The Guardian August 16, 2000 The Streets of Basra: In the "no-fly" zone by Lauren Cannon* Outside my window, as midnight nears, people are just "tucking in" for the night, or - as in my case - carrying mats to the rooftop where one can enjoy slightly less uncomfortable night air. Trapped by intense heat, thick smog shrouded the city centre today. Lisa [Gizzi] and I felt as though we were chewing the air when we walked through an unkempt section of the main market. The grim determination we saw on so many faces masked, we knew, an intense weariness. There were two small children in the market who shyly called "hello" from the street, then skipped away when I replied. It's remarkable that Basrans maintain hope and preserve their intellectual heritage and abilities as they struggle against the chaos wrought by increasing deprivation. Miraculously, in spite of the troubles created by the sanctions and bombardment, they raise radiant, gleeful children. Those gleaming eyes and wide smiles greet us as children sitting at the roadside say "hello" and then scoop water from a drainage ditch to quench their thirst. We try to dissemble our shock as we meet the gentle glances of mothers who have no choice but to clean their dishes in the same drainage ditch. Later in the day, two members of my host family pick up the copy of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina which I'm reading for the first time, and tell me how much they enjoyed reading it years ago. Just imagine it - by candlelight, because electricity was cut much earlier in the day, we discuss Tolstoy's vision of land reform and then Gandhi's principles of nonviolence. This evening I walked with Nadra, my very dear and impeccably tidy host, to empty the waste baskets at the garbage dump: the intersection of our street. The trash piles up, mixed with sewage, and there simply are no trucks to pick it all up. Forbidden by sanctions: the trucks might have a military purpose. They might be "dual use". Summer in Basra - nightmare fears leaping into the everyday lives of innocents who've already endured close to two decades of military and economic warfare. Summer in Basra - a world of imprisoned beauty where we feel no threat. Who does Iraq threaten? Let's be honest. Iraq threatens the US ability to control Iraq's precious and irreplaceable resources. * * * *Lauren Cannon, Lisa Gizzi and four other members of the US organisation Voices In The Wilderness are beginning a two-month "cultural immersion" in Basra, Iraq, living with families and sharing their lives - and deaths - under the sanctions and bombings. See last week's Guardian for another report from Lauren Cannon. _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
