Fundraiser for Iraqi Refugee Project
The Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network offers this
educational holiday gift that benefits our Iraqi Refugee
Project.
<http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/>
The game, UNITY, was developed with a view of his/herstory
through the lens of the people and their power to make
change through nonviolent action, imagination, love and
vigilance.
The his/herstory Q&A UNITY game focuses on social change
achieved through nonviolence and includes interesting
historical information and cultural contributions made by
people around the world, with special attention to
indigenous peoples.
UNITY was developed by the nonprofit group Greater
Cleveland Immigrant Support Network (GCISN). The
trivia/bingo-like game made its debut at the 2007 Cleveland
Nonviolence Network Peace Show, the Labor Day alternative to the militaristic AIR SHOW.
All proceeds from holiday sales of UNITY will fund the Iraqi
Refugee Project. When you buy a UNITY game all proceeds will help provide water purification units
<http://bigbrandwater.com/sterilightuv.html> to be installed
in Iraqi hospitals. Our contact in Jordan is Faiza Al-Araji,
an Iraqi civil engineer.
<http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/>
The game includes 10 game cards (16-countries each) and 45
nonviolence/cultural contribution cards that describe the
various nation's peoples.
($15, and shipment cost)
To inquire about, or purchase a game, contact: Greater
Cleveland Immigrant Support Network (GCISN) 4323 Clark Ave,
Cleveland, OH 44109 <truth_force@yahoo.com> or call
216/631-2233 ext.2
To view videos (obtained through the Muslim Peacemaker Team)
of the Iraqi refugee situation in Jordan visit
<www.xtremepeace.blogspot.com/>
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Te Gift of Water/ Iraqi Refugee Project
Monday, November 26, 2007
Iraqi refugee women in Amman-short films
Dear Sami -
Thank you for putting us in touch with your colleagues. It is fanastic that they are interested in making a documentary about Iraqi refugees. We have finally finished three short films on our interviews with Iraqi refugee women in Amman - you can watch them here:
Overivew of Iraqi Refugees in Jordan - httplwww.youtube.com/watch?v
Violence Against Iraqi Women and Girls - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Health Care for Iraqis in Jordan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
These wouldn't have been possible without your help and contacts, Sami. We hope you enjoy them. We have also written a longer report in both English http://www.womenscommission
If you would like to read more about our work on the Iraqi refugee crisis, please see this page: http://www.womenscommission
Sami - thank you again for all your help. Please know that we are thinking about you and hope everything is well with you and your family.
With best wishes,
Sarah, Mary Jane and Megan
Sarah K. Chynoweth
Program Manager, Reproductive Health Program
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
122 East 42nd Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10168-1289
212.551.3112 - tel
212.551.3180 - fax
sarahch@womenscommission.org
Monday, February 12, 2007
An Iraq Interrogator's Nightmare
An Iraq Interrogator's Nightmare
By Eric Fair, The Washington Post (Op-Ed)
Feb. 9, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/yvl865
A man with no face stares at me from the corner of a room. He pleads for
help, but I'm afraid to move. He begins to cry. It is a pitiful sound, and
it sickens me. He screams, but as I awaken, I realize the screams are mine.
That dream, along with a host of other nightmares, has plagued me since my
return from Iraq in the summer of 2004. Though the man in this particular
nightmare has no face, I know who he is. I assisted in his interrogation at
a detention facility in Fallujah. I was one of two civilian interrogators
assigned to the division interrogation facility (DIF) of the 82nd Airborne
Division. The man, whose name I've long since forgotten, was a suspected
associate of Khamis Sirhan al-Muhammad, the Baath Party leader in Anbar
province who had been captured two months earlier.
The lead interrogator at the DIF had given me specific instructions: I was
to deprive the detainee of sleep during my 12-hour shift by opening his cell
every hour, forcing him to stand in a corner and stripping him of his
clothes. Three years later the tables have turned. It is rare that I sleep
through the night without a visit from this man. His memory harasses me as I
once harassed him.
Despite my best efforts, I cannot ignore the mistakes I made at the
interrogation facility in Fallujah. I failed to disobey a meritless order, I
failed to protect a prisoner in my custody, and I failed to uphold the
standards of human decency. Instead, I intimidated, degraded and humiliated
a man who could not defend himself. I compromised my values. I will never
forgive myself.
