-Caveat Lector- ----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 9:35 AM Subject: Wounds Of War: Children As 'Collateral Damage'
> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=372 45120 > > The Times Of India > February 13, 2003 > > Leader Article > > Wounds of War: Children as 'Collateral Damage' > LALITA PANICKER > > Eight-year-old Ahmed Raadi was born blind, he has > abdomen cancer and a brain tumour. When the pain > behind his left eye becomes intolerable, he and his > mother walk 10 km to the child hospital in Basra. The > hospital's 10 beds have mothers cradling their tiny > wards, in the terrible knowledge that all of them will > die soon. Ahmed's story, which is on an Internet > website, is that of a generation of Iraqi children > born after the 1991 war which has seen a 200-300 per > cent increase in birth abnormalities and cancers. > > A visit to websites like those which document Ahmed's > story show the kind of deformities that Iraqi children > are born with. The pictures are certainly not for the > faint-hearted. Iraqi paediatrician Janan Gassan says, > "Normally, the first thing a woman asks 'is it a boy > or a girl'? Here they ask, 'is it normal'?" The root > cause? Depleted uranium from the 500 tonnes of bombs > dropped by the Americans and British in 1991. > > Seen against this backdrop, what the Bush war > juggernaut will unleash seems almost apocalyptic. > Listen to the sound bytes from the > Rumsfeld-Rice-Cheney troika. Forty-eight hours of > intense bombing to knock out Iraq's infrastructure > should do the trick. Collateral damage, well, can't be > helped, Saddam's asked for it. Superior weaponry will > carry the day, says the Bush bandwagon, and we will > lead West Asia into democratic heaven. > > But the deafening silence here is about the human > aspect of this war. The very many thousands who will > die terrible deaths and the thousands more who will > live on scarred forever by the trauma and pain of war. > Dr Amy Sisley, professor of surgery at the University > of Maryland says, "In an era where images of combat > are beamed from aircraft, it is too easy to forget the > direct, physical consequences of war. Bombs deafen, > blind and blow apart people, riddling them with > shrapnel, glass and debris. They collapse buildings on > victims, including hospitals and clinics vital to > treating the wounded. Unexploded ordnance left behind > kills and maims and battlefield toxins can contaminate > the environment for decades." > > While blithely speaking of the loftier aims of war, > the Bush administration appears not at all keen to > tell the world the projections of devastation which > this war will result in. In the 1991 war, 200,000 > Iraqis died, more than 100,000 of them as a result of > adverse health effects. In the decade that followed, > over 500,000 more have died, mostly infants and > children. Today, 6,000 children die every month from > malnutrition and lack of medication. > > This time around, Washington plans to be far more > accurate and efficient. At least 48,000-60,000 deaths > are predicted in the first three months of the war. > And post-war health effects? A conservative estimate > is that they will take another 200,000 lives. But, > these don't take into account unpredictable factors > like the possibility of the Iraqi dictator launching > an attack on Israel, for example. This could, > according to experts, even provoke a nuclear response. > The toll, if this happens, is put at 3,900,000 lives. > This is, of course, a worst-case scenario. > > But assume for a moment that Baghdad does have all the > biological and chemical weapons that the Bush > administration alleges it has. This means that the > bombing could unleash radioactive or other lethal > agents. And if this happens, there is no help for it. > Iraq's infrastructure would be damaged beyond repair, > its hospitals destroyed, energy resources badly hit, > people affected by food and medical shortages and, > consequently, devastating epidemics will wipe out many > survivors. > > What will happen to the millions who will be displaced > and have to flee to neighbouring countries? The crisis > will be of such magnitude that the UN and other > agencies will not be able to cope. In short, an > already weakened Iraqi people will move into a > post-war phase suffering from traumatic stress and > lifelong disabilities. > > If the Iraqis were hit badly in the last conflict, the > allied troops did not get off so lightly either. In > 1999, 43 per cent of the 579,000 veterans who > participated in the Gulf War were seeking treatment, > 31 per cent compensation for illness or injury > ranging from leukaemia, lung cancer, kidney disorders, > respiratory ailments, chronic fatigue, skin spotting > and joint pains. This time around, since the objective > is not containment of the dictator but regime > replacement, the damage inflicted is likely to be far > greater. Additionally, with the rush to end the war > before the Iraqi summer, the force used will be > greatly increased. > > After this war, the ability of the Iraqi people to > mobilise their own resources for survival and > reconstruction will virtually not exist. Even during > the last war, when the objective was only to stop > Saddam Hussein in his tracks, declassified US defence > intelligence agency documents show that a deliberate > decision was made to destroy electricity-generating > and water storage and treatment facilities. Following > this, chlorine and medicines were put on the embargo > list. > > Even after the hostilities cease, the children of Iraq > will be locked in a war without end. With reduced > mental and physical capacities, little or no > educational achievements, facing family breakdowns as > a result of war casualties, they have nothing to look > forward to but a life of poverty and despair. This > lost generation will, if nothing else, render > Washington's victory over Saddam Hussein hollow. > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day > http://shopping.yahoo.com > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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