[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [uslawaffiliates] Revealing Letter from Iraqi Women's Movement Leader

[Alfred Kagan]

A chilling message.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "U.S. Labor Against the War" <uslaw at igc.org>
> Date: February 7, 2005 1:28:39 PM CST
> To: (Recipient list suppressed)
> Subject: [uslawaffiliates] Revealing Letter from Iraqi Women's  
> Movement Leader
>
> Letters from Iraq: #4
> Feb 5, 2005
>  
>
> Enjoying our Post-election Democracies in Iraq
>
>  
>  Basil did not vote, but felt restless. Someone knocked his door  
> telling him that this position may be registered in the papers and  
> those are the same listings of food rations… in other words, it may  
> affect the food rations his family gets.
>
>  Hasan preferred to stay home on such a dangerous day, but changed his  
> mind because of Sistani’s Fatwa: “ … that voting is a most compelling  
> religious duty for every Muslim”.
>
>  Wissam cannot stand the idea of holding elections under occupation.  
> He was under red alert in Kadhimiya-Baghdad hospital just like most of  
> the doctors. They had to take day and night shifts in the hospital in  
> case the outcome of this democratic process floods the hospital with  
> the dead and wounded. He was upset explaining to us why they couldn’t  
> save both legs of the man who happened to be close to one of the  
> exploded centers.
>
>  There were others who looked forward to sharing the “democratic  
> process” though. Wisaal had candidated herself in spite of all our  
> warnings at the time. She visited me with an apologetic smile and  
> behaviour. Sami, her husband, mentioned in a low voice before leaving,  
> that their elections center was controlled by the clergy and their  
> militia were demonstrating intimidating suggestions and gestures. In  
> some instances, the voters were accompanied till the last step by a  
> ‘Sayed’. I didn’t want to embarrass Wisaal, but she could see the “I  
> told you” glance on my face.
>
>  One of the other achievements of the new government was opening  
> Baghdad airport, which I had decided to use for the first … and last  
> time - obviously. In a way, I was glad that Iraqi Airlines has finally  
> taken off the ground and were open for the citizens. I was not  
> surprised when the flight attendants served the food manually, and not  
> through a tray. I was not surprised to see flies and mosquitoes on  
> board. The biggest surprise was when we were close to the airport, but  
> still flying at a very high altitude. The plane started to descend in  
> small endless circles that caused even the bravest hearts and stomachs  
> to fear and wonder whether the plane and the pilot were up to this  
> challenge. A business man sitting in a close-by seat went blue and  
> almost fainted while holding strongly to the seat in front of him.  
> After we got off, he swore he is never taking another plane.
>
>  In spite of everything, I was optimistic to step into OUR Baghdad  
> airport, previously Saddam’s Airport. While doing some paperwork, the  
> employee asked me: “…so madam, did you get the chance to vote while  
> you were abroad?” I answered with a straight NO without offering any  
> explanation. To my surprise, he smiled and said: “Neither has any of  
> us in here. We did not dare leave our homes on that day … and don’t  
> you believe all the shows you see over the TV channels of all kinds”.
>
>  Traditionally, any Iraqi has the seventh sense of not chatting with a  
> government/intelligence official. Still, I asked timidly: “Are you  
> serious?” He answered while handing me my papers: “Well … it applies  
> to me and all the others in this room (3 of them)”.
>
>  Obviously, after the roller coaster trip in the airplane, I could not  
> care much about right and wrong. I just wanted to reach home. I saw  
> the exit full of people going back and forth in frenzy not knowing  
> what to do. The bus driver said after he asked us kindly to get off  
> his bus: “The route to the airport is blocked for the time being … we  
> may receive other instructions after one hour and a half. There is  
> absolutely nothing we can do about it. We all need to wait”.
>
>  The time was close to 5:00 pm. We were in the most dangerous zone in  
> all of Iraq as that area was the last one to be cleared at many stages  
> … and obviously, the “Mujahideen” and their inhuman projects for the  
> liberation are tremendously organized in that area. Unfortunately,  
> their liberation is more about the “sacred” land than it is about the  
> people. They do not mind killing tens of Iraqis in every confrontation  
> they hold with the “evil” Americans. Their liberation is launched  
> through beheadings of whoever has dared to step into “their” sacred  
> land…and lately, even some Iraqis received their share of those  
> beheadings.
>
>  It took two horribly scary hours to leave that mess and have some  
> hope that we will survive for the day. Flocks of Apache helicopters  
> were flying over our heads with their machine guns/bombers pointed in  
> all directions, trying to follow the tracks of those who operated the  