American authorities continue to insist that the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at
Abu Ghraib was an isolated incident in an otherwise well-run detention
system. That insistence, however, stands in sharp contrast to my own
experiences as an interrogator in Iraq. I watched as detainees were forced
to stand naked all night, shivering in their cold cells and pleading with
their captors for help. Others were subjected to long periods of isolation
in pitch-black rooms. Food and sleep deprivation were common, along with a
variety of physical abuse, including punching and kicking. Aggressive, and
in many ways abusive, techniques were used daily in Iraq, all in the name of
acquiring the intelligence necessary to bring an end to the insurgency. The
violence raging there today is evidence that those tactics never worked. My
memories are evidence that those tactics were terribly wrong.
While I was appalled by the conduct of my friends and colleagues, I lacked
the courage to challenge the status quo. That was a failure of character and
in many ways made me complicit in what went on. I'm ashamed of that failure,
but as time passes, and as the memories of what I saw in Iraq continue to
infect my every thought, I'm becoming more ashamed of my silence.
Some may suggest there is no reason to revive the story of abuse in Iraq.
Rehashing such mistakes will only harm our country, they will say. But
history suggests we should examine such missteps carefully. Oppressive
prison environments have created some of the most determined opponents. The
British learned that lesson from Napoleon, the French from Ho Chi Minh,
Europe from Hitler. The world is learning that lesson again from Ayman
al-Zawahiri. What will be the legacy of abusive prisons in Iraq?
We have failed to properly address the abuse of Iraqi detainees. Men like me
have refused to tell our stories, and our leaders have refused to own up to
the myriad mistakes that have been made. But if we fail to address this
problem, there can be no hope of success in Iraq. Regardless of how many
young Americans we send to war, or how many militia members we kill, or how
many Iraqis we train, or how much money we spend on reconstruction, we will
not escape the damage we have done to the people of Iraq in our prisons.
I am desperate to get on with my life and erase my memories of my
experiences in Iraq. But those memories and experiences do not belong to me.
They belong to history. If we're doomed to repeat the history we forget,
what will be the consequences of the history we never knew? The citizens and
the leadership of this country have an obligation to revisit what took place
in the interrogation booths of Iraq, unpleasant as it may be. The story of
Abu Ghraib isn't over. In many ways, we have yet to open the book.
The writer served in the Army from 1995 to 2000 as an Arabic linguist and
worked in Iraq as a contract interrogator in early 2004.
By Eric Fair, The Washington Post (Op-Ed)
Feb. 9, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/yvl865
A man with no face stares at me from the corner of a room. He pleads for
help, but I'm afraid to move. He begins to cry. It is a pitiful sound, and
it sickens me. He screams, but as I awaken, I realize the screams are mine.
That dream, along with a host of other nightmares, has plagued me since my
return from Iraq in the summer of 2004. Though the man in this particular
nightmare has no face, I know who he is. I assisted in his interrogation at
a detention facility in Fallujah. I was one of two civilian interrogators
assigned to the division interrogation facility (DIF) of the 82nd Airborne
Division. The man, whose name I've long since forgotten, was a suspected
associate of Khamis Sirhan al-Muhammad, the Baath Party leader in Anbar
province who had been captured two months earlier.
The lead interrogator at the DIF had given me specific instructions: I was
to deprive the detainee of sleep during my 12-hour shift by opening his cell
every hour, forcing him to stand in a corner and stripping him of his
clothes. Three years later the tables have turned. It is rare that I sleep
through the night without a visit from this man. His memory harasses me as I
once harassed him.
Despite my best efforts, I cannot ignore the mistakes I made at the
interrogation facility in Fallujah. I failed to disobey a meritless order, I
failed to protect a prisoner in my custody, and I failed to uphold the
standards of human decency. Instead, I intimidated, degraded and humiliated
a man who could not defend himself. I compromised my values. I will never
forgive myself.
