean and professor, Al-Mustansiriya University (referring to his team's
studies on the effects of U.S. Gulf War use of depleted uranium weapons in the south of Iraq): "DU is
a weapon of mass destruction. There has been an increase of 300% in the incidence of cancers in Basra
(since the Gulf War). It is the Iraqi curse. In my view, the (American) people are having the facts of
this tragedy masked from them by the press. If they knew, they could have more effect on their
representatives in Congress. It is your unique job to communicate this message."  

Ghazwan Al-Mukhti-Sanctions activist, retired medical supply salesman: "A generation of highly trained
specialists is disappearing (from Iraq, through death and emigration). The middle class in Iraq has
been replaced by criminals. They start out different from the American criminal element; survival is
their only goal. But once that has been attained, their motivation changes to that of the American
model. 
__________________________

There are 45 art galleries in Baghdad, and 2 more were opening the week I left. Iraqi art is
considered the finest in the Middle East-I met several European collectors while I was there-but all
artists bemoan the fact that they are no longer able to travel and experience first hand what is going
on in the rest of the world.

Nazar Al-Rawi-Artist: "The sanctions are killing our hopes, our life. If you bomb my city, you only
bomb my body. But if you kill my life, you kill my future. Iraqis see the world...it is like we're
watching a movie that we're not in. The world has put us in a hole. Give us just 5 years of peace, and
we would be beautiful again. You know the 3 greatest things for an Arab? Some green, some water, and a
beautiful face (much laughter)."

Mr. Assim-Director, Iraqi Innovation for Plastic Arts: "Our psychology here is that stopping the arts
means stopping life. We run programs for 4-6 year old children. Art proves that the human experience
is one, all over the world. Yes, there is the bombing, but the Iraqi artist is in his House; he pulls
his power from 8,000 years of civilization. If an Iraqi paints something, it is deathless."

Muhammed Ghani Hekmet-World-renowned sculptor: "They say if you drink from the waters of the Tigris,
you will return to Baghdad. (Pause, and a rueful smile) But, if you drink from the Tigris, you will
probably get sick."

Yussra Al-Abaddi-Artist: "When you open your front door in one of the old Baghdad neighborhoods, you
can see right into the house across the street, and you see yourself in that house, and you know that
you are all one people, everywhere."
_______________________

They stand silently near you, or pull a chair over in front of you, put their hand lightly on your
arm, sit down next to you, and you know that this next conversation will be real, from the heart.

Butra Alameaza-Baggage Claims Director, Queen Alia Airport, Amman, Jordan: "We also hear about this
plan of the Americans (to divide Iraq into 3 sections and connect central Iraq, including Baghdad, to
Jordan). But I'm not surprised that the American people have never heard of this. When I was in school
in Kansas, no one in my class knew where Jordan was. The Americans don't know too much about the
world, do they? 

This plan, I don't know... the Iraqis are very difficult to control. But Jordan is always caught in
the middle. Bush will make an offer of cheap oil to (Jordanian) King Abdullah maybe. We have many
problems now. We depend on the tourists in Jordan but September 11 hurt us too...people are afraid to
travel in the Middle East."

Sattar-Cross-border chauffeur: "In these times, the people are moving closer to Islam. The imams are
telling the people that they must change their way of living. We see the crime rate going down, more
(Muslims) are coming to the mosque each week. But the people understand that an invading army will
never have their interests at heart. I am sure they will fight." When this father of 3 is asked what
he will do if war comes, he is gravely quiet...then, staring off down the road, "I don't like to think
about it."

Diar-Waiter (speaking of the Gulf War): "At night, my aunt is taking a shower (sic). I am studying for
my examination. Then we hear loud thunder, and all of us get panicked
My aunt is crying, 'They are bombing, they are bombing!' We put the lights out and stay quiet till
morning; we can't sleep. After the next morning, we went to see where a house was bombed. Two
families, all gone. Then things are worse and worse. I had to leave the school. We were worried about
my uncle. We heard the news that he was taken prisoner. 42 days we were suffering from this, really
panicked, because we were only children. (Pause) Today the most common word on the street is about
bombing. I am not afraid for myself; I only care about the children. OK, I lived 25 years, I had a
good life..."

Seifeddin Fares-Palestinian bus companion: "America is different from all the world. They cannot
understand what it means to have no country, to know that you cannot go to see your brothers and
sisters if they are in a different country, to know that you have no rights...because you are a man
without a place."
___________________________________

Peace Activists-Now, more than ever, activists going to Iraq must each confront the fear of death, and
then step beyond it, each in his or her own manner. 

Henry Williamson-Peace activist, 3-tour Viet Nam War vet, medical corpsman: "If they (American planes)
start bombing, open the windows so they don't shatter, and run for the middle of the hotel. If it
sounds like a bang, it's still far away; if it's more like a crack, it's local. Any closer-you won't
hear it. The shock will go right through you, but start thinking about what you can do to help others;
that'll get you focusing again. Then be patient. It will stop."

Jon Rice-Peace activist, Voices in the Wilderness: "I was to report (1967) to the Marine Corps
Officer's School, but by then I had become involved with the peace movement. The simplest label for me
is 'conscientious objector in the Viet Nam era'. When I was in the Marine Corps, I said to myself,
'What if I die? What for? What have I got to show for it?' My trip to Baghdad was done on behalf of my
love of my country. I still consider myself a patriot, willing to risk my life for my country, but not
by killing people. If I die now (in Baghdad), they'll say, 'He died fightin' for peace'. Then,
thoughtfully, "I consider this (international anti-war activism) just the opening skirmish in the War
on Greed."

One day, Henry Williamson and I were walking down Saddoun St. when he suddenly grabbed my arm: "Hey,
did you see those jets yesterday?" A number of fighter planes had gone very low over midtown Baghdad
the day before, almost close enough to see the numbers on their wings. I was standing in a cafe
window, my favorite cheap lunching spot, with a clear view of the street; the jarring whoosh of the
jets had elicited split second jerks of the head from everyone within sight, then a return to their
business. Visually, it was as though someone had pulled the plug out of the TV, then stuck it back in.

"Yeah," I said, still a bit zooed by the experience, "were those ours or theirs?" "Theirs, I think,"
Henry answered. We simultaneously stopped walking, turned to look into each other's eyes, trying to
ascertain what the hell had been meant by the words "theirs" and "ours". Then we both cracked up,
seeing how things stood: long weeks after our arrival in Iraq, we had clearly lost track of who "we"
and "they" might actually be...