> bombed car around the American four wheel drives. Our cab driver went  
> pale while describing the number of American soldiers’ bodies he saw  
> on the street half an hour ago. He believed he was living a second  
> life … because he was a few minutes late.
>  After sleeping for the noisy night here in Baghdad, I needed to meet  
> our friends to recapture our situation and upcoming projects and where  
> it’s all reached. We have reached to the conclusion that there can be  
> absolutely no light of hope as long as the occupation is still inside  
> Iraq. The plans for liberation need the secular and libertarian groups  
> who can bring about the bright scenario … we will work through all  
> means to end this hideous occupation, but we will also make sure that  
> the criminal heroes of kidnapping and beheading will follow the  
> occupiers out of our lives.
>
>  The occupiers’ military forces distributed the election flyer at  
> gunpoint. They have empowered the worst groups in Iraq. Previous Baath  
> figures, Islamist theocracy heads and Nationalist fascist parties,  
> whether Arab or Kurdish. These three parties hold hand in hand in a  
> unified position against the free women, youth, men, and all the  
> progressive and especially the working class groups.
>  We are the big losers in these elections and this is more about women  
> than men… and still, no need to feel this sore about it. For all of  
> those who were tricked by the game and illusion of these elections,  
> the results will be clearer in the coming days:  the Bulcanization of  
> Iraq has just started and the scum of the scum are ruling now, or at  
> least trying to. The American troops have no intention of stepping out  
> for any reason. They are here to stay and attract more Islamist  
> terrorists into Iraq.
>
>  There is no hope in this puppet government. There is no security or  
> life for us with the daily military harassment of US troops and the  
> deadly Islamist terrorism. It is up to us now to gather the third  
> alternative, the bright and humanitarian one… and we need to gather  
> all forces at this point in time.
>
>  We held our OWFI activists meeting. I was surprised at the number of  
> women and men who are looking for us now…within workers, students and  
> intellectuals … and especially the local media. Hadil has set our  
> schedule of daily trips to factories, and the internally displaced  
> complexes. Hanan has our schedule for visiting the student groups,  
> starting in the department of Political Sciences in Baghdad  
> University. Still, the other reports were not as positive and bright.  
> Um Haidar (mother of Haidar) reported that in the city of Mahmoudiya,  
> her sister, a nurse in the local hospital has witnessed around 30  
> people –mostly women - visit the emergency because their inked finger  
> tip was cut off by the Mujahideen who were angry at their taking part  
> in the voting. Another nurse brought us stories of physical abuse, one  
> of which was done by an American soldier who broke the ribs of a woman  
> in the street with the base of his rifle.
>
>  Most distressful of all was the news of the kidnapping of our dear  
> Giuliana Sgrena, the reporter of il manifesto, who was kidnapped by  
> the Mujahideen. She had spent the whole day of last Tuesday and part  
> of Thursday with our activists and one of our shelter residents. We  
> were horrified to think of the possible consequences.
>
>  Our office was full of people of all kinds today. In spite of all the  
> difficulties, we sense a desperate determination to keep our banners  
> of freedom and equality high up in the air. I have the feeling that  
> the potential for leading towards a change is much bigger after two  
> years of consecutive lies about security and democracy to be achieved  
> by the CPA and their puppet government.
>
>  The time has come for us to increase our numbers and fight back. This  
> deadly circus of forcing a hideous tyranny called “democracy” cannot  
> go on…anymore.
>   
> Yanar Mohammed
> Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq
>
> ////////   
> \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 
> \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\   
> \\\\\\\\
>
> U.S. Labor Against War (USLAW)
>  \\\\\\\\  
> ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 
> //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
> ////////
>  www.uslaboragainstwar.org
> info at uslaboragainstwar.org
>  {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
> PMB 153
>  1718 "M" Street, NW
>  Washington, D.C. 20036
>  {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
> Gene Bruskin and Bob Muehlenkamp, Co-convenors
>  Amy Newell, National Organizer
>  Michael Eisenscher, Organizer & Web Coordinator
>  Adrienne Nicosia, Administrative Staff
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliogrpaher and Professor of Library Administration
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801

tel. 217-333-6519
fax 217-333-2214
akagan at uiuc.edu
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 13619 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/private/peace-discuss/attachments/20050207/24d56798/attachment-0001.bin