American authorities continue to insist that the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at
Abu Ghraib was an isolated incident in an otherwise well-run detention
system. That insistence, however, stands in sharp contrast to my own
experiences as an interrogator in Iraq. I watched as detainees were forced
to stand naked all night, shivering in their cold cells and pleading with
their captors for help. Others were subjected to long periods of isolation
in pitch-black rooms. Food and sleep deprivation were common, along with a
variety of physical abuse, including punching and kicking. Aggressive, and
in many ways abusive, techniques were used daily in Iraq, all in the name of
acquiring the intelligence necessary to bring an end to the insurgency. The
violence raging there today is evidence that those tactics never worked. My
memories are evidence that those tactics were terribly wrong.
While I was appalled by the conduct of my friends and colleagues, I lacked
the courage to challenge the status quo. That was a failure of character and
in many ways made me complicit in what went on. I'm ashamed of that failure,
but as time passes, and as the memories of what I saw in Iraq continue to
infect my every thought, I'm becoming more ashamed of my silence.
Some may suggest there is no reason to revive the story of abuse in Iraq.
Rehashing such mistakes will only harm our country, they will say. But
history suggests we should examine such missteps carefully. Oppressive
prison environments have created some of the most determined opponents. The
British learned that lesson from Napoleon, the French from Ho Chi Minh,
Europe from Hitler. The world is learning that lesson again from Ayman
al-Zawahiri. What will be the legacy of abusive prisons in Iraq?
We have failed to properly address the abuse of Iraqi detainees. Men like me
have refused to tell our stories, and our leaders have refused to own up to
the myriad mistakes that have been made. But if we fail to address this
problem, there can be no hope of success in Iraq. Regardless of how many
young Americans we send to war, or how many militia members we kill, or how
many Iraqis we train, or how much money we spend on reconstruction, we will
not escape the damage we have done to the people of Iraq in our prisons.
I am desperate to get on with my life and erase my memories of my
experiences in Iraq. But those memories and experiences do not belong to me.
They belong to history. If we're doomed to repeat the history we forget,
what will be the consequences of the history we never knew? The citizens and
the leadership of this country have an obligation to revisit what took place
in the interrogation booths of Iraq, unpleasant as it may be. The story of
Abu Ghraib isn't over. In many ways, we have yet to open the book.
The writer served in the Army from 1995 to 2000 as an Arabic linguist and
worked in Iraq as a contract interrogator in early 2004.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Shi'a Muslims Join Sunni in Fullujuh Cleanup
http://electroniciraq.net/news/1951.shtml
FALLUJAH, IRAQ - On May 6, 2005 a group of Shi'a Muslims called Muslim Peacemaker Team (MPT) traveled to the Sunni-dominated city of Fallujah from as far away as Kerbala and Najaf to help their Sunni counterparts clean up rubble from the previous U.S. assault on the city. In a symbolic act of solidarity, members of MPT sought to counter the growing reports of Sunni-Shi'a sectarian violence and to demonstrate unity in a tense time. "Muslim Peacemaker Teams from Karbala and Najaf is pleased to be in Fallujah in order to assist in the ongoing clean-up efforts. We are among our brothers and sisters in the city of Fallujah to recognize our solidarity with you," read the leaflet passed out by members of the MPT and Christian Peacemaker Teams. Fifteen MPTers and three CPTers joined with workers of the Public Works department to clean a street outside one of the major mosques in the city. Following the cleanup, the MPTers joined in Friday prayers with their Sunni counterparts. Later, they toured areas devastated by the U.S. assault on the city and met families who are still living in tents with no electricity. A civic leader asked MPT and CPT members why the United States military felt it had to attack and destroy a city of 300,000 in order to capture one man and his small band of terrorists. One person noted that when Al Capone and his gangsters were controlling Chicago in the 1920's, the FBI didn't come in and level the city in order to eliminate them. Citizens communicated their concerns to MPT and CPT members that the Iraqi National Guard (ING) guards are poorly trained and show little respect for lives or property as they cruise the streets of Fallujah with automatic weapons waving in the air from the back of their pick- up trucks. In addition, the massive backups created by ING checkpoints have caused prices for building supplies and foodstuffs to rise two to three times above prices in the surrounding areas. Wholesalers create the price increases to compensate for their lost time and increased wages caused by the two to six hours they spend waiting at checkpoints before entering the city.The city is also facing a crisis because of poor sanitation systems damaged by the military assaults. The department of public works has been evicted from their building by the Multi National Forces and has had to set up temporary offices in the Fallujah public library. The chief of the department said, "We only have seven working garbage trucks and three dump trucks for the entire city. We have been promised funds for our department from the MNF for months but so far nothing has happened." A cleric told MPTers that; "It will take fifty years at this rate to return Fallujah to the condition it was in before the U.S. attacked us."Muslim Peacemaker Teams has been in existence for three months and it is their plan to continue to retain a connection with the citizens of Fallujah through direct action. Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq has made working with MPT the number one priority for the team at this time. Both groups are committed to continuing to work to foster nonviolent alternatives to militarization for a free and independent Iraq.
FALLUJAH, IRAQ - On May 6, 2005 a group of Shi'a Muslims called Muslim Peacemaker Team (MPT) traveled to the Sunni-dominated city of Fallujah from as far away as Kerbala and Najaf to help their Sunni counterparts clean up rubble from the previous U.S. assault on the city. In a symbolic act of solidarity, members of MPT sought to counter the growing reports of Sunni-Shi'a sectarian violence and to demonstrate unity in a tense time. "Muslim Peacemaker Teams from Karbala and Najaf is pleased to be in Fallujah in order to assist in the ongoing clean-up efforts. We are among our brothers and sisters in the city of Fallujah to recognize our solidarity with you," read the leaflet passed out by members of the MPT and Christian Peacemaker Teams. Fifteen MPTers and three CPTers joined with workers of the Public Works department to clean a street outside one of the major mosques in the city. Following the cleanup, the MPTers joined in Friday prayers with their Sunni counterparts. Later, they toured areas devastated by the U.S. assault on the city and met families who are still living in tents with no electricity. A civic leader asked MPT and CPT members why the United States military felt it had to attack and destroy a city of 300,000 in order to capture one man and his small band of terrorists. One person noted that when Al Capone and his gangsters were controlling Chicago in the 1920's, the FBI didn't come in and level the city in order to eliminate them. Citizens communicated their concerns to MPT and CPT members that the Iraqi National Guard (ING) guards are poorly trained and show little respect for lives or property as they cruise the streets of Fallujah with automatic weapons waving in the air from the back of their pick- up trucks. In addition, the massive backups created by ING checkpoints have caused prices for building supplies and foodstuffs to rise two to three times above prices in the surrounding areas. Wholesalers create the price increases to compensate for their lost time and increased wages caused by the two to six hours they spend waiting at checkpoints before entering the city.The city is also facing a crisis because of poor sanitation systems damaged by the military assaults. The department of public works has been evicted from their building by the Multi National Forces and has had to set up temporary offices in the Fallujah public library. The chief of the department said, "We only have seven working garbage trucks and three dump trucks for the entire city. We have been promised funds for our department from the MNF for months but so far nothing has happened." A cleric told MPTers that; "It will take fifty years at this rate to return Fallujah to the condition it was in before the U.S. attacked us."Muslim Peacemaker Teams has been in existence for three months and it is their plan to continue to retain a connection with the citizens of Fallujah through direct action. Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq has made working with MPT the number one priority for the team at this time. Both groups are committed to continuing to work to foster nonviolent alternatives to militarization for a free and independent Iraq.
The Weather in Iraq
Iraq Climate
The average temperatures in Iraq range from higher than 48 degree C (120 Fahrenheit) in July and August to below freezing in January. A majority of the rainfall occurs from December through April and is more abundant in the mountainous region and may reach 100 centimeters a year in some places.
The summer months are marked by two kinds of wind phenomena: the southern and southeasterly sharqi, a dry, dusty wind with occasional gusts to eighty kilometers an hour, occurs from April to early June and again from late September through November; the shamal, a steady wind from the north and northwest, prevails from mid-June to mid-September. Very dry air which accompanies the shamal permits intensive sun heating of the land surface but also provides some cooling effect. Dust storms accompany these winds and may rise to height of several thousand meters, causing hazardous flying conditions and closing airports for brief periods of time.
Extremes of temperatures and humidity, coupled with the scarcity of water, will effect both men and equipment. During dry season, clouds of dust caused by vehicle movement will increase detection capabilities in desert regions. Flash flooding in wadis and across roads will hinder trafficability and resupply efforts during the rainy season. Clear, cloudless skies make air superiority a prerequisite to successful offensive operations throughout Iraq. Air operations may be reduced during windy season.
The Iraqi climate is similar to that of the extreme southwestern United States with hot, dry summers, cold winters, and a pleasant spring and fall. Roughly 90% of the annual rainfall occurs between November and April, most of it in the winter months from December through March. The remaining six months, particularly the hottest ones of June, July, and August, at approximately 102° F (32° C), are dry. The influence of the Persian Gulf on the climate of Iraq is very limited. Near the gulf the relative humidity is higher than in other parts of the country.
In the western and southern desert region, the climate is characterized by hot summers and cool winters. This region also receives brief violent rainstorms in the winter that usually total about 10 centimeters (cm). Most nights are clear in the summer, and about one third of the nights are cloudy in the winter.
In the rolling upland (foothill) region there is basically no precipitation in the summer and some showers in the winter. The winter rainfall normally averages about 38 centimeters (cm). The nights are generally clear in the summer and in the winter dense clouds are common about half of the nights.
The alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates Delta in the southeast receives most of its precipitation accompanied by thunderstorms in the winter and early spring. The average annual rainfall for this area is only about 10 to 17 cm. Half of the days in winter are cloudy, and in the summer the weather is clear most of the time.
In the mountains of the north and northeast the climate is characterized by warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation occurs mainly in winter and spring, with minimal rainfall in summer. Above 1,500 m, heavy snowfalls occur in the winter, and there is some thunderstorm activity in the summer. Annual precipitation for the whole region ranges from 40 to 100 cm. Few nights are cloudy in summer and about half of the days are cloudy in winter.
The average temperatures in Iraq range from higher than 48 degree C (120 Fahrenheit) in July and August to below freezing in January. A majority of the rainfall occurs from December through April and is more abundant in the mountainous region and may reach 100 centimeters a year in some places.
The summer months are marked by two kinds of wind phenomena: the southern and southeasterly sharqi, a dry, dusty wind with occasional gusts to eighty kilometers an hour, occurs from April to early June and again from late September through November; the shamal, a steady wind from the north and northwest, prevails from mid-June to mid-September. Very dry air which accompanies the shamal permits intensive sun heating of the land surface but also provides some cooling effect. Dust storms accompany these winds and may rise to height of several thousand meters, causing hazardous flying conditions and closing airports for brief periods of time.
Extremes of temperatures and humidity, coupled with the scarcity of water, will effect both men and equipment. During dry season, clouds of dust caused by vehicle movement will increase detection capabilities in desert regions. Flash flooding in wadis and across roads will hinder trafficability and resupply efforts during the rainy season. Clear, cloudless skies make air superiority a prerequisite to successful offensive operations throughout Iraq. Air operations may be reduced during windy season.
The Iraqi climate is similar to that of the extreme southwestern United States with hot, dry summers, cold winters, and a pleasant spring and fall. Roughly 90% of the annual rainfall occurs between November and April, most of it in the winter months from December through March. The remaining six months, particularly the hottest ones of June, July, and August, at approximately 102° F (32° C), are dry. The influence of the Persian Gulf on the climate of Iraq is very limited. Near the gulf the relative humidity is higher than in other parts of the country.
In the western and southern desert region, the climate is characterized by hot summers and cool winters. This region also receives brief violent rainstorms in the winter that usually total about 10 centimeters (cm). Most nights are clear in the summer, and about one third of the nights are cloudy in the winter.
In the rolling upland (foothill) region there is basically no precipitation in the summer and some showers in the winter. The winter rainfall normally averages about 38 centimeters (cm). The nights are generally clear in the summer and in the winter dense clouds are common about half of the nights.
The alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates Delta in the southeast receives most of its precipitation accompanied by thunderstorms in the winter and early spring. The average annual rainfall for this area is only about 10 to 17 cm. Half of the days in winter are cloudy, and in the summer the weather is clear most of the time.
In the mountains of the north and northeast the climate is characterized by warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation occurs mainly in winter and spring, with minimal rainfall in summer. Above 1,500 m, heavy snowfalls occur in the winter, and there is some thunderstorm activity in the summer. Annual precipitation for the whole region ranges from 40 to 100 cm. Few nights are cloudy in summer and about half of the days are cloudy in winter.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
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